In the aftermath of the attempted terror attack in Times Square, County Executive Robert P. Astorino today reassured Westchester residents that the county has a broad range of public safety and counter-terrorism initiatives in place to keep residents safe.
Astorino noted that the Department of Public Safety and its law enforcement partners work every day on intelligence gathering and other counter-terrorism initiatives to protect residents, visitors, businesses and critical infrastructure in Westchester from potential terrorist activity.
"We have taken significant steps this year to work with federal, state and local law enforcement more efficiently and collaboratively than ever before," Astorino said. "In the times we live in, the gathering of intelligence and using that information to protect our citizens is critical. Westchester County is committed to putting its resources to work on a non-stop basis to do just that."
Public Safety Commissioner George N. Longworth said a key component in Westchester's crime fighting and counter-terrorism efforts was the Westchester Intelligence Center in White Plains.
The Department of Public Safety earlier this year merged its Crime Analysis Unit and the department's counter-terrorism functions into the Westchester Intelligence Center. The move put all intelligence gathering and intelligence sharing functions in Westchester under one roof—eliminating the risk that valuable information would fall between the cracks or not be shared with all appropriate law enforcement agencies.
Astorino noted that putting all intelligence gathering functions under one roof eliminated duplicative services, resulting in a better operation at a lower cost to taxpayers.
The WIC includes investigators from the FBI, New York State Police, Department of Public Safety and Mount Vernon Police Department, along with civilian crime analysts. It is supervised by District Attorney Janet DiFiore.
"Residents and visitors in Westchester should feel confident that here in our county, we have made important strides to enhance public safety by moving toward a predictive model of policing. The creation of the Westchester Intelligence Center, our state-of-the-art intelligence and analytical center, functions as the hub of a network of local, state and federal police agencies that operate within Westchester County and is designed to increase law enforcement's ability to assess trends and develop information allowing for coordinated responses to any type of suspicious activity here in Westchester."
Longworth also described a range of other counter-terrorism programs and strategies in place in Westchester:
- A county police detective was assigned full time in January to the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force, ensuring access to the highest levels of intelligence information affecting Westchester and its citizens.
- The members of the county police Bomb Squad have the sophisticated training needed to respond to any incident involving a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device. The increased capabilities of the Bomb Squad will soon result in it being designated a Level 1 bomb squad, the highest level of expertise for a bomb squad. A Level 1 bomb squad is also capable of responding to incidents involving chemical, biological or radiological devices.
- The county police Aviation Unit regularly conducts counter-terrorism patrols over all critical infrastructure in Westchester, including the Indian Point nuclear power plants, the Tappan Zee Bridge, New York City watershed properties and key corporate facilities, among other locations. Similar counter-terrorism patrols are also conducted by the county police Marine Unit along the Hudson River shoreline.
- County police patrol officers, as well as the Aviation and Marine Units, are equipped with radiation detection equipment. These detectors are issued with the goal of identifying any vehicle or vessel carrying a so-called "dirty bomb" containing radiological material.
- The Department of Public Safety is a partner with all local law enforcement in Westchester and Putnam counties in Counter-Terrorism Zone 3, a collaborative effort to protect the region from terrorism.
- In conjunction with CTZ-3, the county police participate in the deployment of so-called "Hercules Teams," which are comprised of specially trained and heavily armed police officers. The Hercules Teams pay unannounced visits to a range of locations in Westchester from transportation hubs to busy shopping areas. The goal of the Hercules Teams is to deter terrorist planning or activity by providing an additional, and unpredictable, layer of security to key locations in Westchester.