What we can do in our community:
Domestic terrorism is defined by the United States Department
of Defense as "the unlawful use or threatened use of force or violence against
individuals or property to coerce or intimidate governments or societies, often
to achieve political, religious or ideological objectives."
Law enforcement cannot fight domestic terrorism on its own.
Police officers cannot be in all places at all times. Law enforcement must have
the cooperation of the community in order to be effective. Law enforcement asks
all citizens to assist in keeping everyone safe by being the eyes and ears of
the community.
Awareness is the key. Regrettably terrorists do not wear placards
that identify them for who they are. Unfortunately we can use only general rules
of thumb to go by. What does this mean for you and me?
What to look for as possible
red flags?
- Unusual interest in public utilities, large groups
of people, i.e. sporting events, government buildings, military installations,
transportation centers, financial institutions or religious centers.
- Unusual inquiries regarding security measures.
- Suspicious activity, i.e. note taking, picture taking
or video taping higher risk targets as outlined above.
- Fraudulent identification.
- Unusual behavior, i.e. inappropriate clothing for
the current weather conditions, unusually loose clothing, or unusually large
or heavy bag or backpack.
- Repetitious unusual behavior, i.e. observation of
same person or same vehicle making frequent trips to the same location - terrorists
frequently will make every effort to conduct a "dry run" prior to
committing an act of terrorism.
- Unusual rentals, purchases or inquiries regarding
hazardous materials.
What to remember?
- Complete description of person (Age, Sex, Height,
Weight, Hair, Scars, Marks, Tattoos)
- Vehicle description and last known direction of travel
(Tag #, Year, Make, Model, Body Type, Number of passengers, Unusual descriptors-
i.e. bumper stickers or damage)
What to do with this information?
- Call your local police department, or
- In case of an emergency dial 792-4196. Assist law
enforcement in allocating limited resources in the direction of possible suspicious
activity and allow police to handle the situation from there. Alert community
members who are aware of what to look for, what to remember and what to do
with that information are one of the best tools that we can use in order to
work together to help combat domestic terrorism.
For more information, visit these links:
U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
www.dhs.gov
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
www.fbi.gov
South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED)
www.sled.state.sc.us
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