CBRN and Hazmat Incidents at Major Public Events: Planning and Response

CHAPTER 17

Law Enforcement and Security Response

Both deliberate acts of CBRN terrorism and accidents involving HAZMAT will require significant response efforts from law-enforcement agencies and other security providers. While their exact responsibilities in CBRN/HAZMAT incidents will vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, certain aspects of response will always fall into the realm of police and security agencies. Of particular importance will be scene control, armed intervention, and forensic issues.

SCENE CONTROL AND PUBLIC ORDER ISSUES

The most important police and security function in the immediate aftermath of a CBRN/HAZMAT incident is maintenance of public order. This manifests itself in the CBRN/HAZMAT arena as the important function of scene control. As we have discussed in Chapter 13, establishing scene control is extremely important in incident management.

Perimeters and Cordons

A key component of scene control is the establishment of perimeters, called cordons in some areas of the world. The primary purpose of a perimeter is to keep unauthorized people out of the affected area, and this task will need someone with authority to enforce it. An important secondary mission of perimeters will be to keep people and property inside, as it may be necessary to exit a scene through a decontamination line. Many incidents and incident-management schemes may require multiple cordons or perimeters. Some cordon or perimeter measures may require personnel to wear an appropriate level ...