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Report: DOJ Not “Fully Prepared' For WMDs
The U.S. Justice Department is not "fully prepared" to respond to an attack with a weapon of mass destruction, according to a report released Tuesday by the department's inspector general."One of the greatest concerns is that a WMD may fall into the hands of terrorists or that terrorists will develop their own WMD," the inspector general's office said in a statement accompanying the report. "However, the Department of Justice has not implemented adequate WMD response plans." Specifically, the Justice Department has not designated someone to oversee a WMD incident response, department personnel receive little training to respond to a WMD incident, and the department's Critical Incident Response Plan does not address WMD incidents because it has not been updated since 1996, when it was first approved, according to the inspector general's report. Under a "National Response Framework" issued by the Department of Homeland Security in 2008, the Justice Department is responsible for coordinating federal law enforcement activities after a potential WMD attack and for ensuring public safety and security if state and local law enforcement are overwhelmed, the inspector general's office said. But, according to the report, the Justice Department "is not prepared" to fulfill its role, failing to identify people to manage such obligations. In addition, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, which is leading the effort, has not developed a catalog of law enforcement resources available in the case of a WMD incident, according to the inspector general's office. One component of the Justice Department, though, did receive praise from the inspector general's report. The FBI had taken "appropriate steps" to prepare to respond to a WMD incident, according to the report. "Part of the FBI's primary mission is to prevent WMD incidents and investigate WMD threats," the report said. "The FBI has developed various plans, handbooks, and other resources to guide its staff in responding to a WMD incident. Further, the FBI regularly provides its staff with training specific to WMD incidents." As for the other components, the report made five recommendations, including requiring that the Justice Department designate someone with the authority to manage a response program and requiring components to update their own policies and plans. "It is critical that the Department address the deficiencies identified in our report so that it would be better prepared to respond if such an attack occurs," Inspector General Glenn Fine said in a statement. In a letter to the inspector general's office before the report was released, a Justice Department official said "the fundamental conclusion of the report is sound." "The Department of Justice should do more in order to formally and centrally coordinate emergency response activities of all appropriate Department components," Associate Deputy Attorney General James Baker said in the letter. "The overall recommendations of the report strike us all as helpful and informative." But, Baker said, the Justice Department has already made "substantial improvements" in the past year to help implement its role in the National Reponse Framework. A Justice Department spokesman declined to comment further. Posted by: tipper 2010-06-02 |
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