A sniper was on the loose outside a major metropolitan area, indiscriminately shooting innocent citizens as they filled their gas tanks or purchased supplies at the local shopping center. For weeks the shooter alluded police from several counties, municipalities, state police and federal agencies.

In 2002 this unknown gunman was crisscrossing jurisdictional boundaries around the beltway in Washington D.C., wreaking fear on communities around our nation's capital. Police involved were struggling to connect the dots between the cases.

What was very much needed was the ability to link criminal justice databases, says Capt. Eddie Reyes with the Alexandria (Virginia) Police Department. He is assigned to the CommTech program (formerly AGILE), the communications technology program of the National Institute of Justice (NIJ).

NIJ provided a software program to the agencies during the sniper incident called COPLink. It is an analytical program that can integrate disparate databases. By storing multiple RMS data in one central warehouse, searches can make connections between multiple repositories. One search can find suspects' associates, past addresses, phone numbers, etc.

COPLink, which can be relatively expensive to get up and running because of the personnel required to integrate and standardize many agencies' criminal justice databases, was provided free of charge for the short-term to the agencies working on the sniper incident.

NIJ is traditionally viewed as an agency that provides unbiased technical reports and standards for equipment, says Reyes, "but most don't realize the technical and financial assistance" it now specializes in. Many public safety leaders are unaware of this wealth of planning assistance - from operations planning to technical assistance - that is available to them at no cost through CommTech.

CommTech program
Interoperability is one of the research missions of the NIJ and its communications side of the house, the CommTech program. Through CommTech, NIJ provides solutions to both short- and long-term interoperability problems involving wireless public safety telecommunications and information technology applications.

CommTech is helping bridge the gap in emergency communications by identifying, adopting and developing interoperability solutions that include open architecture standards for voice, data, image and video communication systems. These solutions will allow multiple parties to exchange information on the spot - no matter where that spot is. It will allow users to exchange information among fixed facilities, mobile platforms and even personal devices. CommTech specialists help in several ways. Most agencies do not recognize that the expertise can be called in at the planning stage, which is crucial in getting a leg up on smooth planning and over hurdles. CommTech staff also comes into the field. "We will actually be on scene if necessary and provide technical support and assistance during the event," says Charles Stephenson, senior communications specialist. Following the event, CommTech staff also can generate lessons learned. The CommTech Program uses operational test beds, such as the Alexandria PD, to integrate, test and evaluate technologies that can contribute to addressing interoperability needs. CommTech goals are two-fold, Stephenson notes.

• First, to provide info to the public safety community about strategies and methods for achieving and enhancing the level of interoperability across disciplines (fire, police, EMS) and jurisdictions through its outreach program.
• Second, research and development in areas such as standards development (for example, the P25 open air interface).

Technical expertise & planning
CommTech has lent support in both technical expertise and planning for events from the 2005 Presidential Inauguration to a Phish concert in Vermont. It has helped plan events in the nation's capital such as the World War II Memorial Dedication to the annual National Police Week events.

The type of technological support CommTech provides largely falls into two groups: on-site technical assistance, and interoperability equipment such as gateway switches. Every situation is different and every department has unique needs, says Stephenson. "We help to draw on any lessons learned and match technology to their requirements."

To help pull events such as the WWII dedication together, CommTech staff drafted a letter to all participating agencies in the capital region to collect basic information. It queried the number of officers that would respond, type of radio assets and channel plans they had, if national high-tech channels (interoperable channels) were available, and so forth.

"We were looking for something common to bridge departments together," Stephenson explains. In that case, many agencies in and around the beltway use the 800-MHz band; to provide connectivity mutual-aid responders were given a handheld in that band.

A lesson learned
The WWII Memorial planning proved a valuable lesson for future events, and helped prepare for an even bigger event - the Presidential Inauguration which took place just six months later.

Typically, says Reyes, an acceptable timeframe for communications planning is at minimum three months. Unfortunately, it is usually dependent on completion of the operations plan. If that is not in place, the communication plan usually has to wait.

In the case of the WWII event, communications planners were given about a three-week lead time. While they began disseminating information to participating agencies at this time, the plan included action items, such as pre-programming radios. The lead time simply did not leave ample enough time to complete the tasks, and agencies came ill-prepared, acknowledges Reyes. Thankfully there were no incidents, but it was a lesson learned for future events.

2005 inauguration
In anticipation of the January 2005 inauguration of George W. Bush, the U.S. Secret Service contacted CommTech in October 2004 to initiate the communi- cations plan. The Gateway Subsystem at the Alexandria PD underwent its first operational use as part of the communications infrastructure used to support security for the inauguration.

The CommTech Project Team offered use of the Subsystem (including the ACU-1000 switch manufactured by JPS Communications) since it met most of the interoperability requirements of the Secret Service. The CommTech team worked with the group to extend the configuration to interface with the radio systems of the Secret Service, U.S. Capitol Police and FBI. Additional antennas and radios created the interface between the Gateway Subsystem and these agencies.

During Inauguration activities, a link was opened to connect these three agencies with the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) and the U.S. Park Police (USPP). Since MPD and USPP are currently participating in operational testing of the Gateway Subsystem, it had already been configured to link with the radio systems of those agencies. The link was open on a continuous basis for 36 hours and designated for use in the event of a major incident. While no major incident occurred, testing and incidental radio traffic confirmed the link was operational during the designated time period.

According to the Secret Service After Action Report, "The equipment functioned as designed, providing good cross-band transmit and receive audio to all agencies. The ease of operation and versatility was excellent. The [ACU-1000] software provided excellent accessibility to the modules being used for the multiple sites and could be manipulated to isolate sites instantaneously."

Operational best practices
Stephenson offers three words of advice: Plan, plan, plan. "You can never do too much," he says.

Planning for events is more involved than in the past, concurs Reyes. Prior to 9/11, planners might simply map a chart during a meeting; now it's generally agreed that it's best if the security force physically assess the location. They may also observe what happens at different times of the day and week, and depending on the event's importance, may even go as far as to set up counter surveillance weeks in advance.

Personnel need time to conduct bomb sweeps either by hand search or magnetometer, and then lock down a perimeter. The additional operations are increasing personnel required at events. "What may have been 20 [staff] may now be multiplied by three," notes Reyes.

To counter heightened threats, mutual-aid situations are on the rise. The USPP, which customarily ran events independently, reached out to law enforcement officers as far as Los Angeles and Texas, for the WWII dedication and inauguration, explains Reyes.

Good planning goes a long way. "Just picking up the phone doesn't always go that smoothly," he notes. "Some [agencies] are still reluctant to participate, and there are turf wars to be ironed out."

The best way to overcome misunderstandings on both sides of the fence, are Memorandums of Understanding (MOU). These documents are a contract that clearly and legally describe in detail the period of time, the resources each will contribute, and what each is expected to do. CommTech staff is able to lend support to agencies in development of MOUs.

With human nature what it is, just spending the extra time in the planning stages greatly enhances cooperation, observes Reyes.

"Public safety is time and resource challenged," Stephenson points out. Probably the biggest obstacle to good planning is "finding the time that everyone can get together."

Planning these large events is sometimes an ancillary function, adds Reyes. "Dedicating personnel to the event planning would be helpful."

"You can't prepare for every type of emergency," Stephenson continues, "but if you know who will come to your aid, plan with them. Along with that, train. Conduct exercises with the departments that will work together in an incident or a major event."

In preplanning stages and as ongoing practice, says Reyes, "those that will be involved with the operation need to know, learn or stay current with databases that will be utilized, including new technology that is available. Also, identify persons that will need clearances or special credentialing early in the planning to avoid delays."

At minimum, tabletop exercises with key personnel need to be conducted. This can be accomplished internally or through the main organizers of the event. "I thought this worked especially well with the inaugural event when all the players [gathered] in a room and ran 10 to 15 scenarios. [This] made agencies speak to one another about operational issues in real time."

"Communications always seems one of the problems in coordinating," says Fred McAnn, supervisor with the Bossier (Louisiana) Parish EMS and president, Bossier Parish Fire Chiefs Association. The area is the recipient of an ACU-1000 gateway switch, which was funded by federal homeland security grants. CommTech provided all the technical support.

"The first thing [planning] did was to allow all the folks to sit down and get to know each other - to put a face to name - to get to know our counterparts," he says. "I hope it helps in the future to allow public safety to be more efficient in their time of need. Getting everyone familiar with each other solves [a range of] problems and a lot of good ideas [surfaced] that wouldn't have been shared."

The system was tested during a recent fugitive round-up known as Operation Falcon, in conjunction with the U.S. Marshalls. It was a success and led to 238 local arrests. It is expected to be used at the annual state fair, Mardi Gras parade and Barksdale Air Force Base Defender's of Liberty air show in conjunction with the Holiday and Dixie Festival, events that attract thousands of attendees.

It continues to be tweaked and tested. On October 19, the first wide-scale deployment for local law enforcement, firefighters and EMS was conducted via a regional Office of Domestic Preparedness drill. Utilizing dual JPS Communication ACU-1000 switches, it connected communications on three separate frequency bands.

The system will connect virtually all the public safety in the area, including state and local police, federal agencies, such as the U.S. Marshals, fire, EMS, local AFB and even department of public works.

If Bossier County happens to be involved in a high-speed pursuit such as the one in Houston, they'll be ready.