`Continue With Normal Routines`

Governor James E. McGreevey has asked New Jersey residents to continue with their normal routines and not to allow terror or fear interrupt their day-to-day lives.

“We cannot let terror and fear dictate our lives,” said McGreevey. “New Jersey is doing everything possible to ensure the safety of our families and communities. I remind New Jerseyans that we must not let the fear of war disrupt our way of life, or break our American spirit. I hope and pray that our efforts turn out to be nothing more than an exercise in caution and that measures we’ve taken are never necessary. But we must be, and we are, prepared.”

The Governor, along with the Office of Counter Terrorism Director Sid Caspersen and the New Jersey Domestic Security Preparedness Task Force, have worked to ensure that New Jersey’s infrastructure, transportation network, schools and communities are safe and secure.

“Citizens of New Jersey should rest assured that every action is being taken to prevent a terrorist attack in our state,” said Caspersen. “While no plan can be fool proof, the State is far better prepared than it was before the September 11th terror attacks. All levels of government have come together to coordinate their collective resources to deter and respond to events should they occur.”

The Governor has coordinated the State’s efforts with the Department of Homeland Security and Secretary Tom Ridge to share information regarding the latest updates from the federal government. New Jersey is also working closely with our neighbors—New York, Pennsylvania and Connecticut—to increase protection at our shared infrastructure sites.

The following are the recent steps the Governor has taken to enhance security throughout the State:

Securing Critical Infrastructure and Transportation Hubs
* The Governor signed an Executive Order last night to further the security at our tunnels, bridges, nuclear power plants, ports, airports and railways by increasing the number of New Jersey National Guardsmen that are deployed at these critical areas.
* Increased random State Trooper truck, tanker vehicle, and hazardous material vehicle inspections throughout New Jersey’s major highways and thoroughfares.
* State Troopers are providing security checks in service and parking areas on highways to include toll roads.
* Increased State Police presence on NJ Transit trains, PATH trains, and major rail stations.
* Mobilized patrols and inspections by the State Police Marine Police with heightened awareness concerning ports and bridges.
* Enhanced State Police and National Guard protection on major tunnels, bridges, and nuclear power plants.
* Increased patrols with the State Police and National Guard at Newark Liberty Airport and select regional airports.
* NJ Transit employees are receiving terrorism training as part of an increased effort to improve security for 400,000 commuters.
* NJ Transit police have added police officers to the force and increased random sweeps, which include K-9 units trained in the detection of explosives.
* Bus drivers are given special training and two-way radios to ensure that any suspicious activity can be quickly reported.
* NJ Transit has developed a 1-888-TIPSNJT Hotline encouraging commuters to report any and all suspicious activity.

In addition to these efforts, the Governor has worked with various state departments to implement the following security enhancements:

Fighting Identification Fraud
* Department of Motor Vehicles is improving security by installing surveillance cameras, motion detectors, new alarm systems and increased law enforcement presence at facilities.
* DMV is also implementing Digitized Driver Licenses to lessen the probability of identification fraud.

Securing the Health Community
* The New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services installed a communications system that has connected all 85 of the state’s acute-care hospitals on the 800 megahertz State Police system.
* The New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services, in coordination with county and municipal officials, have made available Potassium Iodide pills to those individuals that live within a 10-mile radius of nuclear generating plants.
* New Jersey has developed a Smallpox Response Plan. More than 600 public health and hospital volunteers representing 50 New Jersey hospitals have been vaccinated and are prepared to respond in the event of an outbreak.
* Established a team of health care experts to serve as an on-call rapid response team for suspected biological events.

Heightened Awareness among First Responders
* Activation of the 24-hr Emergency Operations Center at State Police Headquarters.
* Implementation and activation of the Homeland Security Center of Excellence, which serves as the focal point for the New Jersey Guard domestic security activities.
* HAZMAT teams statewide have been created and trained to respond to hazardous materials and biological weapons of mass destruction events.
* 13 Community Emergency Response Teams have been established statewide comprised of citizen volunteers, trained to assist first responders.
* Office of Counter Terrorism, in collaboration with the FBI and New Jersey State Police have trained over 1,000 local law enforcement officers to combat terrorism.
* Office of Emergency Management is disseminating threat alert level information on a regular basis to all 21 county emergency management coordinators and 566 local emergency management coordinators.

Protecting our Environment
* DEP Emergency response personnel (nuclear and chemical) were mobilized and all monitoring and response equipment has been checked and is ready for deployment.
* Communications were established with the state’s nuclear power plants.
* The New Jersey Department of Agriculture is collaborating with U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to implement additional security measures for the agricultural and food sectors.

Establishment of the Office of Counter-Terrorism
* Maintained daily contact with the state’s 21 county prosecutors to enhance statewide information and intelligence gathering functions.
* Communicated with lead agencies in the private sector to ensure increased security and vigilance at critical infrastructure sites. Critical infrastructure includes utilities, transportation assets, and chemical facilities.
* Monitoring and maintaining a data bank of information regarding terrorists and terrorist related activity.
* Developed a cyber-terrorism Task Force to develop methods to protect critical information systems.
* Deployment of technology to frontline law enforcement personnel to better enable the interdiction of potential terrorists bearing radiological materials.

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Author: Micah Rasmussen