Radiological Security Awareness And Response (RSAR): An Integrated Approach To Supporting Law Enforcement - City Of Miami Case Study

Facilities that use high-activity radioactive materials can be vulnerable to both outsider and insider adversaries. Hospitals, research laboratories, and industrial sites are open civilian facilities, and are, therefore, considered soft targets. These facilities could be easily accessed, and their security personnel are often unarmed. These sites depend on local law enforcement to provide an effective response should an attempted radiological theft occur. The ORS security strategy relies on a timely, well-equipped, and well-trained response to contain an adversary attempting to steal radioactive materials before they leave the facility. The ORS Response Integration team adopted RSAR, Radiological Security Awareness and Response, to accomplish four (4) objectives to meet the security strategy and the role of local law enforcement agencies (LLEA). They are (1) Outreach directly to City Leadership and Emergency Management with a focus on senior LLEA officials; (2) Technical assistance for the creation of policy specific to the prevention and response to attempted thefts of radiological materials; (3) Alarm Integration of sites in their jurisdictions directly into police dispatch and command centers; (4) Creation of customized training programs and products for their patrol forces focused on radiological security. This panel discussion will explore the RSAR process further by examining the collaborative effort in the City of Miami, Florida during the Fall/Winter of 2019 as the they prepared for Super Bowl 54 in February 2020.