Changing threat levels means little for La Verne

by Kenneth Todd Ruiz
Assistant Editor

Last week's decision by the Department of Homeland Security to lower the national terror threat level from "high" to "elevated" had no significant impact on La Verne's security preparation.

"The change in threat level doesn't change anything unless there is some other specific information," La Verne police Captain Charles Montoya said.

A presidential directive established the five-level Homeland Security Advisory System following the Sept. 11 attacks "to disseminate information regarding the risk of terrorist acts."

For most of February, the color-coded system was set to orange, indicating a high risk for terrorist attacks. Officials said they raised the threat level to orange from yellow Feb. 7 after specific intelligence indicated a possible attack, before lowering it again last Thursday.

"Among the factors considered was the passing of the Hajj, a Muslim religious period ending mid-February," Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge and Attorney General John Ashcroft said in a joint statement.

This was the second time the administration has ratcheted the threat level up to orange since the launch of the system in March 2002.

La Verne is considered an unlikely target for terrorism, however the presence of a university and airport do raise concerns.

"During the latest elevation of the threat level, (law enforcement) indicated college campuses might be 'soft targets,' partly because they may not be prepared like a government facility," said Campus Security Director John Lentz.

Addressing security concerns, the University of La Verne issued a bulletin outlining several suggestions for emergency preparedness that Lentz said are intended to increase awareness.

"Red, orange, green or whatever, it's all the same," ULV senior Augustin Quintana said. "We're always susceptible to an attack."

ULV has equipment and staff ready to run an emergency operations center in the event of a crisis, but has not changed procedure in light of changing threat levels, Lentz said. Electrical generators and three days of food are on hand for a protracted crisis. Lentz said students should familiarize themselves with the evacuation routes for campus buildings.

The University coordinates preparation efforts with the La Verne Police Department, which also has an emergency management system in place.

The city has a mutual aid arrangement with the county and neighboring municipalities to combine resources in the event of disasters such as last September's Williams Fire. These available resources allow the city to scale their response proportional to any incident that may arise, Montoya said.

La Verne depends entirely on the county for some resources ­ such as hazardous materials teams ­ that are not locally available. Information regarding terrorism threats is channeled electronically to the city police via the county's "Terrorism Early Warning System."

Residents and students should heighten their awareness, and report any suspicious activity to the police department, Montoya said, as proper preparations would prove critical if an attack were to happen.

"Don't dial 911," he said. "People need to be self-sufficient for the first 72 hours of a crisis."

Another post-Sept.11 response was the creation of a Transportation Security Administration to oversee the security of the nation's airports, including Brackett Field on the south side of La Verne.

"We have security measures in place to prevent another devastating attack such as 9-11," said regional TSA spokesman Nico Melendez. "All airports are safer than they ever have been."

Perimeter security at Brackett Field has increased, Melendez said, along with other security enhancements.

"We don't get into the specifics of what is being done to increase securitythat would provide a roadmap to terrorists," Melendez said.

"There is no ordinance or federal statute that says we have to do anything," said Jeffrey Chase, spokesman for Los Angeles county municipal airports. "Research is being done, but we haven't jumped in feet first like the federal government."

The personnel and pilots at Brackett Field are extremely conscious of security, Chase said. The airport is also home to several flight training schools. The regulation and oversight of such schools became an issue after a number of the Sept. 11 hijackers learned piloting skills at such schools.

Counties that have passed laws compelling flight schools to perform background checks on prospective students only drove business away, Chase said.

"Runway 3-7," a flight school at Brackett Field does not do background checks on students and requires only valid identification such as a ULV student card to enroll, said instructor Damien Miller.

The national terror threat level is back to yellow, indicating a "significant risk of attack." During the past year it has never been lowered to blue, a "general risk of terrorist attacks" or green, a "low risk of terrorist attacks."