by K. Jack Riley

This is the second in a series of articles on the topics and issues that will be presented at the ?Building Partnerships for a Stronger Community? Leadership Training Institute Seminar scheduled for January 25-27, 2007, at the Sheraton Delfina Hotel in Santa Monica, Calif.

Nearly a year after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, and five years after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the United States has strived to improve its ability to respond to emergencies. However, more can and should be done.

Well planned strategies on the local, regional, state and national levels are needed to effectively prepare for an emergency response to natural disasters, unforeseen crises, and possible terrorist attacks when possible. More importantly, emergency response plans are vital so as to limit the damage caused by such events when they occur.

Developing local, as well as regional emergency response plans will save lives, property and money in the years ahead. Successful region-wide emergency response plans require not only sound policy decisions by local government officials, but also strong regional partnerships among several government entities.

As an example, let?s take a closer look at the regional area surrounding Pittsburgh.

More than $72 million in federal aid has come to the region since Sept. 11, 2001, to help first responders ? police, fire departments, hospitals, ambulance operators and other emergency responders. At the same time, federal aid has also been used to develop procedures to guide emergency response to other types of disasters, and to help protect critical infrastructure in the region.

Even with the progress that has been made across the country so far, four serious gaps in the overall emergency preparedness remain across the United States.

First, funding and other resources are being diverted from traditional law enforcement and emergency response activities to support homeland security missions. This means that police departments in the region and elsewhere must cut other items in their budgets to prepare for a natural disaster or terrorist attack. Eventually, this diversion of resources may come home to roost in the form of higher crime rates, slower response times and other erosions of community safety.

Second, emergency response agencies need to better prepare to work together after an emergency. Problems involving agencies unable to communicate with each other over different radio frequencies, having different ways of operating and being confused over which emergency response agency is in charge remain throughout the United States.

Third, government spending and preparation continue to be focused on responding to emergencies, rather than on preventing them or reducing their consequences. And more needs to be done to strengthen building codes, better evaluate the risk of natural hazards and increase the number of people and businesses buying insurance against flooding and other hazards.

Finally, the federal government does not yet have national readiness metrics and performance benchmarks established for emergency response to disasters and terrorist attacks. These metrics are important to understand how federal support dollars should be allocated. Without being able to measure ? consistently and over time ? how ready a community is for the hazards it faces, government funding and other resources cannot be effectively allocated.

Today, we should be asking ourselves the simple but fundamental public service question: What is in the best interest of our customers? our citizens? The answer will not be found in turf and competition, but rather in unity and synergy?through a shared philosophy of governmental collaboration toward a common objective.

Details: For more information on this seminar, contact the Leadership Training Institute at (202) 626-3170 or visit the NLC website at www.nlc.org.

K. Jack Riley will serve as an opening session speaker on Friday morning, January 26, with a presentation on America?s Emergency Response System.

K. Jack Riley is the associate director of RAND Infrastructure, Safety and Environment (ISE).  ISE division manages RAND?s work for seven federal cabinet agencies, including the department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice.  Riley?s recent publications include, ?State and Local Intelligence in the War on Terrorism? and ?When Terrorism Hits Home: How Prepared Are State and Local Law Enforcement??