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American Morning
Homeland Security: Interview of Police Chiefs on New Measures, Costs
Aired October 31, 2001 - 09:41 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Time to turn our attention to four top police officials, to see what security steps they are now taking.
First, from Philadelphia, John F. Timoney, police commissioner since 1998. Welcome back.
JOHN TIMONEY, PHILADELPHIA POLICE: Hi, Paula.
ZAHN: From the Midwest, joining us this morning is Detroit Police Chief Charles E. Wilson.
CHIEF CHARLES WILSON, DETROIT POLICE: How are you doing, Paula?
ZAHN: I'm fine, thanks.
And just a commute from nation's capitol is Edward T. Norris, police commissioner in Baltimore, Maryland, who joins us from New York.
Good morning to you all.
CHIEF EDWARD NORRIS, BALTIMORE, POLICE: Good morning.
ZAHN: I am going to have you all briefly tell me what your city has done, particularly in light of this latest threat that the government shared with us earlier this week.
Mr. Wilson of Detroit?
WILSON: We've been on a highest state of alert since the September 11 attack. Moreover, when we received the first alert on October the 11th, we stepped up our contingency planning, we opened our channels of communication, talked to all of our stakeholders, looked at all the potential targets that could bring destruction, death, or notoriety to the terrorist attack. And we're working with those security apparatus, the professionals in our community to step up our security in those areas.
ZAHN: Let's move on to Baltimore now. That would be Police Chief Norris. What's going on in your city, sir?
NORRIS: We're doing all the things this other cities are doing: physical security, four steps of preparedness. But we have, I believe, one of the best biosurveillance systems in the country. Out health commissioner is are tracking absenteeism, small animals that end up dead, emergency room admissions, over-the-counter flu medications, and the like for the anthrax-type scare. In addition, we're doing a whole lot of intelligence collecting and being very proactive in the street.
It's yielding some results. We found someone who was trying to crash the computer system at John Hopkins Hospital sympathizer of bin laden. We found him on other own, just by tapping all our informants and being very assertive.
ZAHN: What were they trying to accomplish by attacking the computer system, sir?
NORRIS: We don't know. We did find out that he was going to do that. But you have got to remember that John Hopkins the only center in the country for bioterrorism research. So we don't know exactly what he had in mind, but we got him before he did anything.
ZAHN: And Commissioner Timoney, what is going on in Philadelphia these days?
TIMONEY: Since September 11, a high state. But as these new warnings come out, you increase it somewhat. So really, it's a high state of alert, but you take it up a notch every now and again, depending on the information we're getting from the FBI.
ZAHN: Would the steps you're taking be things Joe Q. Public would recognize or less obvious than that?
TIMONEY: No, it's pretty obvious. Clearly, the uniformed presence at some of the major building or possible targets -- signature buildings: Liberty Bell, Constitutional Hall, the U.S. Mint. Then we have anywhere from six to eight rapid-assessment teams made up of a police officer, a fire officer, a health official, and a registered nurse, that actually is an intermediate step responding on the anthrax calls, which continue to be a problem in Philadelphia, and I'm sure in every other major city. You are getting anywhere from 50 to 60 a day, but it's not over the course of 24 hours; it's crunched in during daytime.
ZAHN: It's not clear how long you will be in this heightened state of alert. At least a week, the government tells us.
Chief Wilson, can you afford these extra layers of security you're now providing?
WILSON: We have to be able to afford it. Public safety is our first priority. And it's stressing our resources, but I have a very dedicated and professional organization. It's tough business that we do. I have officers who are committed to ensuring the safety of our community. And right now, we have some budget issues, but we're working through those, and we're hoping that some funds will come there the federal level for all of the additional steps that we're taking in this matter and in this situation.
ZAHN: Chief Norris, what are your financial concerns?
NORRIS: Very much the same. The first week since September 11 on, the first five days cost us almost $2 million in overtime. It's a tremendous financial hit for us. We have the same hopes that the chief of Detroit does, that we get some bailout from federal government, because this is very, very expensive.
ZAHN: Commissioner Timoney, we know you have close ties to some folks in the administration. He was not going to tell us today whether he was going to Homeland Security. I'll respect that. But do you have any level of optimism that these urban police departments will get extra help from the feds?
TIMONEY: I think they will. I'm going out to testify in Washington next week on this very issue. This is a long-term process, a minimum of a year, according to the Defense Department, but upwards of two years. That is an extraordinary impact, both financially and physically, on any police force, no matter how large. So we need assistance, and I don't blush about it; I consider us part of the Homeland Defense, and the money should come out of the Department of Defenses' budget.
ZAHN: Mr. Timoney, I don't want to pick on you this morning, because I know we've addressed this before, but you talked quite pointedly about the crime rate rising in your city since the September 11 attacks because of strained police forces. What can you do about that in the interim?
TIMONEY: That was clearly the first three weeks, as we put massive amounts of uniformed presence from narcotics into Center City. Most of those have been redeployed back out to the neighborhoods, where a lot of the violence does take place, particularly around drugs.
But it's a real issue. It's kind of a shame that the nation's at war but we still have citizens picking on one another, killing one another. It's a bit of a strain.
ZAHN: Chief Wilson, what is happening in your hometown? Have you seen an increase of crime because you've had to move your forces around to protect your public from other potential threats?
WILSON: No, we have not. We work closely, using similar what we call SAGES (ph), which is similar to COMSTAT, to track the hourly and daily and weekly crime patterns. We are staying on top of that. We meet with selected commands each Friday. We discuss the issues. We redeploy our resources from all the support organizations that we have within the department to support the patrol force.
So we're staying on top of that. We're going through another initiative, our Angel's Night campaign. So we've got this matter under control. Besides that, we're working in partnership with other federal, state, and other county and local departments. So we've got a massive deployment of personnel out there. We're staying on top of it. ZAHN: Gentlemen, I want to give you all about 20 seconds apiece for a closing thought on what the public should expect. I know there's a fine line we all have to walk between informing the public and scaring the heck out of them or leaving them in the dark.
Chief Norris, final advice to Americans today?
NORRIS: People should not panic. They have to understand as we get these warnings, we're at war, and it is going to continue for quite a long time. But they have know that we have their backs. We take this very seriously and are working very hard to protect the citizens of every city. They need to know that and really carry on life as normally as possible. But things have changed dramatically.
ZAHN: Chief Wilson?
WILSON: I would echo that. But we need the will, even at war, or in law enforcement, of the people. We need partnership with the people. We need participation.
We have shown over time that we are a strong nation. We have a strong will. And our law enforcement agencies and public safety agencies are at the point of spear. As the dedicated men and women in New York showed, we are willing to make the ultimate sacrifice and give our lives for America.
God bless America. Just stay with us.
ZAHN: Commissioner Timoney?
TIMONEY: I think there's a real role for average citizen or business person. If they see something suspicious, give us a call.
For example, we wound out picking up four guys who tried for three days in a row to rent a U-Haul truck without proper identification. We picked them up. INS picked up three of them that were in the country illegally. The fourth one is wanted on outstanding warrant for credit card abuse, forgery, and thievery.
So there is a role for the average citizen also to play.
ZAHN: Commissioner, I know you said you're heading to Washington, to testify next week. Are you hinting that you might be talking to Tom Ridge about potentially joining the Homeland Security department in some form?
TIMONEY: No, Paula, I'm going down to testify on what the localities need vis-a-vis the federal government.
ZAHN: He's long been rumored to join Tom Ridge down there, but he's not going to give us an inch today.
Gentlemen, thank you all for joining us, and best of luck as you try to protect your communities.
TIMONEY: Thanks, Paula. WILSON: Thank you, Paula.
NORRIS: Thank you.
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