NCBRT Prepares NYPD for Potential Biological Incident

May 28, 2014

The National Center for Biomedical Research and Training taught the Biological Incidents Awareness course to 904 participants over six days in April. The New York Police Department Counter-Terrorism Bureau's Training Division hosted the training. Participants from all boroughs and divisions, including the World Trade Center, Transit, Patrol, Emergency Service Unit, and the Academy, attended the training. In addition, participants from the United Nations Force were also in attendance.

The course provided a brief overview of biological incidents that have occurred; biological agents that are naturally occurring, could be accidentally released, or could be used deliberately; the typical course of disease and how that may vary in a deliberate incident; an overview of biological agents as terrorist weapons; and methods of protection from biological agents, with an emphasis on protection using methods and equipment readily available to emergency responders and the general public.

This course may not be the first type of training that comes to mind when thinking about the preparedness of the NYPD, but it is absolutely necessary. "New York City has experienced bio attacks, such as the anthrax letters shortly after the 9/11 attacks, before and realizes the potential is there for others to attempt this type of attack," said Barry Mounce, NCBRT Instructor.

"They have extensive resources through specialized teams to handle this type of attack but also realize it is the front line officer that is key to early recognition and accessing the proper specialized teams to safely mitigate this type of incident. These classes were aimed at doing just that."

"We expected to have a group of professional students but were unsure about their true interest in the class. The NYPD is so unique due to its large size and the city being is so diverse that we had concerns that the students would feel this this was a low priority, but that was not the case at all. The students were eager to improve their knowledge in this area thus allowing them to better protect themselves and the public they serve.”