State of the Station:
Law enforcement priorities for 2002

Captain Robert Osborne
Commander of the Lakewood Sheriff's Station

On September 11, 2001, I awoke to radio reports of a plane crash disaster at the World Trade Center in New York City. I quickly went to my television and watched with my teenage son, the horrific pictures of carnage and destruction in New York City and in Washington D.C. By the time I arrived at my office here in Lakewood, there were additional reports of a plane crash in Pennsylvania. Then, came the images of the collapse of the two towers. Just a couple of years earlier, my family and I had stood together atop those towers drinking in the magnificence of the view.

As I watched the towers collapse, a number of thoughts became vivid in my mind. I imagined the horror of those trapped in the collapsing buildings. I knew that literally hundreds of emergency service personnel, police, and firefighters had just lost their lives. One other thought became stuck in my mind: Policing, as I had known it, had been forever changed in that instant.

Quickly thereafter, a new buzzword was unleashed upon the American public -”homeland security.” I have been asked to say a few words today regarding homeland security and what it means for the City of Lakewood, its residents and businesses.

The concept of "homeland security" fits nicely into the public-safety framework of modern policing. We are not mere enforcers of the law; rather, we are keepers of the public peace, ensuring that each of us can enjoy the freedoms that are ours in this great country.

The phrase “homeland security” is a recognition of a new threat to our freedoms, that of terrorist attack. While local public safety officials have always been responsible to watch out for and to respond to terrorist activities and attacks, there was little expectation that any large-scale terrorism effort was imminent. “Homeland security” is a statement that public safety staff must now be more alert to such threats and ready to respond to threats that we would never have imagined just a few months ago.

I’d like to share with you what has been going on in the City of Lakewood over the past few months on the “homeland security” front. Much of the work has been preparatory and behind-the-scenes, yet the accomplishments are significant.

Under the direction of Sheriff Lee Baca, a coordinated and expanded county Terrorist Early Warning Group is operational. This has expanded our ability to maintain timely communication with policing agencies nationwide, even worldwide, as it relates to potential and actual terrorism activity. This effort was so successful, that Sheriff Baca was named to head the State of California’s statewide terrorism information network.

We have expanded existing partnerships with our public safety partners in the Fire Department by updating and creating plans and protocols for responding to a wide variety of potential threats. These response protocols include the usual types of events, such as fires and accidents, as well as unusual events, such as mass evacuations, hazardous material incidents and, yes, even “anthrax” scares.

We have continued to update our emergency response protocols for critical facilities throughout the city. In fact, our patrol force checks various locations every shift. While these protocols have been updated annually for some time, in 2001, we added specific considerations for terrorism-related situations in our advance-planning procedures.

The City of Lakewood continues to expand its LAND, Neighborhood Watch and CARE programs. These programs equip residents in our community to assist with emergency responses, as well as to recognize situations that are out of the ordinary and should be reported to the Department. We will continue working hand-in-hand with our city-staff partners to keep members of these programs aware of current issues and prepared to assist in any time of trouble. The nature of terrorism is that it is unpredictable. However, the City of Lakewood’s preparedness to respond to a wide variety of emergencies is predictable, and second to none.

I am pleased to report to you that the City of Lakewood, by any estimation, is not an area rich with potential terrorist targets. However, we must be careful to not allow ourselves to be lulled by a sense of denial that would cause us to believe that nothing could ever happen. Your public safety staff will continue working to stay ahead of the curve and be prepared to respond to any event that might occur.

I would be remiss if I did not take this opportunity to emphasize the important role of the public in furthering our country’s and the City of Lakewood’s homeland security program. It is you, the ordinary worker or resident in the City of Lakewood, who is best suited to recognize situations, as well as the activities of people, which are unusual for your neighborhood or workplace.

We in public safety encourage you to call us when you note anything suspicious. We would rather respond to many, many concerns that later are determined to be false, than to miss the one which results in danger to our community.

Finally, on behalf of the men and women of the Sheriff's Department and Fire Department, I want to thank the Lakewood community for your expressions of support since September 11.

Just remember that the people hailed as heroes today are the same ones who quietly went about their duties before September 11, and who continue to do the same today. We did not get into this business to be heroes, but to provide a necessary service for our fellow citizens. The men and women wearing uniforms and driving in patrol cars and on fire apparatuses have always been my heroes, and I pray they will always be yours as well.