Jonathan Duecker, Director of Homeland Security for Pennsylvania was the speaker for the evening. A crowd of more than 110 gathered in the courtyard at Charlestown Elementary School.

Do you wonder what is being done in Pennsylvania to protect our homeland security? Are you aware of Pennsylvania’s unique risks and how we are measuring up to addressing those risks? Do you wonder what progress has been made since 9/11 and what the U.S. can learn from London?

Over 110 Chester County residents braved the sweltering heat to hear answers to those and many other questions Monday night, July 25th, when PA Director of Homeland Security, Jonathan Duecker, addressed the Charlestown Citizens Forum.

Appointed by Governor Rendell in 2004 as the State’s Homeland Security Director, Mr. Duecker has an extensive career in counter terrorism and counterdrug intelligence launched at the U.S. Navy and continued in the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the private sector where he has advised companies and governments on offensive and defensive strategies. The job has special importance given Pennsylvania’s unique position between Washington D.C. and New York City — the heart of the threat-rich northeast corridor with its seaports, major cities, and extensive rail and road system.

Has progress occurred since 9/11? Duecker shared some positive developments. Our public airports have gotten safer, he feels, although we still need security improvements at the many private ones. In Pennsylvania, we have a good handle on what is critical infrastructure, and understand much better large public venues and specific recurring public events. Pennsylvania’s five nuclear facilities are well protected and not very vulnerable due to an impenetrable design and to strict access protocols. And as a community, we have gotten better at being aware — therefore we go to the heightened “Orange” state of alert far less often and for less periods of time. Pennsylvania in particular is universally respected in the nation for its strong regional alliances created; since most events are regional in nature, this is a good first start.

To be sure, vulnerabilities remain but for obvious reasons, Duecker was reluctant to share these publicly. Nor can attempted threats — if any have occurred — be publicized, as frustrating as this is to the public.

Additionally, despite the priority, resources for the many homeland security activities are comparatively limited. More funding for first responders and for building interagency communication would be beneficial. But given limited resources, Duecker explained how threats must be prioritized — there simply are not enough resources to track and plan for every possibility. First, how real or serious is the threat? Predictive analysis and careful study of terrorism world-wide is used to envision that. Second, how great is the vulnerability? Third, what is the magnitude of consequence if an event did occur? For example, weapons of mass destruction have a greater consequence than small fire arms. These rigorous parameters provide a lens from which to view terroristic threats and make hard choices about allocating resources.

A key job underway — in Pennsylvania and nationally — is to painstakingly build a data base quantifying normal activity in different regions. “Before 9/11 we knew more about West Africa than West Philadelphia,” Duecker stated. “Years of intelligence assets had created a baseline of information from which to gauge “unusual” activity.” A similar effort is now underway in the U.S. “It may take a decade or more to complete but we’re going in the right direction. This will help professionals quickly discern what is ubiquitous information vs. what is really suspicious activity.” He explained that the goal is to create Fusion Centers in key spots around the country with information categorized in a common language, enabling easy and quick inter-communication.

Mr. Duecker emphasized the following to the audience:

• Local law enforcement is the first line of defense and should be the most important focus — as they are first to detect and respond to unusual activity. The goal is to take what a street cop is seeing and get it into the hands of people who can analyze it. Citizens should help lawmakers be aware of this as they make funding choices.
• Citizens themselves can help tremendously by being vigilant to suspicious activity and things out of the ordinary in their daily routine — in their neighborhood, workplace, schools, shopping and recreation. This does not mean spying on your neighbor but rather noticing things that are out of the ordinary.
• Any suspicious activity should be reported to local law enforcement or the State police. Every one of these reports are taken seriously and followed up even though there is not feedback given to the reporter.

As far as learning from the London experience, there are some similarities but many differences. True, the entire city is wired with thousands of cameras and its renowned MI5 police are highly trained for emergencies. Yet, these assets in the U.S. would not necessarily translate into greater prevention in this country. England is an island with a discrete area to operate in vs. the vast territory of the continental U.S. The U.S. and the U.K. have very different demographics. Finally, the rules of engagement are different — politically and legally — where civil liberty infringements are less tolerated here vs. England. Duecker does believe that the many more visible armed police in the U.S. vs. in London are a deterrent, however.

Duecker cautioned that the trends we are seeing from the incidents in Madrid, London, Russia, and Iraq unfortunately show how terrorists learn a great deal from each. Therefore, U.S. authorities are using more predictive analysis — to look at trends that bad guys are following and stay one step ahead.

To a lay person, the job of overseeing PA’s Homeland Security seems downright overwhelming. At a minimum, communication needs to be fostered between 10+ cabinet agencies (such as the Departments of Agriculture, Education, Transportation, Environment, and many others). Then there is the information sharing (or lack thereof in the case of some U.S. intelligence agencies) with, and from, relevant Federal Agencies such as the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the FBI. There is further the coordination between Pennsylvania and the other States in the Northeast region — from Maine to North Carolina. And there is the vital need to share and receive information from the more than 5,000 independent local government units (the byproduct of being a Commonwealth state), the 2,400 separate law enforcement jurisdictions, and the even greater number of fire companies, many of which are volunteer.

If all this coordination and attempts to communicate weren’t alone a full time job, policy decisions, training, identifying vulnerabilities, responding to threat reports, and predicting future terrorism all have to take place with a total staff of three.

All this has to happen mainly through cajoling and force of relationships. Most of the initiatives are voluntary, especially with the private sector where a balance with economic competitiveness needs to be maintained. Mr. Duecker and his staff rely on partnerships with the private sector to gain participation and to make incremental improvements.

Mr. Duecker cautioned against a false sense of security just because there have not been any terrorist incidents on U.S. soil since 9/11. "Every day we have not had another terrorist attack is one day closer to having one,” he said.