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The Department of Homeland Security has awarded $10 million to 29 select projects to support the development of a nationwide Terrorism and Targeted Violence Prevention (TVTP) Framework. These awards were made through a competitive process under the Fiscal Year 2020 Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention Grant Program.

The FBI’s Preliminary Uniform Crime Report, January–June, 2020, reveals overall declines in the number of violent crimes and property crimes reported for the first six months of 2020 when compared with figures for the first six months of 2019. The report is based on information from 12,206 law enforcement agencies that submitted three to six months of comparable data for both years to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program.

Digital Shadows revealed new research looking at the growing problem of company access keys inadvertently exposed during software development. Access keys, and their corresponding secrets, are used by developers to authenticate into other systems.

Two new public safety committees were created this month by University of Utah Chief Safety Officer Marlon Lynch and appointed by U President Ruth Watkins. The Public Safety Advisory Committee and the Independent Review Committee are comprised of students, faculty, and staff from across the institution and are designed to ensure a broad representation of constituents are included in public safety decision-making.

Delaware's state correctional leaders opened the Department of Correction Intelligence Operations Center (IOC). The statewide facility will be operated by the Special Operations Group within the Bureau of Prisons. The IOC positions will allow the DOC to identify security threats from across facilities, assess them, and proactively act to mitigate those risks.

 

In the 19 years that have passed since Sept. 11, 2001, Americans have seen significant increases in counterterrorism security in public venues, including more security guards, closed-circuit TV cameras, metal detectors and bag checks. A study by the USC Center for Risk and Economic Analysis of Terrorism Events (CREATE) finds out that people are still willing to pay more for increased security at public venues almost two decades later.

To help Project 25 (P25) users navigate the continuing evolution of P25 systems and the complex world of P25 Standards, the P25 Steering Committee, with support from CISA, developed the Statement of Project 25 User Needs (SPUN) as a framework for users to better understand P25 technologies and define their communications needs.

DHS and CISA joined the Colorado Rockies, along with the Rockies’ state, local and federal partners for a virtual tabletop exercise to review incident preparedness measures and response plans at Coors Field in a continuing effort to ensure fan, staff and team safety.

As businesses and schools seek to bring people back to brick and mortar establishments, it’s going to be important to make customers, students and teachers feel comfortable, in addition to simply following guidelines. Customers are going to have to feel that it’s worth going out, versus shopping on-line. For retailers, that comfort might in part be derived from visible occupancy monitoring efforts and automated voice-down messages when people aren’t wearing masks or keeping their distance.

In late February 2020, news broke in the United States that the once faraway threat of a “novel coronavirus” had spread to U.S. soil. As COVID-19 case numbers in major cities grew, stay-at-home orders were put in place, businesses closed, restaurants shifted to take-out only, and retailers adopted curbside service. All of this took place to slow the spread of COVID-19.  Meanwhile, however, hospitals remained open — accepting new patients at the direction of the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and working diligently to adhere to new safety guidelines. During virus, or any pandemic outbreaks, we are acutely reminded of our essential frontline healthcare workers, the critical need to enhance their overall safety, security, and to be as efficient as possible when communicating vital information.