On May 28, 2015, the Los Angeles Mayor’s Office and the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Domestic Nuclear Detection Office (DNDO) hosted a demonstration of radiological and nuclear detection capabilities in the Los Angeles and Long Beach area.
The detection capabilities are part of DNDO’s Securing the Cities (STC) program, a DHS effort that assists metropolitan areas as they build and establish regional and sustainable program structures that enable agencies to detect, interdict, and report on nuclear and other radioactive materials that are out of regulatory control. The program was initiated in the New York City, Jersey City, and Newark region as a pilot and later expanded to the Los Angeles and Long Beach area in 2012. The National Capital Region is the third implementation of the program and DHS intends to expand the program to a fourth location by the end of 2015.
During the demonstration, law enforcement partners from the Los Angeles Police and Fire Departments simulated a scenario where patrol officers encountered an alarm on a routine traffic stop and adjudicated the alarm with support from the Southern California Radiological Intake Center (SCRIC). The SCRIC dispatched additional personnel with spectroscopic personal radiation detectors to resolve the alarm. Following the demonstration, attendees had the opportunity to view detection equipment including personal radiation detectors, mobile systems on a Los Angeles Port Police patrol vessel, backpack detection systems, and radiological isotope identification devices.
The STC program is possible because of the congressional support and the important efforts of our state and local partners including those in the Los Angeles and Long Beach area. We were honored to be joined at the event by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard, Congressman Ted Lieu, and partners from the Los Angeles Fire Department, Los Angeles Police Department, Los Angeles Port Police, Orange County Sheriff’s Department, Los Angeles County Fire Department, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, and Los Angeles World Airports Police.
Collaboration between DHS and local agencies in the Los Angeles and Long Beach area will help to further secure the region. We look forward to enhancing the regional capabilities and continuing these valuable partnerships with the Los Angeles Mayor’s Office and law enforcement agencies in the area.