It's been more than two years since the terrorist attacks on the twin towers and the Pentagon, and local law enforcement is sending a message. They want to make sure we don't lose sight of the threat of future attacks.
Two dozen chemical and biological protective suits stand ready to go in Leon County. All of this equipment has been purchased since September 2001.
"The threat is still there. In the international news on a daily basis, things are happening. We have reason to believe they will eventually happen in our country again," says Sheriff Larry Campbell.
Leon County and FDLE officials want to remind people to not lose sight of the threat of terrorism.
"First and foremost, we want to prevent something from occurring anywhere in our 67 counties in Florida and where that's not possible, we want a swift and effective response to mitigate, respond and recover," says FDLE regional director Tom McInerney.
This equipment represents part of the $8 million investment so far in our 13-county Florida region. Florida will get another $90 million of homeland security money in 2004.
"People in the Big Bend, in our 13-county area can rest assured we're on top of the situation. We have equipment necessary to handle the situation at the local level until federal supplies could come in, depending on what the particular threat was."
The Leon County Sheriff's Office has established a homeland security intelligence unit. It's the first such unit in the region. The unit will coordinate training and intelligence gathering involving terrorism.
