News

from the washington post
Colorado is at risk for terrorism (domestic and international) and national security incidents. These incidents could take the form of threats and hoaxes, chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, small-scale conventional weapons or explosives, large improvised explosives, or cyber attacks.”

Colorado

http://www.colorado.gov/

Colorado ranks 10th of 50 states in the number of domestically focused counterterrorism and homeland security organizations (tied with Ohio), and fourth overall in organizations established or newly involved in counterterrorism since 9/11. In dollar amount, the state ranked 21st in fiscal 2009 in federal homeland security spending and 21st in domestic preparedness and antiterrorism programs. Measured per capita, the state ranked 33rd in overall federal government expenditures.

U.S. intelligence and homeland security agencies and the Department of Justice measure the potential terrorist threat to Colorado by analyzing data, including the following: Colorado had five terrorism-related convictions from Sept. 11, 2001, through March 2010, according to the Justice Department. Denver is one of the 64 urban metropolitan areas that have been designated by the federal government as “high-threat, high-density” with regard to acts of terrorism. Colorado has experienced no terrorism attacks since 9/11, but Denver was one of four U.S. cities (along with Dallas, New York and Springfield, Ill.) that were targets in a rash of plots uncovered and thwarted in September 2009. Colorado has the eighth-largest and fastest-growing immigrant population in the nation, a measure that the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI associate with potential threats.

The dominant features in Colorado when it comes to national security are the U.S. Northern Command (NORTHCOM), the military’s homeland security agency that was formed in October 2002, and the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), a joint U.S. and Canadian agency. Both are headquartered in Colorado Springs. NORTHCOM has an extensive intelligence apparatus and its own fusion center that covers threats to North America, as well as six full-time operational task forces in Alaska, Hawaii, Texas (two), Virginia and the District of Columbia. The University of Denver and the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs were founding members of NORTHCOM’s Homeland Security/Defense Education Consortium. The Colorado Homeland Defense Alliance also promotes collaboration among the private sector, universities and the government on issues of national security and public safety.

Colorado also hosts a considerable number of other government intelligence organizations — including the National Security Agency, the National Reconnaissance Office, the CIA and military intelligence — making metropolitan Denver home to nearly 35,000 federal employees, according to the state of Colorado. Colorado is one of 22 states with more than one Joint Terrorism Task Force.

In July 2003, Colorado created nine All Hazards Emergency Management Regions, each with a homeland security coordinator, to coordinate the state’s efforts to prevent and respond to potential terrorist attacks. Colorado is located in FEMA Region VIII; the Defense Coordinating Office responsible for brokering and arranging federal military support for the state is in Denver.

Organizations Federal State Local Total
Law Enforcement 40 8 19 67
Emergency Management 2 5 0 7
Homeland Security 5 6 0 11
Counterterrorism 4 0 0 4
JTTFs 2 0 0 2
Intelligence 14 1 0 15
Fusion Centers 1 1 0 2
Totals 65 20 19 104

Initiatives

• COUNTERTERRORISM

  The Colorado Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) is located in Denver, with a JTTF annex in Colorado Springs. Colorado’s Anti-Terrorism Advisory Council (ATAC) in Denver includes federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, as well as the state attorney general and district attorneys from throughout the state.

• INTELLIGENCE

  Colorado is a member of the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC) and the Rocky Mountain Information Network (RMIN).

  At the federal level, the FBI Denver Field Intelligence Group works closely with the Colorado Information Analysis Center (CIAC), which supports law enforcement and intelligence partners throughout the state. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement Field Intelligence Group in Denver has jurisdiction over Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and Montana. An alternate TSA Secure Flight Resolution Center, a “no-fly” watchlist intelligence fusion center, is located in Colorado Springs (the primary is in Annapolis Junction, Md.). The staff at the Rocky Mountain High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area in Denver performs criminal intelligence analysis for Colorado and for parts of Utah, Wyoming and Montana.

• FUSION

  The Colorado Information Analysis Center (CIAC), the state’s fusion center, established in 2004, is operated by the Colorado State Patrol. It is co-located with the state emergency operations center in Centennial. During the Democratic National Convention in 2008, the CIAC worked with the FBI, other federal agencies, NORTHCOM and local police, marking the first time during a designated “national security special event” that a combined intelligence and antiterrorism military task force fusion center was created to collect, analyze, process, store and disseminate all threat information.

• HOMELAND SECURITY

  The Governor’s Office of Homeland Security was established in February 2008 to coordinate state, regional and local efforts to help Colorado’s communities be able to prevent attacks and protect against, respond to and recover from all hazards. Colorado Rubicon is a voluntary, state-organized, critical infrastructure and key assets protection program that provides full-spectrum vulnerability assessments for private-sector organizations, including intelligence monitoring through the Colorado Information Analysis Center (CIAC). To assist in critical infrastructure protection, the DHS Protection Security Advisor in Denver is responsible for Colorado, Wyoming and Montana. Colorado also hosts one of three National Guard Critical Infrastructure Protection-Mission Assurance Assessment (CIP-MAA) teams charged with conducting assessments in support of the Defense Industrial Base (DIB) program. The Federal Protective Service (FPS) Region 8 headquarters is located in Denver.

• LAW ENFORCEMENT

  The Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is the statewide law enforcement agency and includes the Colorado Crime Information Center (CCIC) and an intelligence component. The FBI Denver field office operates resident agencies and satellite offices in Boulder, Colorado Springs, Durango, Fort Collins, Glenwood Springs, Grand Junction and Pueblo.

• EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT

  The Colorado Division of Emergency Management (DEM), part of the Department of Local Affairs, is the agency for coordinating disaster/emergency preparedness, from flooding to acts of terrorism. During an emergency or disaster, the DEM coordinates the state response and recovery program and maintains the State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC). The SEOC is the governor’s command post and serves as the principal point for coordinating and tasking state departments and volunteer agencies.