For Immediate Release
DATE: January 5, 2007

What: All interested media are invited to learn about the unified effortsby lawenforcement to provide security for the Bowl Championship Series and other special events that have recently been held around the Valley.

When: Monday, January 8, 2007, 9:30 a.m.

Where: Estrella Mountain Community College, located at Thomas and Dysart Roads in Avondale, Arizona.

Details:

Phoenix FBI Special Agent in Charge John E. Lewis, Glendale Assistant Police Chief Debby Black, and Arizona Department of Public Safety Director Roger Vanderpool and Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio would like to invite the media to a press availability at the Public Safety Joint Operations Center (JOC), established by a Public Safety Committee of combined local, state, and federal agencies, which was created to ensure the safety of the public during the recent past and up-coming special events with an eye towards continuing the process for Super Bowl XLII in February 2008.

Domestic special events, such as the Fiesta Bowl, the New Years Eve celebrations, and the BCS National Championship Game are evaluated by the FBI for potential threats in terms of size, media publicity, location, attendance, attending dignitaries, and symbolic significance. As these assessments are made, the FBI works with other federal, state and local agencies to prepare a crisis management plan for the safety and security of the event and the citizens attending. The FBI works to analyze and disseminate intelligence information.

Events of such magnitude require a consolidation of specialized law enforcement resources such as Intelligence, Investigations, Tactical Teams, Aviation Assets, EOD and HazMat Response Teams, and Dignitary Protection. The JOC ensures that the agency hosting each special event has those specialized resources and others at their fingertips to deal with any law enforcement issues that may arise. The JOC also provides a regional strategic overview of those resources. JOC law enforcement personnel also work closely with the Arizona Counter Terrorism Information Center (ACTIC) to obtain and analyze intelligence concerning local disturbances, emergency calls, and suspicious activity. The ACTIC also coordinates with FBI Headquarters and the FBI Strategic Information and Operations Center, a 24-hour watch center gathering intelligence world wide.

In order to ensure preparedness and response capabilities by law enforcement agencies are in place, the Phoenix Division of the FBI has worked closely with the Glendale Police Department, the Arizona Department of Public Safety, the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, the Tempe Police Department, the Phoenix Police Department, ATF, and the Phoenix Fire Department to establish the operation of the JOC. The JOC began operation for the "Fiesta Series" of events on December 29, 2006. The JOC has been staffed by those agencies as well as other members of the Public Safety Committee.

The Public Safety Committee, which was formed to include all of the regional partners in law enforcement and public safety, includes those agencies already mentioned, as well as the Glendale Fire Department, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, United States Postal Inspection Service, Customs and Border Protection, the United States Secret Service, the United States Marshal’s Service, the U.S. Department of State Diplomatic Security Service, the United States Attorneys Office, DEA, Luke Air Force Base, Surprise Police Department, Arizona Department of Health, Arizona Department of Homeland Security, Gila River Indian Community Police Department, the Youngtown Police Department, the Department of Homeland Security, the Transportation Security Administration, Maricopa County Public Health, the Arizona State University Department of Public Safety, the Gilbert Police Department, the Chandler Police Department, Mesa Police Department, Tempe Police Department, Scottsdale Police Department, Paradise Valley Police Department, Peoria Police Department, Tolleson Police Department, Avondale Police Department, Goodyear Police Department, and the Buckeye Police Department.

As with many such operations, it is important to have a mechanism in place so that a unified message concerning public safety issues and information to the media can be provided. For this reason a Joint Information Center (JIC) is set-up to function as part of the JOC. During these special events the JIC was staffed by Glendale Police Department, DPS, Peoria Police Department, MCSO, and the FBI.

The FBI and other partners of the JOC would like to express their appreciation to the Maricopa Community Colleges and especially Estrella Mountain Community College and its President, Homero Lopez, Ph.D., and Rich Marmon, Director of Information Technology, for their assistance in graciously providing space and technology support for the JOC on the college campus. “Estrella Mountain and Maricopa Community Colleges have long been committed to serving the needs of our community,” said Rich Marmon, Director Information Technology. “We were more than happy to cooperate with law enforcement in their effort to keep the West Valley safe during the events.”