From Deseret News archives:
Put preparedness front and center
As one who has had a role in responding during times of natural and man-made disasters, nothing is more important than how well government is prepared, equipped and trained to respond to the chaos and changing dynamics that always exist during these times of crisis. The goal of any disaster response is not to eliminate chaos but rather to overcome it quickly and restore order as soon as possible. This can only be done by continuously preparing those responsible for responding with sufficient budget, resources, facilities, equipment and training well before the disaster occurs. Given the budgetary demands on state and local governments today, it is not surprising that emergency preparedness, absent an imminent or recent disaster, takes a back seat to many other community issues.
As the chief of police of Salt Lake City and recognizing the importance of being prepared, last year I reorganized the police department to establish a Homeland Security/Emergency Preparedness Unit within the police department. Since that time, this unit has been working to prepare the police department and its personnel to respond to all types of disasters to include coordination with other city, county, state and federal disaster agencies. Additionally, utilizing federal Homeland Security grant funding, the police and fire departments together with the city administration have been developing a citywide interoperable and redundant communications system that can coordinate with state and other local communication systems during times of emergencies. While these are positive steps and represent just some of the preparations, there is still much to be done.
The city needs a well-equipped, hardened emergency operations center to manage and coordinate resources and services that are necessary to restore order after major disasters such as the significant earthquake that is widely predicted for the Wasatch Front. The city's Emergency Management Office needs an annual stream of funding over and above its salary budget to assist in building the city's disaster response capabilities. Finally, our capabilities need to be regularly exercised to test and measure our abilities under extreme conditions. I do not know how well the New Orleans' political leaders and emergency responders prepared for their disaster, but I am sure that someone will ask the question.
I hope that when the time comes in the city of Salt Lake, and it will, the answer will be: The city, its leaders and first responders were well-prepared, equipped and trained.
C.F. "Rick" Dinse is the chief of police in Salt Lake City.
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