Statewide intelligence and tracking program in place

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Posted 8:28AM on Monday, February 11, 2002

ATLANTA - A terrorism intelligence center operating in metro Atlanta since the Sept. 11 attacks is only the beginning of a statewide anti-terror program, says Georgia Homeland Security Coordinator Bob Hightower. The Georgia Intelligence Sharing and Tracking Center is staffed by five Georgia Bureau of Investigations agents and officers from the state's sheriff and police associations. The unit also is connected to the FBI's anti-terrorism center in Atlanta and similar state centers around the U.S. ``We still have a ways to go, but working together during the (1996 Atlanta) Olympics, the evacuation for Hurricane Floyd and preparations for Y2K has made us better off than a lot of other states,'' Hightower said. The state intelligence center, which is expected to grow to 18 GBI agents, may soon move into the FBI's center, he said. Businesses and ordinary citizens have a responsibility, as well. ``They've got to have the resolve and the fortitude if they see something they're really suspicious of to notify their local police and sheriff's office,'' said Hightower, who is the state's public safety commissioner. In October, Gov. Roy Barnes tapped Hightower to chair a state terrorism task force which includes sheriffs' and police chiefs' associations and state agencies in charge of public health, transportation, emergency management, defense and natural resources. ``The whole goal is to increase the ability of each agency to function by communicating better with each other,'' Hightower explained. In addition to gathering and evaluating tips on possible terrorist threats, authorities are now drawing up a detailed list of likely targets in each of the state's 159 counties. Another way the state responded to Sept. 11 was to assign 12 veteran State Patrol officers to keep an eye out for potential attackers on Georgia's interstates. The new Criminal Interdiction Unit operates three squads of officers. Their primary job is to inspect trucks and cars for explosives, terrorists or drugs. Though he didn't go into detail, Hightower said ``everything we do will be focused on improving the ability of local communities to respond to possible threats.''