Calgary police confident in intelligence, response to potential terrorist attack
Posted Nov 25, 2015 8:08 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Europe is still on high alert after the Paris attacks of a couple weeks ago, and the ongoing search for other terrorists believed to be planning attacks in the region.
It’s a stark reminder of how quickly everyday life can take a sudden and unexpected turn but for police it’s something they have to plan and prepare for on a regular basis, even in Calgary.
Calgary Police Service Spokesperson Kevin Brookwell says intelligence and intelligence sharing has become more important over the years.
“The intelligence and the threat assessment and then the response is an ongoing thing,” he said. “It’s not something that’s in a binder up on a shelf and when something happens we dust it off and start on page one and follow along.”
In fact, intelligence is so important; it’s the full time job of a handful of officers on the force.
“We have a great working relationship with our provincial partners, our federal partners, the Canadian Border Services Agency and we also have outreach throughout the world,” said Brookwell.
He explains identifying and stopping a threat before it happens is the top priority and Calgarians can play a role by keeping an eye out for anything strange.
“Nothing is trivial information,” he said. “If you have that gut feeling something is wrong, give us a call, if there’s suspicious activity going on, give us a call.”
Brookwell adds police work with potential targets in the community as well.
“We have worked with the individuals who either own or operate or have access to those particular to targets to ensure that measures are taken to harden those targets as much as possible,” he said.
If something did happen, Brookwell feels we have a good response mechanism in place, from tactics and equipment, to command structure and training.
“Not only within Calgary but we also do cross training and have access to our partners in the province and federally and we do a quite a bit of cross training,” he explained.
They usually do two training exercises a year and both scenarios this time around involved an active shooter and even improvised explosives, but it’s not just specialty resources.
Rapid intervention training extends to uniformed officers who work the streets every day, something brought on by lone-wolf attacks and school shootings over the years.
Still, Brookwell admits the challenge comes when there are simultaneous attacks like was seen in Paris.
