PROTECTION OF FIREARMS AND EXPLOSIVES' REPOSITORIES DURING CIVIL DISTURBANCES Model Policy Effective Date January, 1994 Number Subject Protection of Firearms and Explosives' Repositories During Civil Disturbances Reference Special Instructions Distribution Reevaluation Date December, 1995 No. Pages I. PURPOSE The purpose of this policy is to provide direction and procedures for securing repositories containing firearms, explosives or incendiary devices that may be vulnerable to looting during civil disturbances. It is designed to accompany this agency's policy on civil disturbances. II. POLICY Civil disorders have been demonstrated to present highly fruitful opportunities for violence-prone elements of society to steal firearms, ammunition, explosives and incendiary devices. In the 1992 Los Angeles riots alone, over 4,300 automatic and semi-automatic weapons were stolen from gun stores, pawn shops and other locations. The availability of these weapons on the street represents a significant threat to the public safety. Therefore, it is the policy of this law enforcement agency to take all steps possible to prepare for such eventualities through establishing this emergency preparedness and deployment plan. III. PROCEDURES A. Emergency Plan Preparation This agency's planning authority shall, with the assistance of personnel designated by the chief executive, be responsible for establishing, as part of this agency's overall civil disturbance plan, a mobilization and deployment protocol for protecting firearms and explosives during periods of civil disturbance or natural disaster. The preparedness and deployment plan shall include but shall not necessarily be limited to the following considerations: 1. A procedure for monitoring, assimilating and evaluating potential civil unrest and disturbance locations shall be established. Potential sources of intelligence and information in this regard include but are not limited to a. media reports, particularly those related to incidents or patterns of ethnic, religious or socioeconomic unrest of a local nature; b. field incident reports, arrests and criminal intelligence, particularly as they relate to hate crimes, inter-racial disturbances, community unrest and related matters; c. information from community leaders in economically underprivileged, culturally or ethnically isolated areas; and d. information from state and federal law enforcement agencies. 2. The street location and telephone number of repositories for firearms and explosives shall be identified within this jurisdiction generally and within potential disturbance areas in particular, to include a. manufacturers and distributors, b. pawnshops, and c. publicly known firearms and explosives dealers and manufacturers. 3. The name, location and telephone number of all local federal firearms licensees shall be obtained and verified through the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF). A determination regarding police protection for these locations during civil disturbances will be made based on available security and firearms/explosives inventories in relation to available police personnel. 4. The owners of all subject locations shall be contacted by designated personnel of this agency to voluntarily a. participate in evaluations of their physical security and related measures, b. make needed improvements in security, and c. if possible, develop contingency plans for the systematic and secure removal of firearms/explosives in case of emergency. 5. Schematic drawings of subject locations, to include points of entry and exit and routes of access and egress, shall be included in contingency plans. 6. The plan shall include procedures for mobilizing and coordinating this agency's responses with other municipal, county, state and federal law enforcement agencies, fire and emergency services and the state national guard, among other agencies. a. State and local mobilization and deployment issues that are not adequately addressed in this agency's mutual-aid agreement and civil disturbance policy shall be resolved through developing separate memoranda of understanding where appropriate. b. Overall efforts of this agency to respond to civil disturbances in general and to protect firearms and explosives storage and distribution points in particular shall be reviewed and coordinated where appropriate with any similar contingency plans of ATF or other federal agencies. c. Interagency coordination of support services to include pre-event and strategic field intelligence, field communication and command operations shall be established through the emergency plan or a memorandum of understanding with other local, state and federal law enforcement agencies and local fire and emergency service providers. B. Training 1. This agency's training authority shall be responsible for developing and implementing all pre-service and in-service training necessary to ensure the efficient and effective use of personnel for staffing this agency's emergency plan. Particular emphasis shall be placed on, but shall not be limited to a. crowd control and the use of chemical agents; b. crowd behavior and dynamics; c. arrest teams and strategies; d. officer organization, supervision and management; e. use of force generally and under conditions of civil unrest or disorder in particular; f. mass arrest procedures, prisoner control and processing during civil disturbances; and g. laws, statutes and ordinances relating to civil disorders. 2. The training authority shall be responsible for coordinating the above and related training protocols with other local, state and federal law enforcement agencies who would implement this policy's emergency plan. 3. Practical exercises shall be developed and scheduled periodically to ensure proper interagency coordination and interaction of personnel, resources, and command and control structures. C. Implementation 1. The emergency plan shall define protocol procedures for activating and implementing the emergency plan, to include a. procedures for tactical alert and mobilization; b. establishing command and control structures and logistical support; c. establishing and maintaining communications on both tactical and command levels and interfaces with other local, state and federal law enforcement agencies, emergency service providers and support services; d. following procedures to activate mutual aid assistance; and e. delineating media relations responsibilities and staging areas. D. Legal Considerations This agency's legal advisor shall identify and respond to all legal issues bearing on the implementation of this emergency plan, to include 1. the authority for and potential limitations on other municipal, state and federal officers to engage in enforcement actions under this emergency plan; 2. the liability of this agency and jurisdiction for acts or omissions of extra-jurisdictional peace officers serving under this policy's emergency plan; 3. the legal authority of this jurisdiction's chief executive to issue, and cooperating law enforcement agencies to enforce, emergency orders to include a. banning the sale of firearms, ammunition, explosives, containerized gasoline and related dangerous products or substances; b. emergency closing of businesses engaged in such commerce; c. placing restrictions on travel access or egress from critical locations; d. confiscating weapons and dangerous substances not normally subject to seizure; and e. enacting such other emergency provisions that may be necessary to protect public safety and welfare during a civil emergency or to otherwise facilitate the implementation of this policy's emergency plan. 4. The legal authority for this jurisdiction's chief executive to order, when necessary, that federal firearms and explosives' license holders install both alarm systems that activate in this agency or another acceptable monitoring station and vaults or other acceptable secure storage for firearms, ammunition and explosives. 5. The capacity of this agency's mutual aid plan and interagency agreements to accomplish the goals and objectives of this policy's emergency plan. E. Interagency Coordination All services and material that may be used to facilitate efficient and effective implementation and the accomplishment of goals and objectives shall be identified and, to the degree necessary and possible, integrated into this emergency plan. The type and level of support and the role of each shall be defined and clearly specified in the plan. These include but are not limited to 1. city and county public works facilities, vehicles, equipment and personnel that may provide specialized aid or consulting expertise; 2. civil preparedness and emergency management/operations agencies and staff, the Red Cross; 3. fire protection and suppression services, paramedic and emergency medical responders and local/regional medical service facilities, 4. local military installations exclusive of the national guard; 5. public school facilities and public areas that may be used for staging and/or detention; 6. local and federal prosecutors' offices and the courts, particularly as it relates to mass arrests, and 7. federal agencies, in particular, ATF, which has jurisdiction over thefts from federal firearms and explosive licensees. F. Post-Event Critique and Documentation Following any civil disturbance in which this plan is activated, it shall be the policy of this agency to conduct a complete and thorough evaluation of actions and activities in order to assess the effectiveness of the emergency plan, the effectiveness of the response and the identification of areas for improvement in future operations. This project was supported by Grant No. 93-DD-CX-K009 awarded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. The Assistant Attorney General, Office of Justice Programs, coordinates the activities of the following program offices and bureaus: the Bureau of Justice Assistance, the Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Institute of Justice, Office of Juvenile and Delinquency Prevention, and the Office of Victims of Crime. Points of view or opinions in this document are those of the author and do not represent the official position or policies of the United States Department of Justice. Every effort has been made by the IACP National Law Enforcement Policy Center staff and advisory board to ensure that this model policy incorporates the most current information and contemporary professional judgment on this issue. However, law enforcement administrators should be cautioned that no "model" policy can meet all the needs of any given law enforcement agency. Each law enforcement agency operates in a unique environment of federal court rulings, state laws, local ordinances, regulations, judicial and administrative decisions and collective bargaining agreements that must be considered. In addition, the formulation of specific agency policies must take into account local political and community perspectives and customs, prerogatives and demands; often divergent law enforcement strategies and philosophies, and the impact of varied agency resource capabilities among other factors.