Terrorism

Haverhill Preparation

The Haverhill Police Department continuously trains for the possible occurrence of a terrorist attack and each Officer is issued protective bio-hazard equipment to provide protection during the initial stages of a biological or chemical attack. The Police Department and the City's Emergency Operations Center maintain detailed plans following the US Department of Homeland Security NIMS (National Incident Management System) model and the (ICS) Incident Command System model.

Homeland Security Threat Advisory Levels

The Homeland Security Advisory System establishes a range of threat levels that determines the nature and scope of the Federal response. The State of Massachusetts and the City of Haverhill follow this threat-classification scheme as well. Threat risk includes both the probability of an attack occurring and its potential gravity.

The RECOMMENDED ACTIONS to take for each threat level are outlined in a flyer from ready.gov: Citizen Guidance on the Homeland Security Advisory and other information is available in their readiness preparation guide Preparing Makes Sense – Get Ready Now To learn more about the current threat advisory level, visit the U.S. Department of Homeland Security website, threat level page.

 

Below is a basic description of the five threat levels:

RED/SEVERE - Severe Risk of Terrorist Attacks - Terrorist incident is imminent or may have occurred.

ORANGE/HIGH - High Risk of Terrorist Attacks - Intelligence or an articulated credible threat indicates an increased potential for a terrorist incident.

YELLOW/ELEVATED - Significant Risk of Terrorist Attacks - Intelligence or an articulated threat indicates an increased potential for a terrorist incident.

BLUE/GUARDED - General Risk of Terrorist Attacks - Intelligence or an articulated threat indicates a potential for a terrorist incident.

GREEN/LOW - General Risk of Terrorist Attacks - The potential threat does not warrant actions beyond normal liaison notification and operations.