Public education is a vital component in our local effort to keep the citizens of Leon County informed about their role in the battle of terrorism. Terrorism is just another type of crime. Terrorism prevention is the same as crime prevention. You just have to look at it differently than the traditional crimes we deal with on a daily basis.

   Law enforcement agencies depend on alert citizens to identify and report things that seem out of the ordinary in their neighborhoods, communities, and places of business. In essence, citizens act as Law Enforcement's "eyes and ears." By working through Neighborhood Watch networks, the public can play a potentially crucial role in the detection, disruption and prevention of terrorist acts.

   The nation's goal is to double the number of Neighborhood Crime Watch groups in the country over the next two years. With your intention to start a Neighborhood Crime Watch group, you are taking an important step toward helping to secure our homeland.

   Homeland Security is in fact a natural progression for the Crime Prevention Unit at no added cost to the tax payer. Our Crime Prevention Unit's mission in dealing with Homeland Security is to focus resources from throughout our agency and partner with other community agencies to work towards mitigation, prevention, response and recovery from incidents of terrorism and weapons of mass destruction. Our unit will assist in assessing vulnerabilities in our community.

   What can we all do to be more prepared?

BE ALERT! - Spot suspicious packages, luggage, or mail abandoned in a crowded place, like an office building, an airport, a school, or a shopping center.

LISTEN! - If you hear or know of someone who has bragged or talked about plans to harm citizens in violent attacks or who claims membership in a terrorist organization, take it seriously and report it to Law Enforcement immediately!

Under Florida law, e-mail addresses are public records. If you do not want your e-mail address released in response to a public records request, do not send electronic mail to this entity. Instead, contact this office by phone or in writing.