The Associated Press Assemblyman Robert
Hertzberg presides over The Speaker’s Task Force on the
Impact of Terrorism on California in downtown L.A.
By Rachel Makabi
Daily Bruin Reporter
A state assembly task force on the impact of terrorism in
California convened in downtown Los Angeles with state officials
Monday to discuss security and the impact of the Sept. 11 attacks
on California’s economy.
Assemblyman Robert M. Hertzberg, D-Van Nuys, said he established
the task force to re-establish the public’s faith in safety,
the economy and the future.
“California is well ahead of many other states in
emergency preparedness,” Hertzberg said in his opening
remarks. “Our emergency agencies have developed expertise to
handle many situations and they are building on that expertise to
deal with this crisis.”
A panel of speakers, including Los Angeles Mayor James Hahn,
discussed new measures for public safety and security in the wake
of the attacks.
“We have worked hard to ensure the safety of our
city,” Hahn said. “Los Angeles is a safe place, but we
also have measures in place so that we will be able to respond
should something else occur.”
Recent measures the city has implemented since the Sept. 11
attacks include having the Coast Guard search all ships entering
and leaving the L.A. harbor and checking the water supply for
contaminants 55 percent more frequently than they it did prior to
the attacks.
Hahn cited the necessity for hiring more security officials and
enforcing higher training standards for airline staff at Los
Angeles International Airport as one of the city’s primary
focuses.
He said that in addition to hiring personnel ““ which has
contributed to a decrease in revenue at the airport ““ the
city needs to implement more permanent and cost effective measures
for security.
The increase of workers in the airport, coupled with the fewer
number of flights and the closing of parking lots, has resulted in
the slide in profits at LAX.
According to a statement by the Legislative Analyst’s
Office, California’s economic downturn, which began long
before Sept. 11, has now become more intense and has spread to the
travel and tourism industries. The statement said the economy is
suffering because of a slowdown in consumer spending. A moderate
recovery is expected by mid 2002, when officials predict national
spending will recover.
While officials said they recognize the impact of the attacks on
the economy, safety should remain a primary concern.
To circumvent the problem of incurring too many costs, some
officials said it is important to enhance structures already in
place instead of replacing them.
Capt. Michael Grossman from the Los Angeles Country
Sheriff’s Department said the planning already in place
within the city has made the county more prepared than any other
place in the nation.
He said a lot of this planning comes from the Los Angeles County
Terrorist Early Warning Group, established in 1996 to address
issues of gathering and transmitting intelligence and measures for
responding to a wide range of situations.
“The Terrorist Early Warning Group has already been
claimed as a model for the nation,” Grossman said, adding
that the group shares information with a wide range of
organizations.
Other departments also had measures in place for dealing with an
attack prior to Sept. 11, including the Department of Recreation,
which has a procedure for moving large numbers of people to its
sites if necessary, and the Los Angeles Police Department.
L.A. Chief of Police Bernard Parks said the LAPD has implemented
several anti-terrorism measures, including emergency preparation
conferences and special operations plans and intelligence-sharing
methods within the department.
Government officials agreed that intelligence sharing should
remain a primary focus of the different departments.
Joe Doane, deputy director for the Division of Law Enforcement
from the California Department of Justice, said his department is
involved with the anti-terrorism center, which is based on the
collection, examination and dissemination of information possibly
related to a terrorist attack.
According to Doane, the center was designed to find out if
seemingly unrelated events could pose as a potential danger. He
said that because tracking terrorists is similar to discovering
drug trafficking, the department is using many of the methods
already in place for tracking narcotics.
He also said it would be difficult to make sure innocent people
are not wrongfully investigated.
Parks said many are unfairly targeted because of their
nationalities or ethnicities, resulting in an upsurge of hate
crimes since Sept. 11.
“We can’t neglect the issue of crime which is still
such a great concern in our community,” Parks said. “We
also can’t be so involved in creating task forces that we
neglect what to do in the city.”