FYI: Cincinnati Gets Nod As Homeland Security's Regional Tech Center

Cincinnati Gets Nod As 
      Homeland Security's Regional Tech Center June 7, 2004 
    
    

      
      

 
      
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Cincinnati and three to-be-named 
      cities will get $10 million to invest in emergency preparedness and 
      public-safety concepts.
By 
      Larry Greenemeier 

    
    

  

    
     
    
In the years since 9/11, 
      the federal government has encouraged local communities to serve as its 
      eyes and ears in an effort to prevent further terrorist attacks. The 
      Homeland Security Department on Monday kicked off its latest plan to 
      support the efforts of local law enforcement and emergency responders by 
      designating Cincinnati as the initial site for its Regional Technology Integration 
      program. 
      
As part of the program, Cincinnati and three other yet-to-be-named 
      cities will receive $10 million to invest in what Homeland Security calls 
      "advanced and innovative" concepts for emergency preparedness and public 
      safety. 
      
The purpose of the funding is to help these cities investigate 
      private-sector technology that can quickly make an impact on efforts to 
      combat terrorism and neutralize biological or chemical attacks, says a 
      Homeland Security Department spokesman. "The goal here is not for the 
      cities to develop the technologies themselves but to look to technology 
      already being developed by industry," he says. Researchers and scientists 
      will then conduct internal research regarding the effectiveness of 
      technology available and issue reports that can be disseminated to other 
      cities for their own homeland security programs. 
      
Cincinnati will invest $500,000 to renovate a building in its Knob Hill 
      neighborhood that will serve as a command center in the event of terrorist 
      attack, according to a report Monday in the Cincinnati Enquirer. 
      
Homeland Security chose Cincinnati as the initial pilot site for the 
      program for several reasons. The city already participates in the 
      department's Urban Area Security Initiative, a program through which 
      Homeland Security last year alone made about $4 billion available to 30 
      urban areas in the United States to help them protect critical 
      infrastructure, ports, and mass transit against terrorist attacks. 
      Cincinnati, which in fiscal 2003 received nearly $8 million through the 
      Urban Area Security Initiative, is already home to the National Homeland 
      Security Research Center. The center was created in late 2002 to 
      coordinate different research efforts, including the development of ways 
      to clean contaminated buildings, protect drinking water supplies, and 
      improve risk-assessment techniques. 
      
The department's goal in choosing Cincinnati and the other three 
      Regional Technology Integration pilot sites is to create prototype 
      technology that can be used in other cities with similar characteristics. 

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