TRENTON
— New Jersey is sending a delegation
of law enforcement officers from its Urban
Area Security Initiative (UASI) Law Enforcement
Task Force Rapid Deployment Force to help
provide security at the January 20 inauguration
of President George W. Bush, Attorney
General Peter C. Harvey and State Police
Superintendent Col. Rick Fuentes announced
today.
The invitation to send a force came from
Charles H. Ramsey, Chief of the Washington,
D.C. Metropolitan Police Department (MPD),
Harvey said. Under the supervision of
the U.S. Secret Service, the Washington,
D.C. MPD is the primary police agency
responsible for ensuring the security
of the Inaugural Parade and other events.
The UASI Rapid Deployment Team will be
on duty in Washington from January 18
through January 21.
“It
is an honor to New Jersey, to the Rapid
Deployment Force (RDF) and to these individual
officers to be invited to provide security
at the inauguration of a President,”
said Attorney General Harvey. “It’s
also an endorsement of the programs, such
as the RDF, that we’ve developed
as part of our federally funded Urban
Area Security Initiative to better protect
our citizens against potential acts of
terror.”
“The Rapid Deployment
Force was successfully mobilized during
last summer’s Republican National
Convention in New York City, in which
RDF officers worked hand-in-hand with
State Troopers to conduct inspections
of trucks traveling into Manhattan,”
said Col. Rick Fuentes, New Jersey State
Police Superintendent. “We also
called on the Rapid Deployment Force during
this summer’s period of heightened
Homeland Security alert for the financial
sector in Northern New Jersey based on
threats against the Prudential building
in Newark.”
The UASI Rapid Deployment Force was established
to provide rapid response capabilities
for the law enforcement community in New
Jersey, especially in the northeastern
UASI region that comprises Bergen, Essex,
Hudson, Morris, Passaic and Union counties
and the core cities of Newark and Jersey
City. The force counts 1,000 officers
from 135 municipal and county law enforcement
agencies in the six-county UASI area,
as well as a contingent of State Troopers.
Captain Kenneth Mallette of the State
Police’s Homeland Security Branch,
Special Operations Section supervises
RDF operations.
The UASI’s Rapid Deployment Force
has been provided with standardized training
in weapons of mass destruction awareness
and operations, HAZMAT awareness and operations
and Incident Command Systems. The RDF
has also been provided with standardized
equipment. The combination of standardized
training and equipment allows the RDF
to respond capably and safely to terrorist
incidents, especially those dealing with
chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear
and explosive devices.