US law-enforcement group to study Israel's methods

By REBECCA ANNA STOIL
Hailing from districts with populations bigger than Tel Aviv and Jerusalem combined, and representing administrative areas almost as big as the State of Israel, 12 members of a top-level US law-enforcement delegation arrived in Tel Aviv Sunday night to share their experiences and to benefit from Israel's hard-earned knowledge. During their six-day visit, the group will view security arrangements at Jerusalem's Malha Mall and Ben-Gurion International Airport, as well as observing "Mabat 2000," the NIS 20 million security project implemented in 1999 in Jerusalem's Old City, in which 400 surveillance cameras monitor public order 24 hours a day. The US group includes police chiefs and representatives from the Federal Bureau of Investigations and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the US government agency whose primary responsibilities are enforcing federal criminal laws and regulating the firearms and explosives industries. The officials come from states including Florida, California, Texas and Massachusetts, and reflect the varied tasks of America's law-enforcement challenges. In addition to studying how Israeli law-enforcement officials perform security procedures at airports and border crossings, the group will also study how their Israeli counterparts treat mass casualties, perform rescue operations and establish command and control after terrorist attacks. Their hosts will include the Border Police, where they will observe counterterror procedures, and the IDF's Homefront Command, where they will discuss mass casualty events. This week's visit is part of a program initiated by the Anti-Defamation League, which has also coordinated visits of top Israel Police commanders to the United States during the past year to share their expertise as part of ADL's law-enforcement training program.