A consortium of 25 New Jersey companies has formed a partnership with the state’s Office of Emergency Preparedness to provide the government with access to company resources to respond to a terrorist attack. The novel approach, now being viewed by other states and regions as a way to further bolster homeland security, was developed and promoted by Business Executives for National Security (BENS), a Washington, D.C.-based association that has regional offices throughout the U.S. BENS officials from Georgia and a group representing both Kansas and Missouri have been meeting with regional representatives and promoting the New Jersey initiative in other states.

Both Assets and Cash Provided

The first 12 New Jersey companies—the New Jersey Business Force (NJBF)—signed up in March 2003. The primary purpose of the initiative is to allow state and local government agencies access to privately owned resources to respond to terrorist attacks. NJBF received $1 million in funding to support two small offices and a dozen staff members. NJBF’s goals are to:

• Leverage private resources to fill gaps in public assets;
• Make needed resources available to the state and provide contact information;
• Encourage member companies to train employees in emergency response skills and provide facilities and time off for training; 
• Assist the state in the distribution of medical supplies; and
• Share information with other companies and the government on threats and preparedness via a secure web portal.

“Some of these assets are worth a lot of money,” said Brian Dunlap, NJBF executive director, at the first major industry briefing convened by the Dept. of Homeland Security (DHS) in Washington, D.C., March 8-9. “The private sector can loan them pro bono. It’s all about getting resources committed.” For example, Prudential Financial has made parking areas, helicopter landing pads and doctors and nurses available to the state, reported Phillip Harrington, vice president of Prudential Financial in Newark, N.J.

A N.J. Company Database Helps Force

In December, Oracle Corp. furnished the New Jersey group with the first-ever public-private database listing companies, their resources and a contact that can be called 24 hours a day in the event of an emergency. Information can be searched by geographic location and contains critical infrastructure locations. Eventually it will include public assets. The database now gives the New Jersey State Police the capability to quickly determine what resources are available within a few miles of an incident. “It’s a unique opportunity for business and the state to improve security,” Dunlap said.

Federal Funds Sought

Notably, the New Jersey effort was developed without funds from the Dept. of Homeland Security. However, Dunlap told HD&S Monitor that the House Select Committee on Homeland Security has taken an interest in the program. “We could do more if we had more money,” he said. “We could build a staff to work with [the other] 26 state agencies.”

Although the success of the effort will only be known if there is a terrorist attack, exercises in 2003 showed there were still some bugs to work out. NJBF did connectivity and data checks for each member company. The New Jersey State Police called the companies to see how quickly assets could be pulled together. The results found that businesses were not as responsive as had been hoped. A second exercise in December 2003 demonstrated a marked improvement, Dunlap said.

BENS Working to Expand Program

BENS plans are underway to expand the program to New York City, Kansas City, Mo., Atlanta, Ga., and the San Francisco Bay Area, where the association has regional offices. Lisa Ray, public affairs director for the Georgia Office of Homeland Security, said BENS is working on creating a metro Atlanta homeland security advisory group. The state is also looking to develop a database similar to New Jersey’s. “It touches areas in the private sector we couldn’t touch [before],” she said.

Reproduced with the permission of the publisher, Homeland Defense and Security Monitor.  For more information on this business service and a sample copy of the newsletter, click here.