August 2, 2005
Cell phones, Pagers & BlackBerries on Anti-Terrorist Front Line, Says Expert
Cell phones, pagers and Black and BlueBerries may soon replace CNN and the radio at the cutting edge of terrorism prevention and response efforts, emergency preparedness expert Michael J. Hopmeier told a recent NATO conference on risk assessment and risk communication related to bioterrorism, held in Ein Gedi, Israel.
..."Effective communications requires that the public be educated ahead of time about what to do during a terrorist attack," Hopmeier noted. "But terrorism's randomness and uncertainty also requires that authorities use those technologies that reach the greatest number of people in the least amount of time."
... Hopmeier noted that citizens can also be "digitally deputized" to report suspicious activities by using their cell phones, text messaging, or even by sending photos of suspicious individuals to a central reporting unit. "In Iraq, mobile telephone text messages already allow civilians to anonymously pass information to authorities from the safety of their own homes."
Hank Christen, UCI director of emergency response operations, noted that: "In the U.S., we call this reverse 911. New technology allows emergency management centers to immediately send priority messages and warnings to appropriate agencies, organizations, or groups of private citizens."
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