We remember September 11, 2001

Following September 11, 2001, the protection of America’s key assets and critical infrastructure facilities became a national security priority. Under the authority and mandate of the Homeland Security Act of 2002, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) developed and implemented a comprehensive, integrated plan, designed to coordinate the overall national effort to enhance the protection of critical infrastructure and key resources within the United States.  Our consultants, including three of our company’s founders, were among a select group of law enforcement officials from regional jurisdictions to be tasked with assisting DHS with implementation of the site assessment portion of its plan.  In 2007, the core competencies employed and mastered as a result of the DHS experience became a foundational impetus behind the formation of CASTCorp International.

Our Philosophy

While conducting site assessments for the Department of Homeland Security and their respective agencies, our consultants helped to pioneer the team, or small-unit approach to site security assessments. This concept is very similar to how a military special operations unit functions. Each member comes to the team with general knowledge and with each comes a specialized skill-set appropriate for the mission. For your plant or facility, as an example, that might mean we assemble a team that includes specialized expertise in hazardous materials management, traffic planning, crowd management, I.E.D.’s or bombs, general and specific terrorist group attack methodologies, cyber terrorism and so forth.  From our experiences, we are convinced that this is the most effective approach to assessing overall vulnerabilities and for designing the right strategies to mitigate them.

The Process

Our inspection team will meet with you and your management and security teams to help identify vulnerabilities and to determine criticality of your various assets. We will then create a series of concentric zones around those assets. The inspection process begins here with what we refer to as the Buffer Zone, that being the area furthest from the asset and from which surveillance could be conducted, or any type of lethal or disabling attack could be successfully launched. From there, we will systematically work inbound toward the center, addressing each vulnerability and recommending strategies for mitigation, both active and passive. And, because the most valuable assets at any site are the people within it, we will help you prevent or, at the very least, mitigate the loss of life by identifying escape routes and by showing you how to shelter-in-place should an incident that prevents an immediate and safe evacuation occur.

Connectivity

Our consultants are BZPP and Constellation/ACAMS trained and certified.  What that means for you is that our final assessment reports are fully compatible with DHS standards and can be easily integrated into any DHS or DHS supported regional law enforcement critical asset data base. And, finally, since we are career law enforcement professionals ourselves, we share a common bond with your public safety professionals.  We speak their language as the saying goes. That inherent connectivity with the public safety agencies that share a vested interest in the safety and security of your facility could be of great benefit as you move forward to build or enhance your security partnerships.

Remember September 11, 2001, because somewhere it will happen again!