Civil Defense Battalion
Mission Statement:
To be in readiness as well trained civil defense volunteers to support the work of the Austin Police Department.
Executive Summary:
The Austin Police Department (APD) is well-positioned and well-trained to respond to critical incidents as defined by events prior to September 11, 2001. The terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11 necessitated a fresh look at our ability to respond to a catastrophic event of heretofore unimagined proportions. An assessment of strengths and needs underscored our confidence in many areas of training and staffing. However, the identified areas needing additional resources led to the creation of a Major Event Team (MET) equipped and trained to handle terrorist attacks and/or civil unrest or panic resulting from such attacks. A natural part and extension of the MET is the creation of a Police Civil Defense Battalion, consisting of a well-trained corps of volunteers prepared to respond quickly to supplement the work of APD officers. These volunteers would begin working within APD immediately to become familiar with departmental procedures and to work in areas needing assistance at this time. The Police Civil Defense Battalion would consist of four companies, each trained to handle specially identified tasks with the goal of freeing officers to handle assignments requiring highly-trained police officers. The Office of Community Liaison (OCL) has responsibility for recruitment, coordination and scheduling for training, and placement of volunteers
Training in all areas will be offered and some immediate assignments will be given. Ongoing training will be offered to maintain readiness. Volunteers working outside of the police facilities will work in pairs only.
Structure:
The four companies would be designed to work in clearly defined areas.
- Company "A" (Aviation Detail) - Assigned to the Aviation Police, assignments would include:
- Information dissemination to airport visitors through the Airport Ambassadors program
- Assist in getting housing and/or transportation for stranded passengers in the event of a crisis or if closure of the airport
- Company "B" (Homeland Security Supplemental Services) - Assigned to the MET for immediate assignments in various areas within the department to ensure continued services and provide for newly identified needs:
- Daylight perimeter patrol of city facilities
- Parking control and building access control for police and other city facilities
- Work special events ( i.e. New Year's Eve - work the barricades with officers providing information to citizens and reporting disturbances)
- Daylight patrol in areas where multiple offenses of similar types have been reported
- Company "C" (Headquarters Detail) - Immediate assignments to assist officers in critical areas:
- Work in the control booth at the main police station greeting visitors, providing information and escorting visitors through the building
- Abandoned Vehicle Volunteer Program - increase the number of volunteers tagging abandoned/junked vehicles on public property (opening up neighborhood streets for easier access by emergency vehicles)
- Assist in answering phones and providing information in all police facilities
- Make copies and distribute information as needed
- Company "D" (Homeland Security) - Activated should a critical incident occur, assigned to the MET to provide centralized services:
- Former police officers may receive special assignments
- Activate phone tree to call in volunteers and provide information to the community
- Supplement 3-1-1 call takers to handle callers seeking information only
- Daylight incident perimeter control - maintaining police lines
- Traffic control - freeing officers to work inside incident perimeters
- Supplement Red Cross efforts by providing food and water for officers and victims - recruit restaurants to provide these provisions in the event of need; arrange for portable toilets and dumpsters at incident sites
- Maintain list of volunteers who speak various languages
- Maintain a "message board" for missing persons
- Call the families of officers and other emergency workers at an incident scene with reassurance and information
- Call neighborhood groups to enlist assistance as needed and contact congregational groups who have agreed to open facilities as shelters in each area command
- Chaplains would respond to the scene and provide services as outlined in their volunteer protocol
- Should dispatch fail, volunteers to go to each fire station to take calls and relay messages to officers
How do you apply?
You must be at least 18 years old and live or work in the Austin area. The Civil Defense Battalion requires it's personnel to meet some physical demands. They are:
- Vision and hearing corrected to normal range.
- Ability to stand for 2 or more hours at a time.
- Ability to lift at least 20 pounds.
Each applicant must complete the Civil Defense Battalion Application and the Personal History Form. Once these forms are completed please deliver them in person as your thumbprint will be taken for a Criminal Background Check. The address is 1009 E. 11th St., Austin, TX 78701. The Office of Community Liaison is located at the corner of San Marcos and E. 11th St., 2nd Floor.
After downloading and printing the applicationn and personal history form, complete them and hand deliver them to:
The Office of Community Liaison
1009 E. 11th Street
For information contact: Contact Sonia Carrion at 974-4738 or by email at : sonia.carrion@ci.austin.tx.us
For additional information on Terrorism please visit "Terrorism" What the citizen can do.
