Friday, December 03, 2004
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Chamber initiative aims to fight terrorism

This poster, developed by the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce chamber in conjunction with law enforcement agencies, lists 10 things employees can do to improve safety in the valley. COURTESY LAS VEGAS CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

The Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce on Thursday unveiled a new initiative to educate local businesses about measures their employees can take to prevent potential terrorist attacks.

The initiative's key feature is a poster developed by the chamber in conjunction with the Metropolitan Police Department, the FBI, the Nevada Department of Public Safety and the Cintas Uniforms company that lists 10 things employees can do to improve safety in the valley.

Sheriff Bill Young said during a news conference that, with the police force understaffed, local authorities depend on community members to report and respond to suspicious behavior. He said the chamber's effort can help educate the public and, in turn, help local law enforcement officials do their jobs.

The chamber will distribute the poster in its monthly newsletter to the chamber's 6,800 member companies, which employ more than 200,000 people. It will also go to other small businesses in the valley.

"We know that five of the September 11th hijackers were here," Young said. "We had to work with local businesses, car rentals, Econo Lodges, Starbucks to learn what their patterns were. Getting employees to make the effort to call the FBI or Metro is key to our success. Imagine if people picked up on that group, but no one did."

Chamber President and Chief Executive Officer Kara Kelley, called local businesses "the eyes and the ears of the community" and said they are on the front line in helping to defend Southern Nevada against terrorism.

The chamber hopes its Business On Guard Initiative will encourage awareness and encourage people to report suspicious activity to local authorities.

The poster, "Ten Ways Business Can Help Keep Southern Nevada Safe for Everyone" is meant to hang in employee lounges and break rooms. It includes tips such as: Know your vulnerabilities and risks; train your employees to recognize potential threats; take what you hear and see seriously; develop an emergency plan; establish a network to communicate information. The poster lists phone numbers and extensions for local law enforcement.

The chamber started its initiative in September as a research project. It intended to find a model in another city that it could use in Las Vegas. But the chamber realized no model existed and hopes other communities will replicate the poster and project it has started.

"As far as we know this is the first time a tool like this has been developed for the business community," Kelley said. "Larger businesses have the resources to train their employees about potential threats, but small- and medium-size businesses often don't. Small businesses are the fabric of the country."