Being Ready for Bomb Threats

It began with a phone call originating in the Netherlands, routed through a Canadian operator, to the Washington D. C. Metropolitan Police Department on the afternoon of April 14, 2002. The caller said he had learned from an informer that a bomb was set to explode at noon Monday, April 15, 2002 at a national bank in the center of D.C.

The FBI put out a statement on the threat, reminding bank personnel to be vigilant of their surroundings and the events occuring around them, and cautioning bankers that normal security and notification procedures should be followed in the event of any unusual or criminal activity.

At least four banks temporarily closed the doors on their D.C. locations, but the appointed hour passed without incident.

Though this turned out to be a nonevent, it can serve as a useful impetus for updating and reviewing your bomb threat procedures and making sure your personnel have received appropriate training.

We've rounded up some resources we believe you may find useful in this regard:

Telephone Bomb Threat Checklist (from DOE)
John Kennish's detailed article for financial institutions on "Preparing for Bomb Threats".
USPS - Bombs by Mail
Standard Operating Procedures for Suspicious Package Handling
Emergency Response Plan - Bomb Threat and Other Threats
OKC National Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism site has good links to bomb prevention info. One is the UK Home Office 32 page article on Bombs- Protecting People and Property (pdf file).

Make sure your bomb threat response plan covers:

Making particular individuals responsible for specific areas and personnel
What your bomb search plan is. Keep in mind that outsiders will not be in a position to recognize what is different or out of place. They will probably need to be assisted by individuals from within your institution who are familiar with the way things "normally" look;
Mailroom training for suspicious packages;
Employee training: crucial pieces of information to collect from the person making the threat, who to notify and how to notify them, steps to take to protect employees, customers, bank property;
Emergency evacuation plans, including alternate routes if particular floors are not accessible or if certain stairwells or elevators are not available;
Precautionary measures, such as requiring employees to identify all packages prior to being opened or delivered to work station, or perhaps even not allowing personal packages to be received at work.

Update: By late afternoon April 15, police had tracked down the bomb threat to a 13-year old Dutch boy who called in the threat as a hoax.