Keller says Clark County prepared for terrorism

Jen Lawson

Thursday, Nov. 21, 2002 | 11:04 a.m.

Police and firefighters in Las Vegas are "well ahead of the pack" when it comes to terrorism preparedness, Sheriff Jerry Keller said Wednesday at BioSecurity 2002, a national bioterrorism conference that concludes today at the MGM Grand.

"In Southern Nevada, we are on the front end of homeland security," Keller said. "We're working to make sure we can act unilaterally and take the guesswork out of a crisis."

One aspect of that effort will soon be landing on the doorsteps of area residents, Keller said. Metro Police have spent $82,000 on 600,000 booklets that provide advice about preparing for and reacting to terrorist attacks or other major disasters.

But police have now made arrangements with Sprint to have the booklets delivered with the new phone books that will be distributed in January.

Terrorism preparedness is particularly important in Southern Nevada because experts believe the Las Vegas Strip, as a perceived symbol of U.S. decadence where 180,000 people are often gathered in a relatively small area, would be a logical target for Islamic extremists, Keller said.

Hoover Dam also is a high-profile target because an attack could cause widespread power failure in the region, Keller told his Wednesday audience of about 50 people, many of whom were Southern Nevada law enforcement or Nellis Air Force Base military personnel.

"There are no Navy SEALS patrolling the streets of Las Vegas," he said during a discussion on terrorism preparedness. "It's us -- police and fire -- who has to maintain the vigilance."

Metro Police have been meeting regularly with the local fire departments and federal agencies to discuss threat assessment and risk analysis, he said.

Keller moved 21 officers from the streets to McCarran International Airport after the Sept. 11 attacks to help with security. He also created an office of homeland security and appointed then-Capt. Bill Conger to the rank of commander to head the office.

Metro also added detectives to the Nevada Joint Terrorism Task Force and had more intelligence detectives get high-level federal security clearance.