July Newsletter - 2004

Institute Hosts Focus Group Workshop for FBI

The Institute hosted a gathering of focus groups, which were facilitated by the Battelle Memorial Institute on behalf of the FBI. The workshop, held on June 23 and 24 at the Manresa Center at Saint Louis University, gathered together members of the Agricultural, Chemical, and Petroleum Industry Outreach Program.

This group was formed as a proactive initiative to counter the WMD terrorist threat. By building awareness and increasing dialogue between the federal and local emergency response agencies and the agricultural, chemical, and petroleum material manufacturers and suppliers, the FBI will be better prepared to prevent acts of terrorism and generate leads based upon reported inquiries and attempted purchases.

The goals of the workshops were to identify key roles, responsibilities, and processes necessary for the communication of suspected terrorist-based inquiries and purchases, and to discuss expectations of all organizations concerning terrorism. The discussions focused on pre-incident response only. We will advise you of the availability of the final report from this series of workshops when its preparation is complete.

Have a question or comment? Email bioterr@slu.edu