CDP Now Offers Vehicle-Borne IED Detection Course
Students in the Vehicle-Borne IED Detection course use mirrors to exam the undercarriage of a car during a practical exercise. The course is an eight-hour, one-day course that is offered as part of several of the CDP’s law enforcement training programs.
Students in the Vehicle-Borne IED Detection course use mirrors to exam the undercarriage of a car during a practical exercise. The course is an eight-hour, one-day course that is offered as part of several of the CDP’s law enforcement training programs.
Students in the Vehicle-Borne IED Detection course use mirrors to exam the undercarriage of a car during a practical exercise. The course is an eight-hour, one-day course that is offered as part of several of the CDP’s law enforcement training programs.
Students in the Vehicle-Borne IED Detection course use mirrors to exam the undercarriage of a car during a practical exercise. The course is an eight-hour, one-day course that is offered as part of several of the CDP’s law enforcement training programs.
The Center for Domestic Preparedness has added a new course to its catalogue of law enforcement courses.
The Vehicle-Borne Improvised Explosive Device Detection (VBIEDD) course is a one-day, eight-hour course the CDP teaches both as a resident course on the Anniston, Ala., campus and as a non-resident course at host locations. It was developed by the Department of Homeland Security’s Office for Bombing Prevention in partnership with FEMA and the CDP.
“There is a need for a comprehensive, standardized vehicle inspection procedure capable of detecting IEDs and other threats,” explained CDP’s Assistant Director of Curriculum Development and Evaluation, Bernice Zaidel. “While other training exists for IEDs, this is the only course to provide education and training in the DHS-approved procedures for conducting comprehensive vehicle inspections.”
The course provides responders and security professionals with a national guideline and practical application in a process consistently employed by jurisdictions to prevent and manage potential and known vehicle-borne IED incidents.
“Homeland Security Presidential Directive 4 and other National and [Department of Homeland Security] policies highlight the overwhelming need to counter the improvised explosive device threat,” Zaidel said. “The DHS Vehicle Inspection Guide, DHS Vehicle Inspection Video and this course provide the only DHS standards for conducting and training vehicle inspection procedures.”
In addition to the need for law enforcement officers to be trained on the VBIED awareness, Zaidel pointed out that many agencies follow the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards and other standards. In addition, many businesses and organizations require vehicle inspection and reporting to ensure critical infrastructure security. All of those agencies and organizations need personnel who are properly trained on vehicle-borne IED detection.
The VBIEDD course provides all of that. The course provides response personnel with knowledge and skill in the IED threat, identification of components and devices, methods for reacting to IEDs, and the procedures for inspecting vehicles to detect vehicle-borne IEDs. The course includes an overview of the vehicle-borne IED threat, fundamentals of IED and explosive effects, means for creation of homemade explosive devices, vehicle-borne IED clues, vehicle inspection procedures and a comprehensive exercise for inspecting vehicles and identifying vehicle-borne IED threats, Zaidel explained.
One of the best features of the course is that, like most CDP training, there’s more to the course than sitting in a classroom listening to lectures.
The course instruction includes a hands-on practical exercise where the students apply the knowledge and skills they have learned during the first half-day of training. During the hands-on phase, the students are asked to perform inspections on a variety of vehicles against a performance standards checklist, Zaidel explained. The hands-on activities help the students to retain the knowledge and skills and – hopefully – will transfer this to their jobs, organizations and communities.
Based on the students’ responses in their end-of-course evaluations, the students have indicated that after taking the course they have a high confidence level in their abilities to perform the inspection standards and have a greater sense of preparedness.
The VBIED course is offered as part of a series of law enforcement courses as part of Programs AG, AH and AI.
CDP training for state, local and tribal responders is fully funded by DHS, to include travel, lodging and meals. For more information on VBEID and other upcoming courses, go to http://cdp.dhs.gov.