One such alliance and a less traditional effort, the Terrorism Early Warning Group, was launched jointly in San Bernardino and Riverside, Calif., counties in 2001 after the 9/11 terrorist attack.
Representing the group, San Bernardino County Sheriff's Detective Heather Forsythe, with the department's Criminal Intelligence Division, said Tuesday that public safety agencies and private sector personnel, such as in education and banking, meet monthly to network, "compare notes" and essentially engage in ever-important information sharing.
Information has become critically integral in curtailing terrorism efforts, particularly as so-called home-grown violent extremists have effectively broadened places where attacks might occur.
When an attendee at the Victorville Rotary Club meeting, where Forsythe spoke, asked where in Victorville was most susceptible, Forsythe mentioned Southern California Logistics Airport, the region's several schools, churches and hospitals — but then she waved off the notion it was so clear cut anymore.
"Everywhere can be a potential target," she said.
Particular propaganda, including high-quality magazines, has sought to tempt those who are vulnerable with the message: "Do it where you stand," she said. "It can be Johnny next door."
In 2002, the county Sheriff's Department joined full-time the three-level Joint Terrorism Task Force, created 18 years earlier, which has also acted as another centralized port for info-sharing, she said.
"Again, you see that 9/11 nexus to why agencies really started seeing the importance of partnering with federal agencies," she said.
The task force here is run out of the FBI field office in Riverside.
"So you guys know, your Sheriff's Department has a body sitting full time with the FBI," she said. "We realize the importance of keeping in touch with them, utilizing their resources so we can prevent another (Dec. 2 terrorist attack)."
As many as five law enforcement agencies in this county outside the Sheriff's Department have an individual sitting with the FBI, she added.
The basic modus operandi hasn't changed, however, when it comes to private citizens acting as effective watchdogs: If you see something unsettling, say something — and regardless if it might feel "petty."
"There's people coming over in the middle of the night and they're loading a moving truck at 2 a.m.," she said for an example, "and this is happening once a week and there's four or five males. Does it really matter if they're white, black, Hispanic, Asian, Arabic?"
"It doesn't, right?" she continued. "If that's suspicious to you and how it plays in your neighborhood, say something."
She recommended making reports to the local law enforcement agency or We-Tip Hotline, where reporters can offer information anonymously, at WeTip.com or 1-800-78-CRIME.
Earlier, a Rotary Club attendee asked Forsythe to measure the effectiveness of myriad joint partnerships in recent years, but she couldn't quite quantify it.
"There's plenty of things that get thwarted and stopped," she added, "and it doesn't always make the media."
Shea Johnson can be reached at 760-955-5368 or SJohnson@VVDailyPress.com. Follow him on Twitter at @DP_Shea.
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