The US government spends billions of dollars to secure strategic and tactical assets at home and abroad against enemy attack. However, as "hard targets" such as military installations and government buildings are further strengthened, vulnerable soft targets are increasingly in the crosshairs of terrorists and violent criminals. Attacks on crowded spaces such as churches, schools, malls, transportation hubs, and recreational venues result in more casualties and have a powerful effect on the psyche of the populace. Soft Target Hardening: Protecting People from Attack, Second Edition, continues the national dialogue started by the first edition by providing case studies, best practices, and methodologies for identifying soft target vulnerabilities and reducing risk in the United States and beyond. Soft target attacks steadily climbed in number and scale of violence since the first edition of this book. New tactics emerged, as terrorists continually hit the "reset button" with each attack. In this volatile, ever-changing security environment, plans to protect people and property must be fluid and adaptable. Along with new hardening tactics, such as the use of tactical deception to disguise, conceal, and divert, the author has updated the text with new case studies to reflect and respond to the fast-moving transformation in methods from more complex and organized forms of terror to simpler, yet still-devastating approaches. This book is a must-read for those who secure, own, and operate soft target facilities, and for citizens who want to protect themselves and their families from attack. ​Soft Target Hardening, Second Edition, was named the ASIS International Security Industry Book of the Year in 2019.

Terrorist attacks occur daily and are increasingly being aimed at civilian populations around the world. Battlefield lines have been redrawn to include churches, schools, hospitals, and malls. This breach of moral boundary is shocking and invokes fear—two primary goals of terrorism. Although there is an increase in soft target activity—or attacks on places of worship, study, and leisure—there is hesitation to explore such susceptibility in the United States. Soft Target Hardening: Protecting People from Attack starts the national dialogue by providing case studies, best practices, and methodologies for identifying soft target vulnerabilities and reducing risk in the US. Offering deterrence and mitigation techniques from more than 275 sources, this comprehensive book: Explores US cultural nuances contributing to the country turning a psychological blind eye toward soft target threats Assesses the attractiveness of soft target threats presented by foreign and domestic terror groups and drug trafficking organizations Analyzes the unique vulnerabilities of churches, schools, hospitals, malls, sporting and recreational events, and other soft targets Gives an overview of soft target hardening tactics from global hotspots, including first-person accounts and photographs Introduces the concept of effects-based hardening, derived from the military model of effects-based operations Discusses emerging soft target challenges such as insider threats, kidnapping, and use of human shields Evaluates the likelihood of the use of weapons of mass destruction against civilian-centric venues Soft Target Hardening: Protecting People from Attack is a must read for those who secure, own, and operate soft target facilities, and for citizens who want to protect themselves and their families from attack.

Uniting the best of Michael Fagel and Jennifer Hesterman's books in the fields of homeland security and emergency management, the editors of this volume present the prevailing issues affecting the homeland security community today. Many natural and man-made threats can impact our communities—but these well-known and highly respected authors create order from fear, guiding the reader through risk assessment, mitigation strategies, community EOC planning, and hardening measures based upon real-life examples, case studies, and current research in the practice. As terrorist attacks and natural disasters continue to rock the world, Soft Targets and Crisis Management emphasizes the vulnerability of soft targets like schools, churches, and hospitals, and presents the methodology necessary to respond and recover in the event of a crisis in those arenas. Features: Based on ASIS award-winning texts Provides a multi-faceted look at crisis management principles Offers community-specific examples for diverse locales and threat centers Includes up-to-date case studies on soft target attacks from around the world A must-read for security, emergency management, and criminal justice professionals, Soft Targets and Crisis Management: What Emergency Planners and Security Professionals Need to Know is a crucial text for practitioners seeking to make the world a safer place for others.

This proceedings volume includes articles presented during the Advanced Research Workshop on Soft Target Protection. The book presents important topics related to the protection of vulnerable objects and spaces, called Soft Targets. The chapters published in this book are thematically assigned to the blocks as follows: Theoretical aspect of soft target protection; Blast resistance of soft targets; Counter terrorism; Technical and technological solutions for soft target protection; Scheme and organizational measures; Blast protection and Forces for soft target protection. In this book, the reader will find a wealth of information about the theoretical background for designing protection of soft targets, as well as the specifics of protecting objects in armed conflict areas. New methods and procedures applicable to the soft target protection are described.

Postmodern global terrorist groups engage sovereign nations asymmetrically with prolonged, sustained campaigns driven by ideology. Increasingly, transnational criminal organizations operate with sophistication previously only found in multinational corporations. Unfortunately, both of these entities can now effectively hide and morph, keeping law e

Underground facilities are used extensively by many nations to conceal and protect strategic military functions and weapons' stockpiles. Because of their depth and hardened status, however, many of these strategic hard and deeply buried targets could only be put at risk by conventional or nuclear earth penetrating weapons (EPW). Recently, an engineering feasibility study, the robust nuclear earth penetrator program, was started by DOE and DOD to determine if a more effective EPW could be designed using major components of existing nuclear weapons. This activity has created some controversy about, among other things, the level of collateral damage that would ensue if such a weapon were used. To help clarify this issue, the Congress, in P.L. 107-314, directed the Secretary of Defense to request from the NRC a study of the anticipated health and environmental effects of nuclear earth-penetrators and other weapons and the effect of both conventional and nuclear weapons against the storage of biological and chemical weapons. This report provides the results of those analyses. Based on detailed numerical calculations, the report presents a series of findings comparing the effectiveness and expected collateral damage of nuclear EPW and surface nuclear weapons under a variety of conditions.

U.S. government officials working overseas are at risk from terrorist threats. Since 1968, 32 embassy officials have been attacked -- 23 fatally -- by terrorists outside the embassy. As the State Dept. continues to improve security at U.S. embassies, terrorist groups are likely to focus on softÓ targets -- such as homes, schools, & places of worship. This report determines: whether the State Dept. has a strategy for soft target protection; assesses State's efforts to protect U.S. officials & their families while traveling to & from work; assesses State's efforts overseas to improve security at schools attended by the children of U.S. officials; & describe issues related to protection at their residences. Includes recommendations. Illustrations.