Task force proposes new three-level alert system
Alerts should be focused on specific industries or locations and should contain as much information as possible about the threat, group concludes.
If the U.S. government continues to have a terrorism alert system, it should only have three levels and be narrowly focused when used, a government task force recommended Tuesday.
The task force, established by Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano as part of the Homeland Security Advisory Council, issued a 17-page report offering changes to the nation's current five-color warning system, which has been criticized for years for being confusing and ineffective.
"In the view of the task force, a national threat warning system for terrorist attacks is as central now as it was when today's system was established in 2002," said the report, which the advisory council approved unanimously.
The task force, which had 60 days to review the current system, was comprised of public and private officials, including David Bradley, owner of Atlantic Media Co., parent firm of CongressDaily and Government Executive.
"The task force members agreed that, at its best, there is currently indifference to the [current advisory system] and, at worst, there is a disturbing lack of public confidence in the system," the report said. "In our judgment, this lack of public confidence must be remedied."
Napolitano must decide whether to accept the task force's recommendations. She could also scrap the alert system altogether, but has indicated her preference to keep some sort of system in place.
"Secretary Napolitano believes the American people deserve an alert system that is effective and trusted," a Homeland Security spokeswoman said. "The secretary looks forward to reading the report and sharing its recommendations with the White House and other Cabinet officials so that appropriate follow-up action can be taken."
If an alert system is maintained, it should only have three levels, with a baseline level as "guarded," the task force recommended.
But the group was divided on whether the system should use colors. Under the current system, the nation is now at an "elevated," or "yellow," level, while the aviation sector is at a "high," or "orange," level.
"Though recommending reform of the current system, half of the task force membership believes the concept of color-coded alerts is sufficiently clear, powerful and easily understood to be retained as one element in the secretary's alerts to the nation," the group wrote. "By equal number, task force membership believes the color-code system has suffered from a lack of credibility and clarity leading to an erosion of public confidence such that it should be abandoned."
Beyond the baseline level, the task force recommended that other levels could include "elevated," which could be orange, and "high alert," which could be red.
But the group recommended against overly broad alerts. Instead, an elevated warning should be narrowly tailored to focus on a specific location or industry sector, the task force wrote.
The department also should give the American public as much threat information as possible, the group said. And the alert level should return to the baseline as soon as possible.
The group recommended that Homeland Security create basic infrastructure to support the system, including dedicated staff and detailed protocols and procedures.