Bomb Threats

The purpose of this policy is to provide guidelines and safety measures when responding to calls involving bomb threats.

Policy: Bomb Threats

Author: Chief Joseph M. Hallman

WILEAG Standard: N/A

Issue Date: December 1, 2017

Reviewed Date: March 23, 2026

Revised Date: March 23, 2026

 

Purpose:

The purpose of this policy is to provide guidelines and safety measures when responding to calls involving bomb threats.

Policy:

In dealing with bomb threats, the highest priority of this department will be to protect the lives of citizens and officers, followed by protection of public and private property and apprehension of offenders.

Definitions:

N/A

Procedures:

1. When a bomb threat is received, the following procedure will be followed:
   1. When a member of this department receives notification of a bomb threat, the member receiving the notification should obtain as much information as reasonably possible from the notifying individual, including:
      1. The location of the facility.
      2. The nature of the threat.
      3. Whether the type and detonation time of the device is known.
      4. Whether the facility is occupied and, if so, the number of occupants currently on-scene.
      5. Whether the individual is requesting police assistance at the facility.
   2. Officers will be immediately dispatched to the scene; and be mindful that radios and cellular phone use could detonate bombs.
   3. If there is no supervisor on shift, Officers should contact a supervisor as soon as possible, but only when it is safe to do so.
   4. Supervisor(s) will work with the Public Information Office to issue an emergency notification message to the affected campus community members.
   5. The Supervisor and/or responding Officer, after considering the seriousness of the threat, and the nature of the target, may request an immediate response by the Dane County Sheriff Explosive Ordinance Detail (EOD) and/or the Platteville Fire Department. The Fire Department, if called, should be advised of the EOD’s response, and vice versa.
   6. Officers responding to the scene will enlist the assistance of willing occupants, who are familiar with the premises, to assist in searching and/or evacuating. The initial decision to evacuate will be the responsibility of the responding officer.
   7. If a suspicious object is located, the area should immediately be evacuated and the object left undisturbed, until the EOD arrives.
   8. When called, the ranking EOD officer shall be considered in charge of EOD operations at the scene.
   9. Any department employee who receives a bomb threat should attempt to ascertain the location of the device, the time of detonation, type of device, any voice characteristics of the caller (e.g., sex, age, excitement level, ethnicity, speech peculiarities), and any distinguishable background sounds. 
   10. If the bomb threat originally came to the threatened area, employees should attempt to get the above information from the person receiving the threat, and all information should be relayed to the dispatch center.
2. Found device
   1. In instances where a suspected explosive device has been located, the Chief of Police and/or designee shall also be notified in order to address mutual aid, and/or special teams, and to designate an Incident Commander. The following are additional guidelines for all personnel
      1.  No known or suspected explosive item should be considered safe regardless of its size or apparent packaging.
      2. The device should not be touched or moved except by the bomb squad or military explosive ordnance disposal team.
      3. Personnel should not transmit on any equipment that is capable of producing radio frequency energy within the evacuation area around the suspected device. This includes the following:
         1. Two-way radios
         2. Cell phones
         3. Other personal communication devices
3. Crowd Control
   1. Only authorized members with a legitimate need should be permitted access to the scene. Spectators and other unauthorized individuals should be restricted to a safe distance as is reasonably practicable given the available resources and personnel.