Karen Ann Coburn

About the author: Karen Ann Coburn has written several articles of local and national interest for Governing magazine.

Although local emergency response authorities have often felt illinformed by the federal government regarding the potential dangers of terrorist attacks, in recent years the lines of communication have been better established. In the wake of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing (in which the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building was destroyed by convicted terrorist Timothy McVeigh), President Bill Clinton created new protocols outlining how local and federal authorities should be coordinated to respond to attacks on American soil. Furthermore, federal authorities have been sharing more information regarding potential threats with local response teams and have been offering training to local officials on new technologies and other countermeasures meant to deter or deal with...