Welcome to the Kentucky Office of Homeland Security
The Kentucky Office of Homeland Security carries out multiple missions mandated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security as well as the Kentucky General Assembly. For example:
Counterterrorism -- threat and vulnerability assessments; suspicious activity intelligence gathering and analysis; classified information sharing with law-enforcement sources; awareness of anarchist and other groups engaged in unlawful practices; and preventive or mitigative guidance to both the public and private sectors against potential attacks. The key is foreseeability rather than reaction.
Community safety and security -- first responder training; seminars about personal safety; Neighborhood Watch support, management of Eyes & Ears on Kentucky; assistance to Citizen Emergency Response Teams; and guidance against violence for business and industry.
Administrative oversight of the Kentucky Intelligence Fusion Center -- primarily ensuring multi-agency collaboration ranging from KOHS and Kentucky State Police intelligence analysts with GIS capabilities to the Missing and Exploited Child Center to providing secure work areas for various federal, state and local law-enforcement agencies as needed. Additionally, the Center is a 24/7 Kentucky Transportation Cabinet resource for major highway monitoring plus coordination of circumstances regarding acts of nature affecting traffic flow and safety.
The Kentucky e-Warrant program -- innovative technology facilitating and expediting law enforcement's issuances of warrants.
Federal-grant administration -- aiding cities, counties and state agencies in acquiring interoperable communications equipment, victim rescue gear, DHS-approved fire department and EMS equipment and devices essential in helping thwart attacks on infrastructure vital to the security and economic stability of Kentucky and the United States.
Managing The Law Enforcement Protection Program -- providing needed funds for body armor, primary firearms and electronic-control weapons for local police and sheriff's departments in dire financial distress. Money source: Confiscated illegal weapon auctions by KSP only to licensed federal weapons dealers.
Critical infrastructure and buffer zone protection -- Kentucky has targets highly attractive to terrorists bent on destruction or other types of interference. KOHS organizes and directs vulnerability assessments of critical infrastructure while lending guidance in countermeasures against volatility. Although particular sites are governmental, often this is a private-public sector venture featuring mutual cooperation.
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Mission Statement |
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"Lead the Commonwealth's coordination and collaboration efforts with public and private preparedness partners to ensure a Ready and Prepared Kentucky."
Click the following link to download our Mission Statement
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Homeland Security Information Network |
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The Homeland Security Information Network was created to interface with existing information-sharing networks to support the diverse Communities of Interest engaged in preventing, protecting from, responding to, and recovering from all threats, hazards, and incidents under the jurisdiction of the Department of Homeland Security.
HSIN is uniquely qualifed to meet the missions of DHS and its information-sharing partners because of its ability to support and enhance collaboration among COIs that represent all levels of government including federal, state and local offices.
For more information, visit www.dhs.gov/HSIN.
Interested parties can contact Shelby Lawson, Deputy Executive Director of Operations at the Kentucky Office of Homeland Security, about becoming a member of the HSIN law-enforcement community. He can be reached at shelby.lawson@ky.gov.
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Recent News |
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FFY 2010 SHSP Grant Application Workshops
The Kentucky Office of Homeland Security will be holding FFY 2010 State Homeland Security Program (SHSP) Grant Application Workshops at the following locations (all workshops will be from 10 a.m.-noon, local time):
April 6 -- Kentucky Dam Village State Resort Park
113 Administration Drive
Gilbertsville, KY 42044
April 8 -- Greenbo Lake State Resort Park
965 Lodge Road
Greenup, KY 41144
April 13 -- Lake Cumberland ADD
2384 Lakeway Drive
Russell Springs, KY 42642
April 14 -- Kentucky Transportation Conference Center
200 Mero St.
Frankfort, KY 40622
Applications for SHSP will be accepted from April 19 through May 28 at 4:30 p.m. EST.
If you have any questions regarding the workshops, contact Holly Downey at (502) 564-2081 or by e-mail at holly.downey@ky.gov.
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A ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Green River Fire Officer’s School held in Lexington for one of the communication trailers awarded to the Kentucky Fire Commission from a Public Safety Interoperability Communications grant provided by the U. S. Department of Commerce. The three communication trailers will be located at Campbellsville, Owensboro and northern Kentucky and will have the capability to be sent quickly to any disaster site in Kentucky. Other communications trailers have been awarded to Lexington Metro Government, Christian County Fiscal Court and the Kentucky State Police.
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Virtual Job Fair to Expand Cyber Workforce
Tne U.S. Department of Homeland Security plans to hire up to 1,000 cybersecurity professionals over the next three years.
For more information, visit www.dhs.gov/cyberjobfair.
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H1N1 Influenza |
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For the latest information about H1N1 influenza, visit www.flu.gov.
Kentucky Public Health Commissioner William Hacker, M.D., is urging health-care providers and public-health officials to be on the alert for potential cases of swine flu in Kentucky.
For more information on swine flu and updated case counts, visit cdc.gov/swineflu, healthalerts.ky.gov or www.pandemicflu.gov.
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