As a former Central Intelligence Agency officer, I worked numerous counterterrorism operations with other federal, state and local agencies. The process is hardly ever seamless, and the potential security lapses increase when information is siloed within disparate organizations and processes. We need clear command structures, shared information systems, unified operational protocols and the technology infrastructure to make it all work in real time.
Kansas City faces a coming challenge of delivering effective security operations at scale: How do we coordinate multiple agencies across two states, three levels of government and dozens of jurisdictions to deliver effective security for six World Cup matches and 650,000 visitors? The matches begin in June. We have seven months to get the right answer.
For the FIFA games, dozens of municipal police, fire and emergency services departments need to coordinate with 14 counties, state highway patrols and emergency management agencies. Then there are the federal partners — the FBI, Secret Service, Department of Homeland Security and the FAA, to name just a few. Add in the National Guard and FIFA’s security requirements, and you’ve got an operational challenge for the ages…