Governor Greg Abbott today directed the Texas Department of Public Safety to surge Texas Anti-Terrorism Task Force resources to aggressively combat radical jihadist terrorism. This comes just days after Shamsud-Din Jabbar from Houston was inspired by ISIS to commit the terror attack in New Orleans that killed 14 people.
 
“Terrorism has no place in Texas,” said Governor Abbott. “Law enforcement at all levels must aggressively collaborate to eliminate radicalization that can lead to terrorist attacks.”
 
To achieve that goal, Governor Abbott issued the following directive to the Texas Department of Public Safety, focusing on prevention and protection of our local communities.
 
Prevention:

• DPS will work with FBI Field Offices to increase Anti-terrorism Joint Terrorism Task Force operations statewide.
• DPS will increase the number of intelligence analysts assigned to investigate terrorism and mass attack threats and to provide analytical assistance to local jurisdictions.
• DPS will work with federal agencies to identify, locate, and assess potential threats from Special Interest Migrants. (In the past 4 years, hundreds of immigrants who entered the country illegally were on the terrorist watch list.)
• DPS will work with the US Department of Homeland Security and local jurisdictions to expand the Bomb-Making Materials Awareness Program (BMAP), enhancing information sharing between the private sector and law enforcement regarding suspicious purchases of materials that may be used to construct improvised explosive devices.
• DPS will work with local partners from law enforcement, mental health, and other fields to implement the Texas Behavioral Threat Assessment Intervention and Prevention Program Strategy.
• DPS will provide training and education to Texas communities on prevention of terrorism and targeted violence. 

Protection and Mitigation:

• DPS Regions will work with local law enforcement partners on plans for securing special events and mass gatherings and will provide assistance including vulnerability assessments, threat detection technology, analytical support, and security personnel as needed.
• DPS will support local jurisdictions in planning and conducting mass casualty attack response workshops to improve the ability of Texas communities to detect, deter, and respond to terrorist attacks.
• DPS will develop a new exercise series focused on coordinating with private sector owners and operators of critical infrastructure to conduct workshops focused on detection of, deterrence of, and response to physical attacks against critical infrastructure. 
• DPS will expand the Texas Infrastructure Liaison Officer Program by offering additional certification and training opportunities in order to expand intelligence sharing, suspicious activity reporting, and incident coordination with private sector partners.  
• DPS will assess the vulnerability of the Capitol Complex to vehicle ramming and other types of potential terrorist attacks and will provide recommendations for Capitol Complex security enhancements to the Office of the Governor.