Home Information Sharing & Analysis Prevention & Protection Preparedness & Response Research Commerce & Trade Travel Security Immigration
About the Department Open for Business Press Room
Current National Threat Level is elevated

The threat level in the airline sector is High or Orange. Read more.

Homeland Security 5 Year Anniversary 2003 - 2008, One Team, One Mission Securing the Homeland

Fact Sheet: 2005 Presidential Inauguration - National Special Security Event

Release Date: 11/08/04 00:00:00

The Department of Homeland Security announced that the Presidential Inauguration to be held on January 20, 2005, has been designated a National Special Security Event.  This designation is also extended to the Swearing-in Ceremony at the U.S. Capitol, the Inaugural Parade, the official reviewing stand on Pennsylvania Avenue, and the Inaugural Balls.

When an event is designated a National Special Security Event, the Secret Service assumes its mandated role as the lead federal agency for the design and implementation of the operational security plan and coordinator for all Federal resources deployed to maintain the level of security needed for the designated events. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) serves as the lead agency responsible for intelligence and law enforcement operations as well as statutory Federal criminal investigations.  The goal of such an operation is to prevent terrorist attacks and criminal acts.

Once an event is designated a National Special Security Event, the Secret Service employs existing partnerships with federal, state and local law enforcement and public safety officials with the goal of coordinating federal, state and local agencies to provide a safe and secure environment for the event and those in attendance.

Resources used as part of past NSSE operational security plans that could be deployed for upcoming NSSE designated events include physical infrastructure security fencing and barricades, special access accreditation badges, K-9 Teams, and other security technologies.  

The Secret Service is responsible for planning, directing and executing federal security operations at designated NSSE's. The Secret Service also provides federal, state and local law enforcement partners who provide substantial, critical support to the protective mission with the necessary guidance and training regarding their role in the overall operational security plans.

The Secret Service sponsors several training seminars for command-level law enforcement and public safety officials from jurisdictions all over the country to provide fundamental principles for managing security aspects of major events and strategies for reducing vulnerabilities related to terrorism and other criminal acts. Seminars discuss key strategies and lessons learned from past events.  

The Emergency Preparedness and Response division within the Department of Homeland Security, the leading division responsible for response and recovery efforts, could pre-position some combination of the following assets:  the Domestic Emergency Support Team (DEST), Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) teams, national Emergency Response Teams (ERT-N), the Nuclear Incident Response Team (NIRT), the Strategic National Stockpile and Mobile Emergency Response System (MERS).  The specific package will be tailored for each individual event based on coordination with other federal agencies, state and local jurisdictions, available local resources, mutual aid agreements and other event-specific requirements.

A number of factors are taken into consideration when designating an event as a National Special Security Event including a few outlined below:

  1. Anticipated attendance by dignitaries - Events which are attended by officials of the United States Government and/or foreign dignitaries may create an independent federal interest in ensuring that the event transpires without incident and that sufficient resources are brought to bear in the event of an incident.  
  2. Size of the event - A large number of attendees and participants generally increases the security requirements.  In addition, larger events are more likely to draw the attention of terrorists or other criminals, particularly those interested in employing weapons of mass destruction.
  3. Significance of the event - Some events have historical, political and/or symbolic significance that may heighten concern about possible terrorist acts or other criminal activity.

Past NSSE's:

Since 1998, the U.S. Secret Service has led federal security operations for 20 National Special Security Events (NSSEs), including the 2000 Republican and Democratic National Conventions, the 2000 Presidential Inauguration, the 2001 United Nations General Assembly, the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah and Super Bowl XXXVI in New Orleans, the 2004 State of the Union Address, and most recently the Sea Island G8 Summit,  former President Ronald Reagan’s Memorial Services and the 2004 Democratic and Republican National Conventions.

###

Dated:  November 8, 2004

This page was last reviewed/modified on 11/08/04 00:00:00.