Home Springfield Press Releases 2009 University of Illinois/Champaign Police Department Bomb Squad Re-Accreditated
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University of Illinois/Champaign Police Department Bomb Squad Re-Accreditated

FBI Springfield August 24, 2009
  • Special Agent Marshall Stone (217) 522-9675

FBI Special Agent in Charge, Karen E. Spangenberg, Springfield Division, announced today the re-accreditation of the University of Illinois/Champaign Police Department Bomb Squad. The squad is one of 470 nationally accredited public safety bomb squads in the United States and one of 12 squads in the State of Illinois.

The accreditation is provided by the FBI's Hazardous Device Operations Center (HDOC) in Quantico, Virginia. This unit provides the training and oversight for all of the accredited bomb squads in the United States. HDOC funds the training and certifies all bomb technicians pursuant to nationally recognized standards. HDOC also facilitates technical intelligence sharing and provides equipment and resources to local jurisdictions to enhance their capability to respond to bombing incidents and terrorist threats involving improvised explosive devices (IEDs). All of the University of Illinois/Champaign Police Department Bomb Squad bomb technicians are nationally certified to standards promulgated by the National Bomb Squad Commanders Advisory Board (NBSCAB) and are thereafter certified by the FBI. All bomb technicians are required to re-certify every three years at the FBI's Hazardous Devices School (HDS) located on Redstone Arsenal at Huntsville, Alabama. The bomb squad accreditation is valid for a period of five years and verifies that bomb squad safety equipment, such as state-of-the-art robots and X-Ray systems, are in their equipment inventory and that there are certified technicians available for bomb response.

The Springfield Division of the FBI has formed a partnership with several law enforcement agencies within Central and Southern Illinois, to enhance the multi-jurisdictional response capability of Illinois Bomb Squads. As society becomes more global, the threats facing our communities are less restricted by jurisdictional boundaries. Law enforcement must be proactive in enhancing our ability to counter those threats.