The Division of Physical Security Management (DPSM) was established to ensure that physical and engineering security initiatives at all NIH facilities work in concert to provide the most secure environment possible for the NIH community. You may wonder how DPSM and other agencies and departments like it were started. Physical Security for federal agencies became important and necessary back in the 1990s.
The Interagency Security Committee (ISC) was created after the Oklahoma City bombing of the Alfred Murrah Federal Building on April 19, 1995. This was the deadliest attack on U.S. soil before 9/11 and the worst domestic-based terrorist attack in U.S. history.
A truck packed with explosives was parked in front of the building and was detonated, destroying the structure that housed 17 federal agencies and claiming the lives of 168 people. In addition, over 800 people were injured.
Following this incident, President Clinton immediately directed the Department of Justice (DOJ) to assess the vulnerability of all federal facilities to acts of terrorism and violence and to develop recommendations for a minimum set of standards. Up until this point, there were no minimum physical security standards for non-military facilities, federally-owned or leased.
A working group comprised of security specialists from the DOJ, the U.S. Marshals Service, the General Services Administration (GSA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the U.S. Secret Service, the Social Security Administration, and the Departments of Defense (DoD) and State developed a report, the “Vulnerability Assessment of Federal Facilities,” also known as the Department of Justice Report.
On June 28, 1995, this landmark document established proposed minimum security standards, including the following:
- Securing perimeter buffer zones
- Developing access procedures for entrances and exits including garages and service entrances
- Identification and admittance of employees and visitors
- Use of closed circuit television monitoring
On October 19, 1995, President Clinton issued Executive Order 12977, creating the ISC to address continuing government-wide security for federal facilities. According to the ISC, “each executive agency and department shall cooperate and comply with the policies and recommendations of the Committee issued pursuant to this order.” Under the EO 12977, three key responsibilities were identified:
- Establish policies for security and protection of federal facilities
- Develop and evaluate security standards and a strategy for ensuring compliance
- Take necessary actions to enhance the quality and effectiveness of security and protection of federal facilities
The ISC standards apply to facilities in the United States occupied by federal employees for nonmilitary activities. However, DoD has recently adopted ISC standards for all off-installation leased facilities in and outside of the Continental United States.
For further information, please visit https://www.dhs.gov/interagency-security-committee.
