US Revamps Homeland Security Alert System

By Devlin Barrett Updated Dec .

16, 2015 1:40 p.m . ET

The Department of Homeland Security issued a new type of terror alert on Wednesday, warning Americans that self-radicalized suspects inspired by foreign extremists could strike without notice.

The first such bulletin from the Department of Homeland Security s new National Terrorism Advisory System informed the public that recent attacks and attempted attacks internationally and in the homeland warrant increased security, as well as increased public vigilance and awareness.

The one-page warning said there are no known specific and credible plots to attack in the U.S., but described officials overall concern that individuals might act out on their own . As a result, the bulletin said, there will be greater security activity at public places and events.

This may include a heavy police presence, additional restrictions and searches on bags and the use of screening technologies, the bulletin said.

We re in a new environment where terrorist-inspired attacks can happen with little or no notice.

Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson

The bulletin will expire in six months, officials said .

This inaugural notice reflects a change in the way the federal government will inform the public about potential threats from now on, a switch that officials hope provides information that is more useful and timely.

After the Sept .

11, 2001 terror attacks, the George W . Bush¹ administration created a color-coded threat level system, ranging from green (the safest) to blue to yellow to orange to red, which came to be criticized as confusing . The Obama administration scrapped that format in 2011, replacing it with just two categories of notification: one for a credible threat and another for an imminent threat.

But since creating that two-tiered system, homeland security officials have never issued either type of alert, and Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson has said the two categories don t give him enough flexibility to describe the level of domestic threats.

We re in a new environment where terrorist-inspired attacks can happen with little or no notice, Mr .

Johnson said.

The department already issues bulletins to law enforcement agencies about specific cases or types of terrorist threats, but the new system is designed to provide more general information to the public about the overall threat environment.

Homeland security officials said they have been working on changing the alert system for months, though recent attacks in Paris² and San Bernardino³ lent an urgency to changing to the system.

Write to Devlin Barrett at devlin.barrett@wsj.com⁴

References

1. ^{^} George W .

   Bush

   (topics.wsj.com)
2. ^{^} attacks in Paris (www.wsj.com)
3. ^{^} San Bernardino (www.wsj.com)
4. ^{^} devlin.barrett@wsj.com (www.wsj.com)

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