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ORANGE COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE GENERAL ORDER Effective Date: March 14, 2023  Amends - GO 17.1.5 ( October 31, 2020 ) Number: 17.1.5 Distribution: All Personnel Review Month: February Reviewing Authority: OSB / Emergency Management Subject: Emergency Management This order consists of the following: 1. Purpose 2. Policy 3. Definitions 4. Procedures 1. Purpose The purpose of this policy is to establish the responsibilities, and functions of Emergency Management Unit/Critical Infrastructure Protection Section . Emergency Management shall coordinate the agency’s efforts to plan, prepare, prevent, respond to and recover from a terrorist threat, attack and/or man -made or natural disasters and critical incidents within and outside Orange County. 2. Policy It is the policy of the Orange County Sheriff’s Office to increase the security for the citizens and visitors of Orange County; from domestic or foreign terrorism and man-made or natural disasters. These efforts are accomplished through the Units within the Section and the programs and grants the Section administers. 3. Definitions A. Critical Incident – any natural or man -made event, civil disturbance, or any occurrence of unusual or severe nature which threatens to cause or causes the loss of life or injury to citizens and/or severe damage to property and requires extraordinary measures to protect lives, meet human needs and achieve recovery. B. Critical Incident Management Team – the on -call team tasked with the facilitation of the critical incident co mmand post, the emergency operation center function and Incident Command System (ICS). C. Critical Infrastructure Protection – tasked with identifying Critical Infrastructure, conducting vulnerability assessments. These tasks are designed to prevent, prepare against , and mitigate terrorist attacks. D. Emergency Management – tasked with developing, exercising, and the facilitation of the emergency management plans. Emergency Management is also the Sheriff’s point of coordination for the various anti -terrorism and emergency management task forces, the Incident Command System, and the National Incident Management Systems (NIMS). E. Homeland Security – the coordinated effort to provide security to our community 17.1.5, Page 2 of 4 from the threat of domestic or foreign terrorism and manmade or natural disasters. F. Risk – exposure to the chance of injury, death, or damage based upon the combination of the probability and consequences of an event. G. Risk Assessment – a means of prioritizing the security deficiencies identified during a vulnerability assessment of a critical facility to determine the priority in which deficiencies will be corrected. H. Terrorism – the calculated use or threat of violence to instill fear; intended to coerce or intimidate governments or so cieties in the pursuit of goals that are generally political, religious, or ideological. I. Threat – anything that could adversely affect the citizens and visitors to Orange County and/or its infrastructure. J. Threat Assessment – the process of assessing a co mmunity, environment, identifying critical facilities, infrastructures and event, assessing variables which affect the community, and the evaluation of specific threat groups to determine the threats most likely course of action. K. Vulnerability Assessment – a critical on -site exam of physical security measures concerning a property’s perimeter barriers, property within the perimeter, the parking areas, the exterior of a building, and a building’s interior spaces. 4. Procedures A. Organization Emergency Management is a component of the High Risk Incident Command (HRIC) and is organized into two squads: Emergency Management, and Critical Infrastructure Protection. B. Critical Infrastructure Protection Roles and Responsibilities 1. Coordinate communications between the federal, state and local governments, private industry, media and citizens of Orange County about terrorist threats and preparedness. 2. Coordinate efforts to protect the citizens of Orange County against man- made or natural disast ers. 3. Provide guidance in the development and implementation of training programs for first responders , businesses, and citizens regarding how to better plan, prepare , prevent, respond to, and recover from a terrorist threat/attack, man -made or natural dis aster . 4. Provide guidance and assistance in the procurement of equipment , training, and resources in response to a terrorist incident , or other man -made or natural disaster. 17.1.5, Page 3 of 4 5. Work with the Orange County Office of Emergency Management to respond to critical incidents and update response plans. 6. Provide recommendations and best practices to public and private partners regarding emergency plans and responses. C. Emergency Management Roles and Responsibilities 1. Developing, exercising, executing and facilitatin g of emergency management plans to include Operational Plans and Incident Action Plans for all events deemed necessary by the Sheriff or his/her designee. 2. All Operational Plans/Incident Action Plans and After Action Reports shall be forwarded to the Emergency Management Unit for record retention per G.O. 6.2.28 . 3. Acting as the liaison between the agency and the Orange County Office of Emergency Management to include the County’s Emergency Operations Center upon its activation. 4. Developing and maintaining the agency Critical Incident Management Guide (CIMG) and Hurricane Plan. 5. Maintaining the mobile command post and related equipment. 6. Developing, implementing and facilitating emergency management related training. 7. Designing agency initiated exercises and coordinating with public and private entities involving our agency in their exercise process. Emergency Management will be notified of all agency Emergency Management training exercises involving the agency and