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This story originally ran in the Sept 7, 2011, edition of Sidelines. Subscribe to our newsletter to stay on top of all things Sidelines 100.

Tennessee’s security level increased in the decade since 9/11, according to officials.

“Our law enforcement and first responders are better equipped and better trained than we could ever have imagined 10 years ago,” said Rick Shipkowski, the deputy homeland security advisor with the Tennessee Office of Homeland Security.

This is largely due to a combination of grants from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, including the State Homeland Security Program and Port Security Grant Program.

In Tennessee, these grants provided law enforcement with approximately $270 million, Shipkowski said, giving them “unprecedented capabilities” to respond to terrorist threats and other emergencies.

“Our communication and cooperation is better,” Shipkowski said, speaking about the relationships between law enforcement and safety agencies, such as state police, firefighter and the FBI. “Our information exchange has improved, and our interoperable communications have gotten better.”

Those federal funds have been used for a variety of applications and equipment, such as radio towers, mobile communication vehicles and advanced training sessions, he said.

Specifically, the grants from the Port Security Grant Program are used to examine Tennessee’s “critical infrastructure,” buildings and services that, if attacked, would result in critical loss of life, safety capability and economic stability, Shipkowki said.

“Tennessee has more critical infrastructure than most people would realize at first,” Shipkowski said.

Buildings such as financial institutions, sporting facilities and arenas, hospitals, transportation systems, energy systems and chemical plants fall into the category.

However, identifying the weaknesses in Tennessee’s critical infrastructure was only the first step, Shipkowski said.

“At the state level almost 10 years ago Tennessee was no more prepared than anyone else to deal with the threat of terrorism,” Shipkowski said, who joined Homeland Security about three months after its formation. “In the months following 9/11 we conducted a gap analysis to analyze the vulnerabilities and capabilities, and then we tried to fill in those gaps.”

There are still gaps that need filling, Shipkowski said, but things have come a long way in 10 years.

“Most people in the private sector never considered themselves as a target,” Shipkowski said. “Ten years ago the biggest threat to a business site was a disgruntled employee or a competitor breaking in and stealing your intellectual property.”

The second goal of Homeland Security’s gap analysis was to bolster security at important locations by installing cameras, fingerprint and retinal scanners, metal detectors and increasing personnel with added guards, bomb dogs, license plate readers and sometimes even psychologists trained in behavior analysis.

Other less apparent security has also been established.

“I think of the huge gray concrete planters in front of [LP Field],” said Duane Phillips, director of the Nashville Emergency Communication Center. “They are decorative, but that’s not what they’re made for. They stop someone from driving into the stadium with a truck full of fertilizer and diesel.”

The amount of cameras in Nashville increased drastically in the past decade, Phillips said, adding that he noticed video surveillance being installed everywhere from parks to bus stops.

According to the Department of Homeland Security’s annual audit, Tennessee’s office had the best results nationwide. This means that it spent federal grants with the most efficiency and effectiveness, Shipkowski said.

Nationally, there have been many security changes, too.

For instance, Homeland Security was formed as a direct result of 9/11. Additionally, the Transportation Security Administration, which was created two months after the terrorist attacks, was folded into Homeland Security in 2003.

The TSA began using a variety of new scanning techniques in November, including backscatter X-ray systems, millimeter wave detectors and Advanced Imaging Technology.

These systems were brought under scrutiny from the press and public, as some have concerns about exposure to radiation, and what they feel is an invasion of their privacy.

Furthermore, President Barack Obama signed a four-year extension of some portions of the Patriot Act on May 2 6 -a bill originally signed into law by former President George W. Bush in response to 9/11.

The Patriot Act grants law enforcement broader access to otherwise private information about American citizens by allowing provisions for surveillance of telephone conversations and emails. It also allows law enforcement to access the personal records of suspicious persons.

“It’s an important tool for us to continue dealing with an ongoing terrorist threat,” Obama said.

Like the TSA scanning procedures, the Patriot Act has caused a fair share of controversy about what freedoms and privacies Americans should surrender in order to maintain national security.

The MTSU Department of Public Safety could not be reached for comment regarding changes in campus security.

Though 10 years passed since 9/11, and much has changed in the realm of national and local security, more advancement must be made to keep up with the constant threat of attack, Shipkowski said. “It’s a bit of a game of cat and mouse,” Shipkowski said.

“We are very capable, but there is still room for improvement. However, [Tennesseans] can sleep easy at night knowing that there are highly-trained and well-equipped professionals that think about their safety 24/7 and are dedicated to dealing with this evolving threat.”

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