DeKalb County law enforcement remains relatively unaffected by recent changes in the terror alert system, local police officials said. The U.S. government lowered the terror alert from orange, or “high,” to yellow, or “elevated,” on Jan. 9. However, the change does not necessarily mean much at a local level for law enforcement agencies.

DeKalb police do not do anything differently when there is a change in the terror alert system, Lt. Jim Kayes of the DeKalb Police Department said. However, they do pay attention to FBI alerts and would react to a specific threat.

Many alerts are generalized and how law enforcement reacts to specific threats depends on the information it receives, Kayes said. The problem is that they don’t know if they deter a potential attack by increasing awareness.

“You don’t know if it’s because of what you do,” Kayes said.

University Police choose how to alter its state of alert in the same way.

“The average individual really wouldn’t notice anything going on,” UP Lt. Matthew Kiederlen said. When the alert system changes at a national level, not much happens at a local level for UP, he said.

Alerts from the Law Enforcement Automated Database System inform the department about threats through UP computers, Kiederlen said.

However, UP officers are told to be more suspicious and watchful during times of heightened alert, Kiederlen said. Officers are more mindful when they patrol the residence halls.

“You’re not going to see a physical change,” Kiederlen said.

The DeKalb County Sheriff’s deputies stay at about the same state of readiness regardless of level changes in the terror alert system, DeKalb County Sheriff Roger Scott said. Staffing stays about the same regardless, he added. Most officers take their police cruisers home with them.

“Those officers are on standby,” Scott said.

However, if a specific situation develops or if specific information concerning a potential attack comes up, the law enforcement agencies have ways of dealing with the problems.

The county can call for extra staff from other agencies, Scott said. The county is part of a state-wide law enforcement program where one department can call for assistance if a specific threat is discovered.

This law enforcement alert system has been in place for 1.5 years and is in the final stages of implementation, Scott said.

“We want to able to reach out to specific agencies,” Scott said. There also is a county-wide emergency plan committee. Each city in DeKalb County has its own plan, and the county acts as support for the agency.

All law enforcement agencies sit on the committee, Kayes said. The plan is focused on dealing with, rather than trying to prevent, an emergency.

UP officers can work overtime and be placed into the residence halls if a specific threat is identified, Kiederlen said.