Homeland Security & Public Safety
Public Safety
In the multi-jurisdictional metropolitan Washington region, ensuring safe communities for residents and visitors requires coordination across various agencies on a wide range of issues, including planning, response, resource sharing, and crime prevention. Throughout its history, COG has championed this coordination, such as its ongoing support of regional mutual aid agreements. These agreements allow police, fire, and other emergency resources to be shared across jurisdictional borders and have aided regional responses from the 1968 civil disturbances following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to the 9/11 terrorist attacks to presidential inaugurations.
Additionally, COG brings together the region’s various public safety disciplines, including fire and emergency medical services (EMS), law enforcement, emergency management, health, public affairs, and information technology to address public safety issues at the regional scale, ranging from gangs to drunk driving to fire safety to emergency communication.
News & Multimedia
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News
March 23, 2016
Following the terrorist attacks in Belgium, officials have noted there are no credible threats to the region, but they are encouraging area residents to stay...
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News
December 15, 2015
During a special briefing sponsored by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG), the Greater Washington Board of Trade (BOT) and the American...
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News
December 10, 2015
Prince George’s County Fire Chief Marc Bashoor and Baltimore Metropolitan Council also receive COG regional awards at the 2015 COG Annual Meeting.
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News
October 30, 2015
With the changing of the seasons, the region’s residents stoke their fireplaces, dust off their space heaters, and break out extension cords and candles for use...
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News
October 22, 2015
A new study of underground communications networks used by Metrorail recommends a long, system-wide to-do list, but also notes that important safety upgrades...