Across the nation, many law enforcement agencies have reported an increase in the number of instances when officers and bomb squads have responded to situations involving chemicals and improvised explosives (IE). Whether the chemicals are part of a sophisticated drug manufacturing operation or are being used by novices who are testing bomb making instructions found on the internet, expertise and advanced training are required to safely resolve these scenes.

As the need for this training has rapidly increased, several U.S. federal agencies and numerous contractors have designed training programs, which vary widely in their ability to safely meet this need. As some training accidents have occurred, the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) Arson and Explosives Subcommittee is concerned, and believes it’s the committee’s duty, to provide useful information to aid chiefs, department leaders, and training supervisors in deciding how to prepare for this growing threat.

The manufacture of primary explosives is a dangerous undertaking and should only be performed by subject matter experts who either have formal education in the field of chemistry or have received extensive training and certification by professional chemists.

The IACP Arson and Explosives Committee has prepared a guide in an effort to provide chiefs with information to be considered when deciding how to address the growing threat of improvised explosives through training for their personnel.

This guide may be accessed on the IACP members only site at www.theiacp.org/IACPmembersonly.