[09/18/02]Experience in Warren County during the war on terrorism has shown that cooperation between local and federal law enforcement is improved, Warren County Sheriff Martin Pace said Tuesday.

“We have received calls that we’ve passed along to the FBI, and they’ve been interested enough to check it out,” Pace told members of Vicksburg Kiwanis. “Everything’s checked out OK so far. The channels are in place for disseminating information up or down the line.”

Pace cited federal investigators’ prompt responses, letting all would-be informants know their suspicions have been unfounded, as evidence of the enhanced cooperation he sees.

“It’s encouraging to me to know that the process works,” he said. “Under the current administration’s guidelines, intelligence is being communicated as well or better than it ever has been.”

The sheriff declined to discuss any examples of tips his department has received, but did warn against complacency locally.

“Quite frankly, a lot of times local law enforcement receives the initial information,” he said.

Pace’s Constitution Week talk highlighted the increased challenges the country faces in maintaining civil liberties while trying to prevent terrorism. While he encouraged vigilance, he also stressed that people should make sure they are “challenging things because of planned action.”

“We have to be concerned that we don’t give away freedoms in the name of fighting some other force,” Pace said. “We have to be careful we don’t get into the business of challenging people’s thoughts and beliefs.”

The sheriff added that he has also been encouraged by Warren County’s relative standing when he has attended disaster-planning meetings involving other cities.

“I hear other communities doing planning that we’ve had for years,” he said. “Vicksburg and Warren County have long had evacuation plans and emergency-contingency plans. The mechanisms are in place and the disaster drills have been run.”