After Tuesday morning’s terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington D.C., local law enforcement officials took extra precautions to ensure the safety of Ames residents.

The Ames Police Department is concerned with individual retaliation, said Sgt. Mike Johns, Ames Police Department.

“Our biggest concern is that we will have some sort of retaliation,” he said. “We have a diverse community here in Ames, with people from all over the country.”

Johns said the Ames Police Department is taking precautions, but they are not using any extreme measures for extra protection.

“There’s not a whole lot that we can do, but we are suggesting that people take a step back and not react on emotion right now,” he said. “We don’t want anyone to take any action that would make matters worse in our community.”

The department is focusing on reacting quickly if anything does happen in Ames, Johns said.

Johns said the department is also keeping an eye on federal facilities in the community.

“Most of them are shutting down or running at low profile,” he said.

The ISU Department of Public Safety is also stepping up security on campus, said Capt. Gene Deisinger, special operations unit with DPS.

“We have been in briefings all afternoon discussing security measures,” he said.

Jerry Stewart, interim director of DPS, said the department is communicating with other departments and agencies on campus.

“We are exchanging information with other agencies – state, local and federal,” he said.

On Tuesday DPS met with the Department of Residence, the Department of Energy and the ROTC.

“There is not indication that there is any localized threat, but we are encouraging community residents to be cautious and report any suspicious activity or harassment to DPS,” he said.

The department has also issued several personal safety tips, Stewart said, which are available on its Web site.

The Air Force ROTC is also considering security measures for the university.

Anne Easturling, U.S. Air Force program manager at the Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama, said its public affairs office has sent news releases advising all detachments of the ROTC on follow-up precautions.

All military bases are in high security and taking increased security precautions, she said, and the Maxwell Air Force Base is responsible for all 143 ROTC detachments.

“We are not releasing the exact measures of what we are doing,” she said. “We want to be careful that we are releasing the same information to every detachment.”

According to the press release, officials at Maxwell/Gunter have declared Force Protection Condition DELTA, which ensures base personnel take increased security measures.