The authors are researchers at Rand Corporation, tasked with providing a detailed report on state and local intelligence regarding the war on terrorism. Their purpose is to provide succinct analysis on the current standards of local and state authorities in countering terrorism. The report argues that there are few detailed documents on state and local law enforcement agency (LEA) counterterrorism activities. This report fills such a gap in the field of research. The authors argue that federal level intelligence systems remain disorganized and contend that state and local law enforcement intelligence gathering is crucial in combating terrorism. The report details a survey on LEA preparedness activities on terrorism, authorizations on …show more content…
These allow states to tailor a fusion center to their local concerns and effectively integrate centers to existing local agencies and priorities. Also, the authors asserted that many local and state LEA intelligence capabilities were subpar of nonexistent, describing in one example that intelligence support centers were usually staffed by clerical people with barely any formal intelligence analysis training. The article is useful to my paper through its evaluation of intelligence fusion centers. Understanding the limits and weaknesses of having a multi-level agency coordination center versus local and state LEAs enables me to decide on a persistent need for more resources and training for local authorities when dealing with Lone Wolf Terrorism.
2. Bakker, Edwin, and Beatrice De Graaf. "Preventing lone wolf terrorism: Some CT approaches addressed." Perspectives on Terrorism 5, no. 5-6 (2011).
Prof. Edwin Bakker and Prof. Beatrice de Graaf are professors at Leiden University. In addition, they are also fellows at the International Center for Counter-Terrorism, based in The Hague. The scholars describe in their article, the concept of Lone Wolf Terrorism. They argue that Lone wolf operators are difficult to categorize, inferring a need to focus more on the modus operandi of lone wolves, rather than the profiles of the terrorist. This source is relevant to my paper as it describes the challenges of dealing with Lone Wolf Terrorism, a recent and growing threat in the
Many of the current differences we see today between the federal, state and local law enforcement intelligence stemmed from prior to the September 11 attack. Prior to this attack many states lacked a robust intelligence capability, as it was the primary role of federal agencies to protect the United States from both foreign and domestic terrorist threats. In an attempt to mitigate future attacks of this nature state, local, and
While the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is one, centralized agency, securing the homeland involves the cooperation and collaboration of many, different agencies and organizations ranging from local law enforcement to national agencies such as the NSA, CIA, and FBI. Each of these agencies contributes to the development of homeland security intelligence. By carefully analyzing and commenting on the objectives, tasks, strengths, weaknesses, and roles of each agency, a larger picture emerges regarding the capabilities and limitation of intelligence in supporting homeland security efforts.
Homeland Security is characterized by crime control being the primary police function. It is best achieved through a collective effort by all law enforcement agencies. One of the strategies being used is Intelligence Led Policing. This strategy is not new, it can be traced back to the British is the 1990’s (Bailey, 2011). Intelligence Led Policing is an approach to crime that deals with all crimes and threats including terrorism. This approach is unique because it is threat driven instead of incident driven. It also is a long term approach and focuses on causes and conditions that add to crime through a collection of data.
According to most analysis of the lone-wolf terrorist, the lone-wolf terrorist is identifiable by a few characteristics. However, Bartol and Bartol list seven main characteristics in textbook. The lone-wolf terrorist may identify or sympathize with extremist movements, but they operate individually. Since they operate alone, they act with the influence of a leader or hierarchy. They may often strive for notoriety on the behalf of an interest group. Because their plans are well throughout in advance, it is consider to be premeditated. Unlike other terrorist, the lone-wolf appears to have suffered from some form of mental illness. Lastly they may prefer solitude instead of the companionship of friends because they lack interpersonal and social skills (Bartol & Bartol, 2014, p337).
There has been much less consideration in the role of state and local government, which play a major role in preventing and responding to a terrorist attack. Community policing and other federal agencies can share many strategies such as transforming the agencies to take on new mission should be part of the homeland security strategy because fighting local crimes is the more effective approach in dealing fear and social disorder. When law enforcement are being trained toward a national role in homeland
The devastating events of 9/11 provided a forewarning to our country concerning the dangers of terrorism. However, it has created a particularly greater impact on the duties and standards expected of law enforcement agencies on all levels (local, state, and national). Law enforcement has begun implementing new tactics in an effort to prevent future terrorist attacks from threatening our national security. One aspect of policing in which terrorism has brought about is the process of information sharing between all levels of law enforcement. Our nation has also witnessed a change from traditional policing to that of a militarized one. Furthermore, after the incidents of September 11th, the
While many have welcomed Muslim immigrants to our country and the vast majority have become a welcome addition to our society, there is an undercurrent of militant Islam which is present and remains a threat. It is necessary for the Federal government working in concert with State and local authorities to continue the work which has been done on creating regional and state terror response cells and an information sharing network, but this is not enough. Even the federal information sharing systems available to law enforcement and intelligence agencies have limitations to who can access certain areas and the minimal training provided is not conducive to ease of access or locating information queried. This is a great first step but it must be made more accessible to all Emergency Management
It is important to remark the initial stages of development that Homeland security policing undergoes and its implicit correlation with local policing, therefore due to its brief time as a regulator of national security, few studies have been explored over this topic. Current factors like organization size, budget per capita and functional differentiation to name a few, have made numerous variables surrounding each study (Randol, 2012, p. 305).
State and local law enforcement have a very big role to play in homeland security intelligence. They are the front line offense and defense since the climate in the United States changed on September 11, 2001. It could be suggested that the key for state and local law enforcement to be successful in the homeland intelligence game is to be employed more frequently and to be kept better informed of what the federal agencies are aware of with regard to intelligence and threats.
Note: In this paper, a ‘lone wolf’ will be defined using Ramón Spaaij’s definition stated as “Lone wolf terrorism involves terrorist attacks carried out by persons who (a) operate individually, (b) do not belong to an organized terrorist group or network, and (c) whose modi operandi are conceived and directed by the individual without any direct outside command or hierarchy.”
Subsequent to 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center (WTC) and the Pentagon which compelled the U.S. to imagine the unconceivable. That day things went really wrong, because that was the day that terrorist decided to make their presences know by attacking us. They evolved from using bombs to using airplanes to deliver as there attack weapon because it would cause lethal fatalities on U.S. soil. This was never done before and we were not prepared to handle such a massive attack. This paper will investigate what went wrong before and after 9/11, the effects of post 9/11, surveillance surge on state and local policing, what was the problem why the C.I.A. and the F.B. I. did not communicate with each other, analyze our current and past laws in regards to the dissemination of information between state, local authorities, and federal authorities, and to recommend changes or reforms to policies that are obsolete. We understand that local law enforcement and state agencies will bring specific advantages (there strength) from there organizations, and they will also bring their inherited weaknesses. Thereby, they will bring one important thing to the table which is how they collect local intelligence; as well as them being able to address some of their weaknesses. For example, lack of analytical capacity in order to fully use the data they collect. This paper builds and contributes to how things were before and after 9/11, and the types of changes that were made within law
The tragic events of September 11, 2011 have changed the way Americans lives their every day lives. Especially, with members of the law enforcement community. Guidelines have been implemented in order to better prepare law enforcement agencies in handling suspected terrorist and potential targets for attacks. Nationwide agencies have been created to better serve local law enforcement agencies investigate potential terroristic threats, and alleviate any unsolved questions of what is required to better protect the security of the U.S. Due to terrorist attacks that have occurred across the world and in the U.S., law enforcement agencies and citizens now have the proper resources to help prevent future terrorist attacks.
On September 11, 2001, the terrorist attack the United States which shocked the entire world. This concealment, great destructive power terrorist action catches intense attention in the globe. Thence, the term of “lone wolf” terrorism had become an enthusiastically in academic research, and people put huge resources to take precautions. Lone wolf terrorism is a type of terrorist attack that people who support groups, movements, or ideologies throughout the violence to promote their belief. Because of the lack of contact between such terrorists and other organizations, the various preparatory activities are carried out on their own, making it even more difficult for society to prevent or detect their actions. However, the violent attack had been planned, executed, and act independently without any order. In addition, the lone wolf is an independent terrorist-minded person who can recruit and train through the Internet, receive radical education, inculcate extremist ideas, or have anti-human tendencies by their own path. The lone wolf terrorist usually has no different with ordinary people because they only expose their cruel nature at the last moment. Creating a panic in public is the primary concerned of lone wolf terrorism, therefore it can help achieve not only the political,
For a long time before the events of September 11th, typically foreign terrorist acts were committed in some relation to military acts like the Irish Republican Army (IRA) or disputes along Middle Eastern borders like Israel and Palestine both are long standing political issues that continue to tug on the hearts of those involved to this day. But more so today we see an influx of independent terrorist attacks which we call these lone wolf attacks. These people are unassociated or are un-sponsored by with any particular group and act of their own accord. These lone wolf attacks are a particular challenge to intelligence communities because the investigation comes down to their personal mindset and to what radicalized
As one of the most efficient States in fighting terrorism, Florida has avoided the Department of Homeland Security all together. Instead, Florida has an Office of Domestic Security and an Office of Statewide Intelligence in order to stop terrorist, respond, and recover from terrorist attacks (2). Aside from these organizations, Florida has more than a dozen other organizations/centers including the Research and Analysis Unit (RAU) Financial Crimes and Analysis Center (FCAC), and Florida Investigative Support Center (FISC) ("Florida Department of…” 1). What Florida has done well that the nation has not done well as a whole is communication. By splitting Florida into seven regions, communication between the regions has been effective and can be compiled easily. Each quarter, the information is compiled and then sent back to the agents in order to analyze crime and determine where distribution of resources will go (1).