Terrorist Investigation Issues - Case Study Example

?Terrorist Investigation Case Assignment He was given 3 days of intensive FBI counter-terrorism training, courtesy of Homeland Security. The FBI website claims that its classes for police officers ‘stress improving leadership skills, incorporating the latest investigative techniques, sharing best practices, and fostering an esprit de corps (The Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2012).” I would include the following topics in this type of training: a) State, National, and International Lines of Communication (so that everyone knows how to get important information to the right people in a timely manner) b) Critical Thinking (so information is understood effectively, within a wider context) c) Terrorist Perspectives and Methodology (so the trainee can get inside the worldview of the terrorist, know how to interact, understand typical response patterns, etc. d) Terrorism: How Terrorist Organizations Operate (to have an overview of major terrorist groups, their commonalities and distinctions, research-based theories about terrorism) e) Case Studies in Terrorism (focusing on terrorist profiles and investigations, to shape action decisions) f) Ethics in Terrorist Investigations (how to respect privacy and human rights, and the law, and still maximize investigation efficiency 2. He thought the training would help his career. He was an experienced officer, currently focused on gang issues. Gang managements require some of the same skills that terrorist management does. Although three days of specifically terrorism training does not sound like much, and although his colleagues teased him about this, and although they did not prevent the bomb blast and outcomes, still I must conclude that he did a good job, had good intuition and skills, reported carefully, and used it as a learning experience. He is even better-prepared now, and he now has more contacts for future cases. No one is fully prepared because terrorist tactics change and become more sophisticated, and there is a lot of money available to them. 3. Probably they never dreamed that such a case would fall into their jurisdiction. It was treated far too casually. In the future, more than one person should receive training; training should be longer, if possible (maybe two weeks); and they would be advised to have a counterterrorism unit that receives annual continuing education credits. 4. Greentree City Police Department, Homeland Security and FBI have a training relationship. A friend of the Commander’s, at the FBI, was consulted informally. The State Terrorism Task Force sent an investigator to interview Broadman, at the City Police Annex, after the bomb explosions, and also made available an Arabic translator during the investigation. State Troopers handled the speed trap (to question Amid) and the accident, and communicated with Bradman and his Commander. I would recommend a daily online meeting to discuss issues that may concern multiple departments and agencies. A Coordinator could be appointed from each agency, whose job would be to stay on top of emerging information and suspicions, and to represent the agency at the daily meeting. 5. The truth is, people do not wave terrorist identity cards to announce their nonmainstream social status. Law enforcement must rely on stereotypes in order to have a method to follow. Profiling, however, can have unfortunate consequences, including: violation of innocent people’s trust, human rights, privacy rights. It can cause humiliation, social embarrassment, increased anger and suspicion in families and communities, and can lead to hate crimes, unwarranted police violence, insecure children, and retribution, particularly if it is not done discretely. I was profiled twice on airline flights. The first time was because I was traveling a long distance, with no checked baggage. I was detained and officially questioned about this, and my carry-on luggage was searched again, more thoroughly. It was inconvenient and I felt embarrassed in front of other passengers. The second time I was profiled was when I was recovering from an injured foot and walking funny because of it. I noticed the airline security intensely staring at my foot, as I walked. I was waved aside, out of the line, while my shoes were taken apart and inspected well. They did not apologize and I felt offended and embarrassed. I think racial profiling would feel similar but worse, because race is who you are, and cannot be changed or recovered from, the way a sore foot can be. 6. Local law enforcement officers should meet local imams and other religious leaders (pastors, priests, swamis) under less threatening circumstances first, perhaps at an annual get-together or a tour of mosques and churches in the area. Local law enforcement should explain the rationale of their actions to the Imam, rather than being discourteous in a house of worship. They should be respectful and discrete. They should try to have their facts straight so that misidentifications and mistakes are minimized. They should avoid frightening people. 7. I would include a trip to the mosque and a discussion with an imam about Islam and mosques. I would also include more general training about the social construction of reality and how there is no single reality, but various interpretations (Piaget, 1954). I would also organize a potluck picnic for police officers and their families and Muslim families. 8. It is critical to educate parents to not fear Muslim families at the school, so I would suggest discussing the issue at a parent teacher association meeting. Maybe the library (school and community) could have some non-threatening books about the lives and adventures of Muslim children and their families, as well as historical and mythological characters. For example, a Muslim children’s story I like is, “The Storks and the Night Owl” (Wiggin & Smith, 2012) At an assembly, several brave children (a Muslim, a disabled child, a child with a strong accent, etc.) could tell what it feels like to be bullied, and a teacher could instruct the children on what to do about bullying and why it is dangerous. Maybe there could be a poster competition (school, scout groups, Sunday schools) on the theme of tolerance and inclusivity. Perhaps the schools could participate in celebrating a Muslim holiday (for example, Mohammed’s birthday celebration).Maybe a child who has gone on Haj to Mecca could tell about it in various classrooms. A made-for-TV movie series, on the challenges of being Muslim in America, would probably help a lot. Terrorism comes out of anger, frustration, resentment, and fear of one group for another. It is important to bring group members into sympathy and friendship with each other, so they will be less likely to have negative beliefs about each other, and so that there are fewer people who are vulnerable to recruitment by terrorist organizations. 9. Carrying terrorist money and forged documents across state lines, and recruiting a 22 year old citizen to be a driver and courier, and blowing up the office building are factors applying to domestic terrorism. However, the involvement of a foreign-based group, with goals and activities beyond the US boundaries, makes it also international terrorism. Domestic terrorism is when the violence, coercion, intimidation and other terrorist activities are targeting primarily the people or government of the USA or any State in the USA, and the activities and resources are pretty much confined there. International terrorism is when the violence, coercion, intimidation, and other terrorist activities extend beyond USA boundaries, involving populations, governments, networks, and activities in or toward other nations (US Government, nd). A group of people who threaten to burn down the tax office if the tax laws are not immediately revised to their satisfaction are engaging in domestic terrorism. The case Boardman investigated, however, is international terrorism, involving documents passing over the Mexican border and probably used to change identities of international terrorists. 10. I would ask questions about recruitment of young people into the organization. I would want to understand this thoroughly, so that I could contribute information and suggestions that would protect young people from being recruited in the future. I would want to know the tactics used and stories told to shape the thinking of new recruits. I want to know where they find recruitment candidates. I would try to find out his modes of communication with the organization, those under and over him. I would try to find out how the organizational hierarchy is outlined. I would ask how he himself came to be a member of the organization (recruited when a teenager, recruited when angry or fearful, slid in through family connections and beliefs, etc.). I would try to find out the companies, like the paper company, which are involved (even unknowingly) in supporting their efforts. I would ask what part of the Koran justifies his organization’s operation and his own participation? I would ask about his childhood and young adulthood, his parents and siblings, to try to gain a clear profile of a dedicated terrorist’s background. I would want to understand something about Muslim culture so that I can distinguish red flags from normal cultural variance, and so that I can respond more appropriately and solicit cooperation, rather than making him hate me. Understanding Muslim culture would make me less of an outsider. 11. Maintaining clear and consistently updated mutual information is key. Fortunately, we live in the information age, so computers make this possible. Trusting one’s instincts, and being willing to take the risk of appearing foolish or prematurely suspicious in order to pass on information that might be important is also important. But probably the most important way in which local law enforcement agencies can be effective in fighting both international and domestic terrorism is to take a strong leadership role in coordinating community relationships and activities that will inform young people and keep them involved in the community so that they are not vulnerable to terrorist organization’s recruitment outreach. If they do not feel marginalized, they are better protected. Prevention is highly cost-effective and a sensible approach. 12. If I were an employee, I would want to know there is 24 hour security officers with cameras to help them watch all parts of the building thoroughly. I would want all incoming vehicles to have officially-issued numbered stickers and visitors required to leave a driver’s license at the well-guarded gate. All employees should be required to insert a pass in order to enter the building. All visitors should be issued passes which expire after two hours and must be officially by security. Employers probably would not want such tight security because it will be seen as being inconvenient to business contacts and suppliers, and will no doubt raise the cost of occupying the office building. The owner of the building would only support radical security measures if tenants are not driven away by them, and if the cost can be covered by occupants (raising rents). All three (employee, employer, and building owner) must accept what a Wisconsin Sheriff recently observed, that safety is no longer something to expect f4rom law enforcement. He tells the community, “I need you in the game (Training, 2013). It should be everyone’s responsibility. 13. I cannot determine what he should have done differently. It is unfair to look from hindsight and criticize past decisions and actions as being insufficient. Broadman did the best he could, given what he had to work with. However, I imagine that Lieutenant Broadman has involved himself in various community programs to protect young people from gang recruitment. I believe this is what he can do differently now, to inspire this kind of community work to protect against terrorist recruitment. Maybe Broadman should befriend Amid and see if he might be able to speak about this at school assemblies and community meetings. He is not a hardened terrorist, so a little focused positive attention will likely turn him around so that he could be effective in prevention efforts. 14. If I were Boardman, I would try to balance these sometimes competing values in a way that would not compromise the eventual prosecution and/or cooperation, if required, of people involved in the investigation. Violating the rights of individuals and groups will open the department and the government up to scandal, public mistrust, lawsuits, hung juries, and case dismissals, as well as increasing the power (and feeling of power) of the guilty people who are under investigation, while the innocent people under investigation may become frustrated and angry and offended enough to not cooperate in the future. Good relations are vital. Furthermore, I would want to sleep at night, rather than lying awake, due to a guilty conscience or a bad reputation. If I were a naturalized citizen, I would be fearful that the dangers and challenges which caused me to leave my native country, originally, were still haunting me in America. I would be offended that, even though I had learned a new language and culture, followed the rules, and live in a democracy, I am still targeted. I would value human rights as the primary value because I know what it is to live without them. A native-born US citizen, on the other hand, does not know this, and is probably not fearful or guarding challenging memories and secrets. Therefore, as a native-born citizen, I expect my government and law enforcement agencies to keep me safe, and if they have to violate human rights of foreign-born individuals or foreign-born groups, so be it, so long as they do not step on the toes of me and my family and friends. 15. One thing to follow up, in this investigation, is to rule out law enforcement personnel culpability for the bombing. I raise this first because the investigation team must know that they are clean before looking outside. There are two suspicious items I am curious about. The first is that Stillman attended the counter-terrorism training and, six months before the bombing, he quit the police force and reputedly made a lot of money working abroad for a private security firm. This sounds fishy to me. Maybe it was a cover for terrorist involvement. Perhaps he was being paid to cooperate with terrorist factions. On the other hand, maybe it was a cover for government involvement. Government intelligence may have exposed some details of the impending bombing and sent Stillman to gather information. Secondly, it is also notable that Boardman immediately states, upon learning of the explosion, that it wasn’t supposed to happen like that. So what did he mean by that and what did he expect to happen? Boardman and Stillman were both at the counter-terrorism training together. He was also having marital problems. Was he vulnerable to terrorist temptation? Were he and Stillman plants at that training?. I would also want to locate the source of the forged identity documents. This will require cooperation on the Mexican side of the border and, since organized crime apparently dominates law enforcement there, going undercover, as a terrorist who is seeking forged identities, would maybe be a good (if dangerous) route. Before pursuing such an extreme measure, however, ethnographic research articles from the US and Mexico, should be consulted for clues and helpful information. Prisoners who are currently being held for related criminal and terrorist activities, should be interrogated (and perhaps deals made to exchange privileges for usable information). From this case it is clear that the success of an investigation requires networked communication and cooperation. Needed information is out there, somewhere, and just needs to be gathered and integrated. Information about terrorist organizations’ recruitment and training of young people should be gleaned from Amid, his siblings and cousin (in exchange for a reduced sentence. Amid may know other boys who have been recruited and can give information. Prisoners are a source of information. Young law enforcement personnel can be placed undercover in mosques or wherever recruitment is taking place, so that more information is gleaned. The two former paper company drivers, who are missing, can be located and interrogated, with some effort. The driver in custody can also provide information. The wastebaskets of the drivers, Amid, and Mujahid can be carefully examined for any clues, if still available. Also, questioning any employees who worked with the paper company drivers could yield useful information. Perhaps someone overheard phone conversations, like Amid’s uncle did. A terrorist information hotline should be made available to law enforcement personnel, to report anything that might be helpful to share. A terrorist hotline should be implemented, for the general public to report anything suspicious (a headache to sort through but a digital search mechanism could bring some order to the apparent chaos. Specially trained counter-terrorism law enforcement personnel should be assigned to review information full-time, and look for any patterns that emerge from the data. One current program that provides an example is the California Anti-Terrorism Information Center (Siggins, 2012) References Piaget, J. (1954). The construction of reality in the child. New York: Basic Books. Siggins, P. (2012). Racial Profiling in an age of terrorism. Retrieved January 25, 2013, from Markkula Center for Applied Ethics: http://www.scu.edu/ethics/publications/ethicalperspectives/profiling.html The Federal Bureau of Investigation. (2012). Retrieved January 25, 2013, from FBI: http://www.fbi.gov/stats-services/publications/facts-and-figures-2010-2011/law-enforcement-support-and-training Training, W. S. (2013, January 26). Wis. Seriff Urges Citizens to Get Gun Training. Retrieved January 26, 2013, from Yahoo News: http://news.yahoo.com/wis-sheriff-urges-citizens-gun-training-213646100.html US Government. (nd). Legal Information Institute. Retrieved January 26, 2013, from Cornell University School of Law: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/2331 Wiggin, K. D., & Smith, N. A. (2012). The Storks and the Night Owl. In V. Parker, The Feast of the Lanterns (pp. 15-28). Essex: Miles Kelly Publishing. Read More