LARAMIE, Wyo. --
An environmental group that advocates on behalf of government employees worries anti-government rhetoric fueled a surge in attacks and threats last year against law enforcement rangers in national parks.
The group Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility said it used the Freedom of Information Act to compile a list of 158 threats and attacks against law enforcement rangers in national parks in 2009. That's up from 36 tallied in 2008 and the previous high of 111 in 2004.
The group's executive director, Jeff Ruch, said he's concerned anti-government sentiment is partly to blame. People just don't have a high level of respect for park rangers like they did in the past, he said Wednesday.
"There's certainly a change in public attitude," Ruch said. "The exact cause of that may take a social scientist. But there isn't the same warm and fuzzy feeling most people remember as the good old days."
Some rhetoric lately sounds like the "sagebrush rebellion" against federal land managers out West in the 1990s, he said.
The PEER numbers are surprising and the Park Service hasn't studied what caused the increase, said David Barna, the agency's chief of public affairs. But the numbers are worth looking into, he said.
"We can't always stop the number of assaults on our staff, but we can equip and train to respond to them," Barna said.
The number of documented incidents varied widely by park.
PEER documented none in the heavily visited Grand Canyon and Yellowstone national parks. Other popular parks such as Redwoods and Yosemite in California had several. Lake Mead National Recreation Area in Nevada led with 58 incidents.
Ruch said reporting inconsistency from park to park probably accounts for the variation. He criticized the Park Service for not doing more to track threats and assaults on all park employees including law enforcement rangers.
The Park Service is improving by implementing a new tracking system, Barna said.
Incidents nationwide ranged from verbal threats by people told to leash their dogs to drinking and drug-related confrontations. PEER also documented confrontational traffic stops, including a car chase, on the 444-mile Natchez Trace Parkway in Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee.
The Park Service has a long history of downplaying violence and threats against park staff, said Paul Berkowitz, a recently retired Park Service law enforcement officer whose 33-year career included duty in Yosemite and Grand Canyon.
"It goes against the image of what we envision national parks to be," he said.
By MEAD GRUVER
Associated Press Writer
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Durham, NC Police Officer Uses His PDA to Fight Crime
Members of the Durham, NC police department are computer savvy, using laptops in their patrol cars to run tags, wants and warrants, O.L. information, write reports (incident and accident reports, etc) communicate car to car, dispatch calls, etc.
Some officers use their personal PDAs to sketch crime scenes, record interviews, both written and voice recordings, store suspect and wanted persons photos and wanted posters, use mapping software to set up a perimeter during events or a hunt for a suspect, keep NC General Statutes and City Ordinances at hand, store the departments operating procedures and rules/regulations. They also use it in court and to keep notes and photos of the suspect and evidence on it, so they can refer to a photo when they walk in the courtroom.
Sergeant Gunter used his PDA to coordinate a very tense hostage situation at a local mall. He directed cars to secure the area and run the scene. He pulled up a map of the mall on his Axim PDA and used it to direct other Officers. He marked each spot where Officers were located, see areas that would need to be closed off to the public, and have a list of every available unit as it came on scene. By the time the mobile substation arrived, with all of these resources inside, all he needed was a seat to sit down in and wait for the negotiator to arrive. After the situation was diffused he realized the benefit of having floor plans on his PDA he downloaded all of the local school floor plans as well as other large public areas. The plans are on the laptops in the patrol cars, but having them on the PDA enables the Officers not to be ‘stuck’ in the car and to be mobile.
Some officers use their personal PDAs to sketch crime scenes, record interviews, both written and voice recordings, store suspect and wanted persons photos and wanted posters, use mapping software to set up a perimeter during events or a hunt for a suspect, keep NC General Statutes and City Ordinances at hand, store the departments operating procedures and rules/regulations. They also use it in court and to keep notes and photos of the suspect and evidence on it, so they can refer to a photo when they walk in the courtroom.
Sergeant Gunter used his PDA to coordinate a very tense hostage situation at a local mall. He directed cars to secure the area and run the scene. He pulled up a map of the mall on his Axim PDA and used it to direct other Officers. He marked each spot where Officers were located, see areas that would need to be closed off to the public, and have a list of every available unit as it came on scene. By the time the mobile substation arrived, with all of these resources inside, all he needed was a seat to sit down in and wait for the negotiator to arrive. After the situation was diffused he realized the benefit of having floor plans on his PDA he downloaded all of the local school floor plans as well as other large public areas. The plans are on the laptops in the patrol cars, but having them on the PDA enables the Officers not to be ‘stuck’ in the car and to be mobile.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Police Coalition Challenges Arizona Law
Major-city police chiefs say law is too divisive
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- About a dozen major-city police chiefs will meet today with Attorney General Eric Holder to oppose the controversial Arizona immigration law that they fear could drive a wedge between the community and local law enforcement.
The police coalition -- including officials from Phoenix, Tucson, Houston, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Philadelphia and Salt Lake City -- represents the largest group of officers to speak against the measure, set to take effect July 29.
"This law is the culmination of a very broken immigration system," Phoenix Police Chief Jack Harris said. "It doesn't fix the immigration problem, it only diverts our scarce resources."
"All of us ... are opposed to this," Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck said, adding that the law will likely discourage witnesses and victims of crimes from cooperating with police. "This bill breaks the trust with our communities."
Five federal lawsuits challenging the law have been filed since Gov. Jan Brewer, a Republican, signed the measure last month. Holder is weighing a similar lawsuit on behalf of the federal government.
Brewer spokesman Paul Senseman said other law enforcement officials have "expressed their strong support for the new law."
Pinal County, Ariz., Sheriff Paul Babeu, a supporter of the law and president of the Arizona Sheriffs' Association, said his law enforcement colleagues should be "preparing to implement the law" rather than meeting with Holder.
"We wouldn't have to do this if the federal government had done its job," says Babeu, a supporter of the measure.
Justice Department spokeswoman Tracy Schmaler said it is "important" for the attorney general to hear the police officials' concerns.
"Putting local law enforcement in the cross hairs of illegal immigration is just bad business," San Jose Police Chief Rob Davis said.
The Arizona law requires local police to determine the immigration status of a person during a stop, detention or arrest if "reasonable suspicion" exists that the person is unlawfully in the U.S.
There are an estimated 460,000 illegal immigrants in Arizona, state records show.
Babeu says Holder and President Obama should be "ashamed of themselves" for suggesting that the new law would encourage police to engage in racial profiling.
"Racial profiling is against the law," he says.
BY KEVIN JOHNSON
USA TODAY
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- About a dozen major-city police chiefs will meet today with Attorney General Eric Holder to oppose the controversial Arizona immigration law that they fear could drive a wedge between the community and local law enforcement.
The police coalition -- including officials from Phoenix, Tucson, Houston, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Philadelphia and Salt Lake City -- represents the largest group of officers to speak against the measure, set to take effect July 29.
"This law is the culmination of a very broken immigration system," Phoenix Police Chief Jack Harris said. "It doesn't fix the immigration problem, it only diverts our scarce resources."
"All of us ... are opposed to this," Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck said, adding that the law will likely discourage witnesses and victims of crimes from cooperating with police. "This bill breaks the trust with our communities."
Five federal lawsuits challenging the law have been filed since Gov. Jan Brewer, a Republican, signed the measure last month. Holder is weighing a similar lawsuit on behalf of the federal government.
Brewer spokesman Paul Senseman said other law enforcement officials have "expressed their strong support for the new law."
Pinal County, Ariz., Sheriff Paul Babeu, a supporter of the law and president of the Arizona Sheriffs' Association, said his law enforcement colleagues should be "preparing to implement the law" rather than meeting with Holder.
"We wouldn't have to do this if the federal government had done its job," says Babeu, a supporter of the measure.
Justice Department spokeswoman Tracy Schmaler said it is "important" for the attorney general to hear the police officials' concerns.
"Putting local law enforcement in the cross hairs of illegal immigration is just bad business," San Jose Police Chief Rob Davis said.
The Arizona law requires local police to determine the immigration status of a person during a stop, detention or arrest if "reasonable suspicion" exists that the person is unlawfully in the U.S.
There are an estimated 460,000 illegal immigrants in Arizona, state records show.
Babeu says Holder and President Obama should be "ashamed of themselves" for suggesting that the new law would encourage police to engage in racial profiling.
"Racial profiling is against the law," he says.
BY KEVIN JOHNSON
USA TODAY
Friday, May 14, 2010
Searches in Times Square probe yield 3 arrests
2 Boston-area men arrested had a "direct connection" to suspect Faisal Shahzad; another person in Maine arrested
WATERTOWN, Mass. — Two Pakistani men suspected of providing money to Times Square car bomb suspect Faisal Shahzad were arrested by the FBI in a series of Thursday morning raids across the Northeast, law enforcement officials said.
The searches in Massachusetts, New York and New Jersey were the product of evidence gathered in the investigation into the Times Square bomb attempt two weeks ago, but there was "no known immediate threat to the public or any active plot against the United States," FBI spokeswoman Gail Marcinkiewicz said.
Three people were arrested on suspected immigration violations: the two Pakistani men in the Boston area and one person in Maine, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman Brian Hale said. All three arrests are administrative and not criminal, he said. The three were not immediately charged with any terrorism-related offenses.
The two Boston-area men had a "direct connection" to Shahzad, a Pakistan-born U.S. citizen, said a top Massachusetts law enforcement official. They are believed to have provided money to him, but investigators weren't sure whether they were witting accomplices or simply moving funds, as is common among people from the Middle East and Central Asia who live in the U.S., said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing.
"These people might be completely innocent and not know what they were providing money for, but it's clear there's a connection," the official said.
Authorities are now trying to determine the source of any money that might have been moved to the Boston-area men.
"That's the focus of the ongoing investigation," said the official.
All three of the men arrested on suspected immigration violations are Pakistani, according to another law enforcement official. Two of the men have overstayed their visas and the third is already in removal proceedings, said the official, who was not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Police cordoned off a small house in Watertown, a suburb about 10 miles west of Boston, and a neighbor reported seeing an FBI raid there.
A Mobil gas station in Brookline, another Boston suburb, also was raided. The entrances and exits to the station were cordoned off by yellow tape, and FBI agents were going in and out of the building. Agents also searched and removing items from a silver Honda Accord in the parking lot.
The car was registered to Mohammad Zameen, 45, confirmed Ann Dufresne, a spokeswoman of the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles. Zameen also is listed as a resident at the apartment in Watertown. No one answered phone calls at his listed number.
Marcinkiewicz said the arrest in Maine was part of the investigation into the Times Square bomb plot, but said she had no additional details about the arrest.
"They're all connected, but the specifics to Maine I don't specifically know what they were doing," she said.
Homes were searched in Centereach and Shirley, N.Y., both on Long Island, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press Thursday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing.
Ashim Chakraborty, who owns the home in Centereach, said FBI agents and police officers came to his home Thursday morning seeking to question a couple รข€” a Pakistani man and an American woman _who have lived in the basement apartment for the past 18 months.
The woman, who did not identify herself, was still in the basement Thursday afternoon, telling reporters only, "Drop dead, I'm an American."
In New Jersey, the FBI searched a home in Cherry Hill, N.J., and a print shop in Camden, N.J., said FBI spokesman J.J. Klaver in Philadelphia.
Two brothers, Muhammad Fiaez and Iqbal Hinjhara, live at the Cherry Hill condominium, Fiaez said. He said his brother owns the print shop.
Authorities arrived at their home at 6 a.m., Fiaez said, questioned him and his brother on how long they have lived in the U.S. and on the business. After questioning, the FBI told Fiaez he wasn't of interest to them.
Shahzad has been in custody at an undisclosed location since his arrest on May 3 from a Dubai-bound plane at Kennedy Airport. He has waived his right to an initial court appearance and will appear in court as soon as he is finished talking with investigators, U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said Thursday in White Plains, N.Y. Federal investigators say he has told them he received weapons training in Pakistan.
Elias Audy, 61, of Boston, is listed at the owner of the Mobil station. He was seen by reporters leaving the business afterward and had no comment.
Shahzad, 30, is accused of trying to detonate a bomb-laden SUV in Times Square on May 1. Police said the bomb had alarm clocks connected to a can filled with fireworks apparently intended to detonate gas cans and propane tanks.
The vehicle smoldered but didn't explode. Federal agents, tracing Shahzad through the SUV's previous owner, caught him two days later on a plane bound for the United Arab Emirates as it was departing New York's Kennedy Airport.
There was no immediate comment from Pakistan on the raids Thursday.
Islamabad has said it was too early to say whether the Pakistani Taliban, which operates from the country's lawless northwest tribal region, was behind the Times Square plot although the U.S. said it found a definite link. But Pakistan promised to cooperate with the investigation and has detained at least four people with alleged connections to suspect Faisal Shahzad.
Vinny Lacerra, 50, who lives across the street from the house raided in Watertown, said he was in his living room about 6 a.m. when he heard somebody say, "FBI! Put your hands up!"
Lacerra said he looked out his windows and saw 15 to 20 FBI agents with their guns drawn surrounding the house.
About 15 minutes later, the agents went inside and came out with one man handcuffed and took him down the street, he said. He also said he saw an agent from Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
"I was surprised to see this, because this is what you see on TV," Lacerra said.
There was no indication that Audy, the gas station owner, was a target of the terror probe.
Audy was born in Lebanon, and came to the United States at 19 to study at the University of Houston in Texas and then at Northeastern University in Boston near his brother, according to the website of a used car dealership Audy also owned.
"He's very, very philanthropically-minded as a businessman, very involved in his community," said Harry Robinson, executive director of the Brookline Chamber of Commerce.
Robinson said Audy has a wife and family and has been a longtime U.S. resident. Robinson also said he was not only involved in the chamber, but the local Rotary club.
Shahzad had been living in Connecticut. William Reiner, FBI spokesman in Connecticut, there were no search warrants served in the state Thursday as part of the investigation.
Source Homeland 1
WATERTOWN, Mass. — Two Pakistani men suspected of providing money to Times Square car bomb suspect Faisal Shahzad were arrested by the FBI in a series of Thursday morning raids across the Northeast, law enforcement officials said.
The searches in Massachusetts, New York and New Jersey were the product of evidence gathered in the investigation into the Times Square bomb attempt two weeks ago, but there was "no known immediate threat to the public or any active plot against the United States," FBI spokeswoman Gail Marcinkiewicz said.
Three people were arrested on suspected immigration violations: the two Pakistani men in the Boston area and one person in Maine, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman Brian Hale said. All three arrests are administrative and not criminal, he said. The three were not immediately charged with any terrorism-related offenses.
The two Boston-area men had a "direct connection" to Shahzad, a Pakistan-born U.S. citizen, said a top Massachusetts law enforcement official. They are believed to have provided money to him, but investigators weren't sure whether they were witting accomplices or simply moving funds, as is common among people from the Middle East and Central Asia who live in the U.S., said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing.
"These people might be completely innocent and not know what they were providing money for, but it's clear there's a connection," the official said.
Authorities are now trying to determine the source of any money that might have been moved to the Boston-area men.
"That's the focus of the ongoing investigation," said the official.
All three of the men arrested on suspected immigration violations are Pakistani, according to another law enforcement official. Two of the men have overstayed their visas and the third is already in removal proceedings, said the official, who was not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Police cordoned off a small house in Watertown, a suburb about 10 miles west of Boston, and a neighbor reported seeing an FBI raid there.
A Mobil gas station in Brookline, another Boston suburb, also was raided. The entrances and exits to the station were cordoned off by yellow tape, and FBI agents were going in and out of the building. Agents also searched and removing items from a silver Honda Accord in the parking lot.
The car was registered to Mohammad Zameen, 45, confirmed Ann Dufresne, a spokeswoman of the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles. Zameen also is listed as a resident at the apartment in Watertown. No one answered phone calls at his listed number.
Marcinkiewicz said the arrest in Maine was part of the investigation into the Times Square bomb plot, but said she had no additional details about the arrest.
"They're all connected, but the specifics to Maine I don't specifically know what they were doing," she said.
Homes were searched in Centereach and Shirley, N.Y., both on Long Island, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press Thursday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing.
Ashim Chakraborty, who owns the home in Centereach, said FBI agents and police officers came to his home Thursday morning seeking to question a couple รข€” a Pakistani man and an American woman _who have lived in the basement apartment for the past 18 months.
The woman, who did not identify herself, was still in the basement Thursday afternoon, telling reporters only, "Drop dead, I'm an American."
In New Jersey, the FBI searched a home in Cherry Hill, N.J., and a print shop in Camden, N.J., said FBI spokesman J.J. Klaver in Philadelphia.
Two brothers, Muhammad Fiaez and Iqbal Hinjhara, live at the Cherry Hill condominium, Fiaez said. He said his brother owns the print shop.
Authorities arrived at their home at 6 a.m., Fiaez said, questioned him and his brother on how long they have lived in the U.S. and on the business. After questioning, the FBI told Fiaez he wasn't of interest to them.
Shahzad has been in custody at an undisclosed location since his arrest on May 3 from a Dubai-bound plane at Kennedy Airport. He has waived his right to an initial court appearance and will appear in court as soon as he is finished talking with investigators, U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said Thursday in White Plains, N.Y. Federal investigators say he has told them he received weapons training in Pakistan.
Elias Audy, 61, of Boston, is listed at the owner of the Mobil station. He was seen by reporters leaving the business afterward and had no comment.
Shahzad, 30, is accused of trying to detonate a bomb-laden SUV in Times Square on May 1. Police said the bomb had alarm clocks connected to a can filled with fireworks apparently intended to detonate gas cans and propane tanks.
The vehicle smoldered but didn't explode. Federal agents, tracing Shahzad through the SUV's previous owner, caught him two days later on a plane bound for the United Arab Emirates as it was departing New York's Kennedy Airport.
There was no immediate comment from Pakistan on the raids Thursday.
Islamabad has said it was too early to say whether the Pakistani Taliban, which operates from the country's lawless northwest tribal region, was behind the Times Square plot although the U.S. said it found a definite link. But Pakistan promised to cooperate with the investigation and has detained at least four people with alleged connections to suspect Faisal Shahzad.
Vinny Lacerra, 50, who lives across the street from the house raided in Watertown, said he was in his living room about 6 a.m. when he heard somebody say, "FBI! Put your hands up!"
Lacerra said he looked out his windows and saw 15 to 20 FBI agents with their guns drawn surrounding the house.
About 15 minutes later, the agents went inside and came out with one man handcuffed and took him down the street, he said. He also said he saw an agent from Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
"I was surprised to see this, because this is what you see on TV," Lacerra said.
There was no indication that Audy, the gas station owner, was a target of the terror probe.
Audy was born in Lebanon, and came to the United States at 19 to study at the University of Houston in Texas and then at Northeastern University in Boston near his brother, according to the website of a used car dealership Audy also owned.
"He's very, very philanthropically-minded as a businessman, very involved in his community," said Harry Robinson, executive director of the Brookline Chamber of Commerce.
Robinson said Audy has a wife and family and has been a longtime U.S. resident. Robinson also said he was not only involved in the chamber, but the local Rotary club.
Shahzad had been living in Connecticut. William Reiner, FBI spokesman in Connecticut, there were no search warrants served in the state Thursday as part of the investigation.
Source Homeland 1
Monday, May 10, 2010
Can Law Enforcement learn from the military view of Social Media
Social Media being used by the Joint Chiefs of Staff to communicate with their command.
Admiral Mullen’s Social Media Strategy:
If you don’t think Facebook and Twitter have a place in the Department of Defense, tell that to the highest-ranking officer in the U.S. Military, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen. Being the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is a pretty demanding job, but Admiral Mullen still finds time to connect; he recently tweeted that his wife @DeborahMullen helps remind him.
Admiral Mullen is active on both Facebook and Twitter. Since social media is quickly becoming mainstream media, the Chairman believes social networking is an absolute necessity to be in touch with younger audiences and the future of our military.
Admiral Mullen’s Public Affairs team recently released his social media strategy. This can be a template that other leaders can use to incorporate new and social media into their Public Affairs communication plans. Check out Admiral Mullen’s Social Media Strategy here and share it with your leadership.
Link to Admiral Mullens, chairman of the JCS, Memo
http://cdpinfo.com/ebooks/jcs.pdf
Source Defence Systems News
Admiral Mullen’s Social Media Strategy:
If you don’t think Facebook and Twitter have a place in the Department of Defense, tell that to the highest-ranking officer in the U.S. Military, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen. Being the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is a pretty demanding job, but Admiral Mullen still finds time to connect; he recently tweeted that his wife @DeborahMullen helps remind him.
Admiral Mullen is active on both Facebook and Twitter. Since social media is quickly becoming mainstream media, the Chairman believes social networking is an absolute necessity to be in touch with younger audiences and the future of our military.
Admiral Mullen’s Public Affairs team recently released his social media strategy. This can be a template that other leaders can use to incorporate new and social media into their Public Affairs communication plans. Check out Admiral Mullen’s Social Media Strategy here and share it with your leadership.
Link to Admiral Mullens, chairman of the JCS, Memo
http://cdpinfo.com/ebooks/jcs.pdf
Source Defence Systems News
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