Contemporary Issues in Modern Police Operations and the Policing

Terrorism

The history of law enforcement operations

 Terrorism is an ideological and a political act of bringing violence to a specific group in the society. Terrorism is a threat to the entire world and it became a worldwide concern after the September 11, 2001. After this horrific event, U. S people were concerned with the need to   create unification and to implement measures which could prevent terrorism in the country.  During this period, President Bush asserted that America should defend freedom and find solutions (Anderson & Sloan, 2009).  However, domestic terror in America has become a problem since the nation was unable to address the attacks which happened on September 11 2001 and Oklahoma bombing in 1995. Focusing on the historical of law enforcement operation, the author asserts that there were groups from industrialized nations which created counterterrorism cooperation. Countries which formed counterterrorism cooperation included U.S, Canada, Japan and others and their main goal was to address political issues one of them being terrorism.  In specific, various operations have been implemented in law enforcement operations and have struggled to control and prevent terrorism (Anderson & Sloan, 2009). In 2004, the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act was created for the purpose of collecting, gathering and reporting information to the federal and state.  However, these operations which are connected with homeland security duties, struggled to address terrorism but long-term issues are required especially measures which will address constitutional issues (Anderson & Sloan, 2009). Federal Bureau of Investigation also acted as domestic law enforcement though it later entered in extraterritorial operations. The role of FBI in law enforcement operation is to gather evidence and report criminals in the U.S courts of law.  Domestic intelligence capabilities to support the role of FBI were developed. Homeland security in U.S has also played a significant role in controlling and preventing the terrorism and maintaining   internal security (Anderson & Sloan, 2009).

Carter & United States (2009) adds that law enforcement intelligence has been using the dossier system since 1920s. This method refers to the process of collecting raw information of individuals who is suspected as threat to the community. The role of police during this period was to take records of suspects. However, this method was not efficiency in 1960s, challenges started to emerge and there was a need to implement a well-established mechanism (Carter & United States 2009). Two movements were developed and these created instability and people in the movement argued that the system was violating the constitutional practices as well as individual rights. The system was associated with laws in that police agencies recorded and kept files of individuals who were not associated with crime. The author asserts that the problem with law enforcement operations is that the agencies were more reactive and treated local residents as terrorists. The agencies were given authority and extra power which they used in fighting terrorist rather than finding the   root cause of the terrorism (Carter & United States 2009). Agencies used weapons and other policing methods and these methods were not effective since they did not concentrate on communication and relation.  

 State and local law enforcement agencies

Terrorism is an issue with affects not only domestic regions but also foreign nations. This means that measures need to be implemented by various entities in order to ensure safety and security in all areas. The author states that State and local law enforcement agencies are ‘eyes and ears’ that investigate and report   terrorists’ planning to destroy the nation (Riley et al, 2005). Note that the role of law enforcement agencies is to gather and report information. In addition, groups involved in gathering information take long-term review and this helps to come up with root cause of the problem as well as interventions.  An important point to note is that FBI plays a significant role in counterterrorism intelligence and gathering information with evidence. On the other hand, State and local agencies gather information with evidence and the two activities play a significant role in counterterrorism intelligence (Riley et al, 2005). In other words, FBI or law enforcement at federal level is done when other two entities gathers information and provides evidence.  In this case, FBI will implement   intelligence efforts and save time as well as resources which could be used in counterterrorism intelligence. In addition, evince gathering from the two agencies assist the FBI to collaborate with other entities such as homeland security in controlling and preventing terrorism. Other important role of state and local agencies in addressing terrorism is able to penetrate in all areas and implement effective measures in preventing terrorism (Riley et al, 2005).

 Major change to law enforcement operations

Intelligence sharing

 This is a change which was implemented in 2008 for the purpose of sharing information with intelligence community. In addition, US intelligence community found this platform as important as it enabled the agencies to share intelligence data which helped in identifying and understanding the terrorist plans, trends and patterns. The platform for information sharing is known as National wide Suspicious Activity Reporting Initiative (NSI) (Carter, 2005).The latter was initiated for the purpose of assisting law enforcement agencies share suspicious information and support each other in investigation. This initiative was implemented with fusion center-regional intelligence fusion centers where collected information is reported and analyzed in finding conclusion on terrorists planning and threats. Information sharing can also be defined as a national security strategy which allows a nation to identify and prevent terrorists’ threat (Carter, 2005). Thus, this change was focused on building partnership in global level and the strategy is effective in creating not only a regional solution but also global solution against terrorism. Other important point with this change is that U.S decided to enter in the international community and combine power and strength in understanding the nature and structure of the threat (Carter, 2005).

Reason why the change was necessary

             The change was necessary because, this is the only way to combat terrorism. In other words, it was necessary to implemented the National wide Suspicious Activity Reporting Initiative (NSI) because  prevention and protection efforts depends on  actionable information related with long-term threat, terrorism-related activities and  risk-based prevention (Walsh, 2010). In order to implement effective measures, relevant information must be collected and analyzed from intelligence community. In addition, the purpose of information sharing is to understand the operations of terrorist and disrupt their plans in local and in foreign nations. Note that combined pieces of information will help the FBI understand the important actions against the terrorism. Note that in order to shape local operations through sharing in ‘trusted information network’ (Walsh, 2010).It is also important to understand that the nature of terrorism is changing in that modern technology  has empowered the terrorists in attacking the entire globe For example there is an advanced telecommunication which allows them to plan their actions while at different regions. In addition, weapon of mass destruction such as nuclear weapon motivate them to attack the international community. However, intelligence sharing is necessary as it will help in gathering and sharing information based on organize crime and disrupt the terrorist plans (Walsh, 2010).

 Ways in which intelligence sharing has improved police operations

 Since the implementation of PATRIOT ACT in 2001, police operations have improved.  For example, the attorney’s office of New York did an extensive intelligence during the tragedy on World Trade Center and the method was effective since intelligence agencies were able to share valuable   information. In addition, it is noticed that intelligence officials are now proving valuable information to the enforcement community thereby increasing the efforts in investigating and maintaining security. The federal government has also hindered the success of terrorist plans and has maintained security and safety by arresting terrorist (Walsh, 2010). In U.S, law enforcement agencies are now able to detent and prevent terror through interacting with multiple communities. Since the tragedy on 9/11, law enforcement agencies in all levels have collaborated in investigating criminal activities. The agencies have created new culture which is driven by the willingness to abide with the new polices standards and systems in combating crime. Other point is that police operations have maintained national and regional safety and this has been achieved through tracking criminal activities. It is worth saying that intelligence is an important tool which has helped nations in sharing information based on serious threats (Walsh, 2010).  

 

 

 

State and local law enforcement agencies Training

 Local and State law enforcement agencies must have an intelligence capacity. This means that they must be trained on increasing awareness and conducting local threat assessment. The author states that the law enforcement agencies must understand the mission statement and adhere to the standards of Criminal Intelligence System Operation Policies (Hess et al, 2012). In addition, agencies must apply force protection to ensure the achievement of the mission. All governmental levels should understand the potential threat and be trained on how to attack terrorists at a safe distance. To achieve the core capabilities, it is role of nation to develop information sharing system and intelligence surveillance (Hess et al, 2012).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reference

Anderson, S., & Sloan, S. (2009). Historical dictionary of terrorism. Lanham, Md: Scarecrow Press.

 

Carter, D. L., & United States. (2009). Law enforcement intelligence: A guide for state, local, and tribal

law enforcement agencies. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Dept. of Justice, Office of Community

Oriented Policing Services.

 

Riley K. Jack, Treverton F. Gregory, Wilson M. Jeremy & Davis M. Lois. (2005). State and Local

Intelligence in the War on Terrorism. RAND Corporation

 

Carter, D. L. (2005). BRIEF HISTORY OF LAW ENFORCEMENT INTELLIGENCE: PAST PRACTICE AND

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR CHANGE. Trends In Organized Crime, 8(3), 51-62.

 

Walsh, J. I. (2010). The international politics of intelligence sharing. New York: Columbia University

Press.

 

Hess, K. M., Orthmann, C. M. H., LaDue, S. E., & Bennett, W. W. (2012). Management and supervision in

law enforcement. Clifton Park, NY: Delmar/Cengage Learning.