PROTECTING
AMERICA FROM TERRORIST ATTACKS
Law Enforcement Partnerships Are "Force Multipliers"
05/25/04
On May 26, the FBI joined
New York Governor Pataki, Vermont Governor Douglas, and a host of law enforcement
heads from New York and Vermont to celebrate the opening of a highly specialized
Counter-Terrorism Unit in their Upstate New York Regional Intelligence
Center (UNYRIC).
What's so special
about UNYRIC? In Director
Mueller's words, "we believe it offers a model that may guide
information-sharing initiatives in states across the country."
Because that's the point: "information-sharing
initiatives" are the true key to preventing terrorist attacks in American
communities. For instance--a sheriff in a small town spots suspicious activity
that is the missing piece in identifying a terrorist plot...but that piece
of information is useless unless it gets to the right person for analysis
and action.
That's what UNYRIC is
all about. It's a one-stop place where 70,000 officers in the New York/Vermont
areas bring information they have collected on their beats--information
on terrorist, drug, financial, and violent crime threats--and share it
seamlessly with each other, with their state and local colleagues, and
with federal agencies like us. It's also a place where those 70,000 officers
get information and training from us and other agencies on what criminal
and terrorist suspects and behaviors they should be looking for, based
on intelligence gleaned from international, national, and regional sources.
How will the
Counter-Terrorism Unit operate? Well, 24/7, for one--and at
the "secret" level of classification. Beyond that, it's designed
to:
- coordinate
real-time info sharing among state and local law enforcement and the
three New York state FBI Joint Terrorist Task Forces (JTTFs);
- share
FBI intelligence and suggested strategies to police officers who are
not members of a JTTF;
- immediately
forward leads from those 70,000 state and local "eyes and ears" to
FBI intelligence analysts for processing; and
- sharpen
the ability of officers on the street to recognize possible terrorist
surveillance, rehearsal, fundraising, or training.
What will CTU's impact
be? Better investigative and reporting judgments in the field. A reliable
pipeline for intelligence to flow–both ways. A more complete analysis
of patterns and trends. In other words, better protection for American
communities against terrorist attack.
Links: Director
Mueller's remarks | FBI
War on Terrorism
