TOPICS
TOPICS
Police chiefs say national security strategy ignores local officials
A new report from a group of police chiefs finds fault with the nation's anti-terrorism strategy for not including advice and guidance from state, tribal or local public safety organizations.
The International Association of Chiefs of Police, a nonprofit organization based in Alexandria, Va., published a report this week after completing a series of discussions with law enforcement officials from across the United States.
The discussions began with the intention of pinpointing suggestions to improve national security, but a single concern dominated the conversation, said Joseph Estey, chief of police in Hartford, Vt. and the association's president.
Estey said the current anti-terrorism approach fails to incorporate the perspective and experience of leaders in state and local law enforcement, and does not adequately engage the more than 700,000 police officers nationwide in intelligence-gathering and terrorism prevention. "This is more of a federal strategy than a national strategy," Estey said.
State and local law enforcement officials view federal policies as "overly prescriptive, burdensome and sometimes impractical," the report stated. Bringing them into policy discussions could help change that. "We're looking for a place at the table," Estey said.
In addition to giving input for national policies, Estey said there are other ways state and local law enforcement officials to contribute. For example, members of his group could develop best practices for various situations, based on their experience protecting cities, sporting events, college campuses and railroads. "We don't want to just complain about what's happening, but we want to highlight that we have expertise and a willingness to help," he said.
The report also called for continued federal funding for state and local police departments, including areas not considered prime terrorist targets. According to the report, reductions in three federal grant programs have "significantly reduced the ability of law enforcement agencies to combat both crime and terrorism."
COMMENTS
- This theme from the Police Chiefs came out from a local Police Chief at a seminar I attended today. That is, "We are not getting enough information from the top". Well, I'm concerned we aren't getting enough information from the bottom, or patrol officers. These police chiefs have monster egos and want the world to revolve around them. Maybe the Fed has no idea what a patrol officer has noticed first, hence the lack of warning to be on the lookout for a specifice threat, ever think of that Chief Wiggams? GovExec.com reader Posted May 20, 2005 4:55 PM
- The IACP should realize that it is impossible to incorporate 700,000 state and local officers, from thousands of agencies, into a national strategy. Representatives from state and local law enforcement are included in Joint Terrorism Task Forces, and in other venues to share information and expertise. It is naive and unrealistic to expect that scarce resources should be given to small departments in areas that are not, and will not, be threatened by terrorists, when enough real targets exist that need federal attention and dollars. I also have to agree with the previous poster, and find it galling that the same people who refuse to help outnumbered federal authorities deal with immigration violators are demanding more involvement in our national homeland security strategy. Remember that the 9/11 terrorists were all aliens who came here to attack us, and the same will be true for the perpetrators of future attacks here. GovExec.com reader Posted May 19, 2005 1:13 PM
- The IACP complains that they're not allowed to participate in "national security" and yet they forego one of the best tools for dealing with it. The IACP discourages state and local law enforcement agencies from assisting DHS with the identification and removal of illegal aliens. Perhaps this makes sense to the IACP, but most people realize that most terrorists are foreign citizens - aliens. John H. Frecker Posted May 19, 2005 10:36 AM
