Although the federal system of homeland security has come under fire recently for failing to identify emerging terrorist plots and adhere to the lessons identified by the 9/11 Commission, there are examples out there -- if one looks hard enough -- that exemplify homeland security preparedness and leadership.

The Los Angeles Police Department is one of those examples. HSTVGuide Contributor Roland Sprewell, recently sat down with the LAPD's Deputy Chief, Mike Downing, to find out more about the department's experience.

Under the leadership of former Chief Bill Bratton and the newly-appointed Chief, Charlie Beck, the LAPD has distinguished itself as a template for counter-terrorism ,intelligence and all-hazards preparation and planning that many first responder agencies could learn from.

The Arrival of Police Chief Bill Bratton

From the time Bill Bratton stepped off the plane in 2002, his priorities were clear: purchase new equipment with federal grant money; institute new training initiatives; and hire more police officers. And by 2005, he had transformed what was a 30-person Anti-Terrorism Section into a newly formed, 300-person bureau called, the Counter-Terrorism and Criminal Intelligence Bureau (CTCIB).

The CTCIB, consists of two divisions: Major Crimes and Emergency Services. The Major Crimes division, houses the HUMINT (Human Intelligence) component of the division (Anti-Terrorism Intelligence, Organized Crime, Criminal Conspiracy and Investigative Sections).

The Emergency Services Division (ESD) operates the department’s hazmat unit, the bomb squad and bomb detecting canines. From a strategic perspective, critical infrastructure protection, as well as threat and vulnerability assessments, are handled within this framework by a program called: “Operation Archangel”.

Developed by LAPD with the help of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Archangel is a sophisticated network of both human and technological analysis capabilities that captures all critical assets, adds them to a database and then performs “automated” vulnerability assessments.

The more tactical aspect of this program is the Protective Security Task Force, which performs counter- surveillance and “red-teaming”. Red teaming is a military term used to describe a covert operation in which a combatant’s weaknesses and vulnerabilities are observed and their responses tested.

A Legacy in the Making

Part of the legacy of Chief Bratton’s leadership comes from his ability to place extremely talented people in the appropriate positions. In 2003, Chief Bratton hired former ABC correspondent, John Miller, as Bureau Chief of the CTCIB. Miller became a fixture on network television in the late 90’s while on assignment for the ABC news program 20/20, and landed one of the only known interviews with Osama bin Laden by an American journalist. Miller also served as chief spokesman for the NYPD, while Bratton was Commissioner.

While at LAPD, Miller is credited with launching “Operation: Archangel”, and is said to be one of the original creators of the Los Angeles area Joint Regional Intelligence Center (JRIC), an impressive, multi-disciplined, fusion center that places cops, intelligence analysts, and FBI agents in a shoulder to shoulder environment with firefighters, Coast Guard personnel, public health officials and various critical infrastructure stakeholders.

“John had the thickest rolodex of anybody in the department,“ said Deputy Chief Mike Downing. “He had a way of telling a story based on his journalist background and reporting ability that was kind of contagious and got people inspired and behind him,” said Downing.

“We started to improve the ability to generate and collect intelligence, analyze and disseminate it," Downing continued. "The Joint Regional Intelligence Center had really just stood up, so I think we really began to eat off the breadcrumbs of the intelligence table and now, we have a firm seat,” he said.

A Model to Emulate

The creation of the CTCIB, the JRIC, Archangel, and a number of anti-terrorism initiatives like SAR (Suspicious Activity Reporting), a reporting process created by Commander Joan McNamara that tracks terrorism related incidents, have all helped to position the LAPD in a leadership position within the domestic law enforcement and homeland security community.

For example, the SAR initiative draws upon the conventional abilities and instincts that most officers have to spot criminal behavior, and measures those behaviors against those consistent with terrorist recruitment, planning and support operations. This initiative has received high praise from the Department of Homeland Security for its‘ “glove in hand” fit with the National Strategy for Information Sharing. SAR is now a model being taught to law enforcement agencies nationwide.

It has been programs like SAR that led to the investigation, arrest and conviction of four radicalized prison gang members last year in L.A.. The four men, said to be jihadists, were caught after a string of gas station robberies in and around the Los Angeles area, in which military installations and synagogue attacks were being plotted. Had it not been for trained detectives who found jihadist materials in one of the suspect’s apartments, not related to the robberies, countless lives may have been lost.

This and other successful investigations is proof of the LAPD’s ability to expand, morph and execute on actionable intelligence. As of this writing, the LAPD is preparing to hit the ground running with an LAPD co-led, Joint Terrorism Task Force with the FBI.

“I think culturally there’s a problem amongst federal ,state and locals," said Downing. "We’re getting better, but there’s still a silo mentality in terms of information sharing," he said. “Different departments have different intelligence capabilities. New York is the gold standard and I would say we’re number two in terms of being able to generate and collect intelligence," Downing said. "But my counterpart there, Tom Galati (NYPD’s Intelligence Commander) and I talk often.”

Chief Downing’s biggest concern is the way some politicians and bureaucrats think about terrorism. “I think our biggest enemy in this world of counter-terrorism and intelligence is complacency,” said Downing, as more news about the young, would-be bomber on a Northwest airlines flight streamed across the television screen in his office. “We have a responsibility to protect the city...and if you don’t understand the nature of the threat, both the homegrown threat...and the [external] threat, and the police department’s ability to counter that threat then you’re substituting hope for security.”

Now, as we embark upon a new year already marred by news of an Al-Qaeda sponsored attempt to blow up and murder hundreds of people on a Northwest Airlines flight from Amsterdam to Detroit, let us all hope and pray that the real, competent leadership, preparation and meaningful training that has become the hallmark of the LAPD’s counterterrorism efforts emerges elsewhere around the nation as well.

Because as the old saying goes: Failure to prepare is preparing for failure.

Roland L. Sprewell

HSTV Contributing Writer

In future articles, Roland plans to spotlight the LAPD again as well as the counter-terrorism preparedness programs of other public safety departments’ around the nation.

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