Strategies to Integrate America's Local Police Agencies into Domestic Counterterrorism

Abstract

Abstract : This paper will address the challenge of integrating America's numerous local police agencies into the effort to prevent the next catastrophic terrorist attack. It will do so by initially reviewing the evolution of American local policing to identify those core competencies that may be leveraged to prevent terrorist acts. Following this review an analysis of both the Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) system and the National Criminal Intelligence Sharing Plan (NCISP) will highlight their respective abilities to help enable local police agencies to stop future terrorist attacks. The analysis highlights the importance of reinforcing the JTTF system as the most effective model for integrating local police agencies into domestic counterterrorism. Specifically operating procedures across the entire JTTF system should be standardized in order to enhance local agency participation and encourage operational best practices. Next local agencies must make counterterrorism a higher priority and leverage their hard-earned core competencies to provide unique counterterrorism skills that Federal law enforcement agencies lack. Additionally Federal funding ought to be increased for counterterrorism not only to support local police agencies but also to allow for their increased participation in the JTTF system. Federal state and local law enforcement training organizations should coordinate a standardized counterterrorism training curriculum for all local police officers to enhance their ability to help prevent terrorist acts. Finally this paper urges the acceptance of the NCISP's technical recommendations related to information systems improvements while rejecting its advice to develop a new local police core competency - intelligence-led policing - as an idea whose known costs outweigh its perceived benefits.