Air Beat Magazine - Journal of the
Airborne Law Enforcement Association
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The High Price of Policing Hate
By Assistant Sheriff Jim Lopey
Washoe County (NV) Sheriff’s Department
Transnational terrorism describes terrorism that reaches
beyond a national border and extends internationally without borders.
Geography, religion and the history of the Islamic world have all played a
role in the creation of the more prevalent and dangerous transnational
terrorist groups that exist in the world today.
The FBI defines terrorism as the "unlawful use of force against persons or
property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or
any segment thereof, in the furtherance of political or social objectives."
The biggest terrorist threat to the United States, its
allies and secular Muslim nations is currently the International Jihad
Movement. This movement is comprised primarily of extremists who do not
follow an orthodox interpretation of their religion. Extremists who purport
to follow religious faith, in reality, incorrectly interpret codified
scripture in furtherance of their social or political agendas, which more
often than not spells trouble for the victims of their wrath, as well as for
law enforcement.
Islamic History
Islam began to spread in the Middle East when Mohammed
the Prophet conquered the City of Mecca in 630. Mohammed’s daughter Fatima
wrote down his visions from the Archangel Gabriel. These visions and verses
became the Koran, and from it Mohammed’s word quickly spread throughout the
trade routes.
Islam means "submission to the will of God." Mohammed
believed he was God’s last prophet, just as Christians believe that Jesus
Christ is the truth, light and path to Heaven. The Koran and Bible actually
share many stories and characters. Most Islamic followers are Sunni, and
about 15 percent of the rest are Shi’ite. Simply put, Shi’ites maintain
permanent clergy or a lineage, whereas Sunnis believe in adopting clergy and
leadership based on ability and other factors unrelated to where they came
from.
Islam requires that all true believers practice
confession, prayer, alms, fasting and pilgrimage. Islam has today become
established throughout the world. It is firmly entrenched in the Middle
East, Africa, Central Asia and Southeast Asia. Indonesia has the largest
Islamic population in the world.
The West first experienced Islamic expansion in the years
preceding the four great Crusades of the Middle Ages. Crusaders from the
West embarked upon the Crusades in an attempt to rid the Byzantine Empire of
encroaching Muslim hoards. The various Crusades began in 1095 and didn’t end
until the early 1200s. Eventually, the seat of the Holy Roman Empire
(Byzantine) fell in the Middle Ages.
Historically, the West has been fighting Islamic
expansion for hundreds of years. Recent history, in many cases, parallels
the history of old. The breakup of the Ottoman Empire after World War I set
the stage for discontent and dissatisfaction with the West; dissatisfaction
that lingers to this day. The influx of Jewish immigration to the Middle
East just prior to and after World War II continued to set the stage for
Arab discontent in the Middle East. The establishment of Israel in 1948 and
the failure of the West to secure a separate homeland for the Palestinians
triggered several conflicts amongst Arabs and Israelis.
The failure of various Arab League countries to win
conventional wars with Israeli helped spawn the PLO and other
Palestinian-based terrorist groups. Countries such as Syria, Iraq, Libya and
later Iran jumped into the fray and became state sponsors of terrorism.
Early Arab terrorism was different that the International Jihad Movement
and, in fact, was sometimes "leftist" in ideology. However, in recent times,
radical thought from the Wahhabi (purification/fundamentalist ideology)
Movement and those espousing the views of such radicals as Asian Mawlana
Mawdudi have spurred a dangerous and unique blend of extremism.
The success of the Sunni-dominant guerilla movement that
ousted the Soviets in Afghanistan, the 1979 Iran Hostage incident and the
Camp David accords bolstered and encouraged the extremism that we see today.
Extremists Scenarios
International extremists do not blend in with mainstream
Islamic doctrine. However, the extremist groups led by Al Qaeda, Hezbollah,
Hamas and Islamic Jihad, among others, have risen to become enemies of the
West.
Al Qaeda is currently led by Osama bin Laden. Bin Laden
and Ayman al Zawahiri formed Al Qaeda after the United States and its allies
liberated Kuwait during the Gulf War. Bin Laden and his supporters were
incensed when the U.S. and other non-Muslim forces congregated at or near
some of the holiest sites in Islam. In 1996, bin Laden issued a "declaration
of Jihad" against the United States. He has since urged followers to kill
Americans anywhere in the world.
Bin Laden, a Saudi Arabian native, was expelled from his
native country in 1991 and traveled to Sudan. From the Sudan, he found
refuge with the Taliban in Afghanistan. Since the "declaration of Jihad,"
Osama bin Laden and his followers have been responsible for numerous attacks
against American interests. In 1992, Al Qaeda operatives were active in
Somalia when several U.S. Army Rangers, Delta Force Operatives and others
were killed during an operation in Mogudishu.
In August of 1998, Al Qaeda attacked the United States
Embassies in Tanzania and Kenya where 12 Americans and over 200 civilians
were killed. In 2000, Al Qaeda associates bombed the USS Cole in Aden. Of
course, the most devastating attack occurred on September 11, 2001, when the
World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks were carried out with the use of
airliners. A third attack, most likely aimed at the U.S. Congress or a
nearby target, was averted when the passengers fought back and wrested
control of the fourth plane from the hijackers.
Other Major Threats
The major Islamic terrorist groups that pose a threat to
U.S. interests include, but are not limited to, Hamas, Hezbollah, Islamic
Jihad, Egyptian Islamic Jihad, Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamya. Hamas was
formed in 1987 and engages in terrorist attacks and suicide bombings in the
West Bank, Israel and Gaza. Hezbollah is a Shi’ite organization that evolved
from the Iranian revolution, and this group is amongst the best training
terrorists in the world. It has several thousand members, and its primary
territory includes Lebanon, Israel and the West Bank. Hezbollah was
responsible for the bombing of the Marine barracks in Lebanon. Islamic Jihad
is an ally of Hezbollah and has members in the United States. However,
Islamic Jihad is primarily active in Israel, Jordan and Lebanon.
The Egyptian Islamic Jihad group is based in Cairo, Egypt
and is active in the United Kingdom, Yemen, Pakistan, Sudan and Afghanistan.
Jemaah Islamiya is a dangerous Terrorist group that operates in Southeast
Asia. It has ties with Al Qaeda and has cells in Indonesia, Singapore and
Malaysia. Jemaah Islamiya was responsible for the Bali bombing in Indonesia
where over 200 people were killed. Abu Sayyaf operates out of the
Philippines, and many members are believed to have trained in Al Qaeda
training camps. Jemaah Islamiya engages in bombings, assassinations,
kidnappings and extortion.
Future Consequences
Numerous lesser known terrorist groups exist as well.
Individuals and loose knit groups that embrace the "extremist" ideology of
Al Qaeda and other radical groups will continue to pose a serious threat to
American interests, including law enforcement.
Organized Islamic extremists will often take years to
plan catastrophic attacks, so law enforcement needs to be on constant guard
against surveillance-related activities by these groups. Until the United
States and its allies leave the Middle East, withdraw support for Israel and
convert to Islam, groups such as Al Qaeda will continue to direct its
efforts as it has in the past. Training tapes recovered from at least one
terrorist training camp in Afghanistan depict ambushes of "Western" law
enforcement personnel.
The suicide bombings that are so prevalent in the Middle
East will continue to be a potential threat in the United States and abroad.
Weapons of mass destruction are of interest to these groups as well. Law
enforcement and our citizens should be ever aware of the danger that these
groups and individuals pose to this great nation. Appropriate training and
the acquisition of personnel-protecting equipment should be the endeavor of
all American law enforcement agencies today.
If some of the noted Islamic terror groups become more
active in North America, it will require a continued shifting of priorities
and resources within the law enforcement arena. Failure to anticipate or
prepare can or will have tragic consequences.
Research used included SLATT and reference materials from the author's own
collection.
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Man, Machine & Mission
Part Two: Operational Risk Management For Aviators
By Pete Hermes
Dept. of Homeland Security
U. S. Customs & Border Protection
When there’s a new unit startup, adoption of new mission
types, procurement of new aircraft and/or associated equipment or
development of a formal safety program, strategic and deliberate decision
making will occur at the upper management levels within the police agency.
The Five Step ORM Process
Step 1: Hazard Identification
Step 2: Assigning a Numerical Risk Rating
Step 3: Defining the Acceptable Risk Level
Step 4: Implementing Risk Control
Step 5: Review ORM Process & Supervision
The level of decision-making and temporal aspects of
operational risk management (ORM) can vary considerably depending on the
size, experience, formal operating procedures, safety program and SOPs of a
specific unit. Aviation units that have been operational for a considerable
amount of time or are of significant size may have likely already developed
operating guidelines, SOPs and/or formalized safety programs that include a
significant portion of ORM to be conducted by the highest levels of
management.
But the application of the ORM five-step process does hold some special
considerations unique to airborne law enforcement.
Hazard Identification
The first step in the ORM process, hazard identification,
focuses on three parts of the 5M-model: environmental (media), machine and
human (man). Environmental hazards include weather, obstructions,
regulations (restrictions), facilities condition, mission requirements,
command interest and supervisory pressure. Machine hazards include system
availability, maintenance history, avionics and communication capability,
payload, accessories availability, adaptability to mission and performance
capabilities. Human hazards include skill level, mission experience,
workload, personal habits, work history, health and attitude or motivation
as specified in ALEA’s safety management model policy.
As with general ORM, the interaction within the 5M-model
warrants particular attention in identification of hazards. For example,
management can assign a crew with specific mission experience to certain
missions, utilize aircraft equipment necessary to attain mission goals or
objectives, identify crew capability and experience with the equipment or
analyze the capability of special equipment to aid in attaining mission
goals with a corresponding reduction in workload for the crew.
To identify specific hazards associated with aviation
operations, a preliminary hazard analysis (PHA), operations analysis (OA)
and "what if" analysis are probably most applicable. Other sources of hazard
identification include prior incident/accident reports for the organization
and others with applicability, brainstorming and survey of operational
personnel, use of outside experts or safety audits and guidance from current
SOPS, agency regulations and policy.
A detailed hazard identification for airborne law
enforcement could be conducted by taking a specific mission or operation,
breaking the activity into component tasks, then constructing a preliminary
hazard list (PHL) with due consideration given to the 5Ms and possible
inclusion of a "what if" analysis to the planned activity.
Some common, specific hazard areas include carriage and
use of firearms in and around aircraft, operations conducted in close
proximity to the terrain, obstructions, buildings and vehicles, occasional
periods of extremely high workload for air crews interspersed during periods
of relative low activity such as patrol and crew fatigue exasperated by
periods of prolonged duty (overtime) and rotating shift work. Generally, the
size of the aviation unit bears a direct relationship to the number of
different mission types an organization may undertake and, correspondingly,
the greater number of hazards it may be faced with.
Develop Numeric Risk Ratings
Once hazards have been identified, the next step is to
assess the associated risk based on the probability and severity of a mishap
and exposure to those risks for the resources committed (people, aircraft
and equipment). Basic assessment protocols, such as a Hazard Risk Index (HRI)
matrix, could be constructed for a specific mission or operation.
In conjunction with the HRI and for possible subordinate
input, a number of risk matrices could also be constructed with inputs from
the various identified hazard areas (e.g. complexity of mission compared
with previous crew experience in the same or similar missions) to arrive at
a numerical rating which, totaled with other matrices, would identify a
degree of risk based on committed resources. A risk rating similar in
construction to the Flight Safety Foundation’s CFIT checklist could be
rendered from the previously totaled matrices to identify missions or
operations entailing a certain degree of risk.
Acceptable Risk
The third step in the ORM process, making risk or control
decisions, have their basis in rejection, avoidance, delay, transfer,
dissemination, compensation and/or reduction of risk as described in the
FAA’s System Safety Handbook. There are numerous risks in airborne law
enforcement that may be deemed acceptable provided the benefits outweigh the
costs or modifications can make the risk acceptable.
Otherwise, the risks will be ultimately rejected or
avoided and the mission or operation aborted. Specific strategies to control
risk can be realized through training, crew and/or equipment assignment,
SOPs and/or regulations and mission planning or re-planning. As a general
example, a complex mission or operation can have the associated risks
reduced to acceptable levels by assigning a sufficiently experienced crew,
ensuring that appropriate equipment is available and functional for the
mission and that adequate planning of a deliberate nature has been conducted
to minimize unforeseen events occurring during the actual mission.
Control Risk & Review
The fourth step in the ORM process is implementation of
risk controls. The most critical factor to implementing controls is proper
communication. The controls must be appropriate to the identified risk,
acceptable to both managers and crew alike and understood by all parties
involved. An aviation law enforcement organization that has a strong safety
culture possesses the essential basis for the implementation of risk
controls.
The final step in the ORM process is supervision and
review. Supervision includes verification that controls have been
appropriately incorporated and also assesses the effectiveness of controls.
As with implementation, communication is key to determining the
appropriateness and effectiveness of controls, as crew and managers work
together determining the proper controls needed for an operation or mission
element. As missions are conducted, a debrief of control measures will
either determine adequacy of controls or bring about a repeat of the ORM
process to improve upon previous plans and strategies as regards operation
risk considerations of a specific mission or operation.
Operational risk management probably provides one of the
most effective and efficient processes to follow in evaluating missions
conducted by airborne law enforcement. The ORM process has been proven
successful by the various services of the United States military in reducing
mishaps. Law enforcement units conduct missions that, while not possessing
all the elements and tasks undertaken by the military, include basic
elements similar to military assignments.
Airborne law enforcement units can improve upon safety
programs already in place by conducting a formal ORM evaluation of missions
and operations that they conduct. New or expanding units can best be served
by utilizing ORM in their operations while tailoring them to their
geographic area, planned missions and the size and type of their equipment.
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From Impact to Recovery
The Aftermath of Disasters for First Responders
By Dr. Tania McIntosh
Readiness Group International, LLC
Without question, this year’s hurricane season has
created some of the most horrific series of events that we have ever
experienced in the aftermath of natural disasters. The responses to
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita have required a great deal of time, assets and
risk. The airborne law enforcement community has been an integral part of
saving lives, restoring order and preventing further problems. Responding to
a disaster, whether man-made or natural, is both rewarding and draining.
Disasters reaffirm why we do our jobs but also cause personal aftereffects
that one must be aware of.
By definition, a disaster is a natural or man-made event of severity and
magnitude that normally results in death, injury and property damage.
Disasters cannot be managed through routine resources and procedures and
require immediate and effective response by numerous entities to meet the
medical, logistical and emotional needs of victims.
There are eight phases of every disaster:
-
Threat
-
Warning
-
Impact
-
Inventory
-
Heroic
-
Honeymoon
-
Disillusionment
-
Recovery
The threat, warning and impact phases consist of the
signs that something is about to happen and the actual event. In disasters,
this is beyond human control. The remaining stages contain the very human
reactions to disasters and are important to explore and understand.
The inventory phase is when survivors brush themselves
off and look around to see what happened. Survivors also will seek out the
support of others and will survey who survived, how much damage was done to
property and what steps need to be taken next to ensure further survival.
Responders who are not direct targets of the disaster will assess the scale
and scope of the disaster and begin to formulate how to respond during this
phase.
The heroic phase is marked by extreme acts of heroism
that save the lives of victims and help those in despair. Both those
effected and first responders will go to extremes to attempt to save others.
Altruistic acts are not uncommon in the heroic phase, and the result is a
sense of excitement, satisfaction and closeness between those who help each
other out. This sense of euphoria is soon replaced by what occurs next —
disillusionment.
Disillusionment consists of feelings of anger,
disappointment, resentment, bitterness and frustration when expectations for
recovery are not being met. It is human nature to strongly desire that
things return to normal quickly. This is impossible in many disasters, and
the discomfort that arises from being reminded every day that life has
changed causes the frustration and anger associated with this phase. This
phase is marked by extremes in emotions and behaviors and is also when
individuals tend to seek out scapegoats or outlets for blame.
Unfortunately, law enforcement agencies and officers are
frequently used as scapegoats by those in the public who are simply unable
to cope with the emotions they are experiencing. For law enforcement
officers who are involved in disasters, disillusionment occurs when it is
perceived that there is a lack of support from their departments or chain of
command. Disillusionment amongst law enforcement personnel will come about
quickly when they are not given enough time off to pull their personal lives
together or to recover from the extreme exhaustion that disasters tend to
cause.
Reconstruction consists of both physical and emotional
repair and reinvestment in individuals, organizations and communities.
Reconstruction takes years to complete, but individuals and communities who
are able to achieve a healthy state of repair will begin to move forward.
Law enforcement officers are some of the most resilient individuals in our
society, and while reconstruction is not easy, many approach it with a drive
and sense of desire that is simply awesome.
External & Personal Factors
Both external and personal factors influence how one
responds to a disaster. The external factors which may intensify the
reactions of both victims and law enforcement responders include the nature
of the event, the scope of the event and how much warning there was prior to
the disaster. Obviously, larger scale disasters are much more difficult than
those that can be contained easily and quickly. Man-made disasters tend to
provoke stronger reactions from law enforcement personnel than disasters
that occur naturally. However, it is normal for events like Hurricane
Katrina, which represent a fusion of natural and man-made chaos, to cause
strong reactions in first responders.
The environment and the ability to respond quickly and
effectively also play a key role in the perceptions and thus the reactions
of first responders. When those who are serving in the line of duty are able
to do their job in a timely manner, the outcome is successful. Problems
arise when politics, lack of resources and lack of direction interfere with
the ability to get the job done.
Finally, the nature of the destructive agent, the amount
of traumatic stimuli present and the amount of personal loss or injury
further intensify the reactions of those involved. The experiences and the
reactions of those on the ground, in the midst of the chaos, versus those
who have the luxury of maintaining some distance are remarkably different.
The personal factors that play a key role in how one
copes both during and after a disaster include each individual’s personal
health, social support networks, coping style and prior successful
experiences in dealing with disasters. Responders who are healthy and
hydrated will always outlast those who have physical ailments, illnesses or
who are not taking care of themselves through fluid and food intake. Law
enforcement personnel who maintain good, close personal relationships with a
supportive network also remain healthier than those who have not invested in
maintaining this important aspect of life. Finally, responders who have had
successful experiences during previous disasters will draw on those
experiences, while those who have had very negative experiences and have not
dealt with disasters on a personal level will often be reminded of, or will
re-experience, those negative reactions.
The key to effective disaster stress management is to
make it a priority every day. Keep it simple — eat right, exercise, rest
when you can, take your vitamins, stay hydrated, ask for a break if you need
one, talk to others, listen to others and call home when you can. Staying
connected with family and friends is very important, as they serve as good
reminders that life does go on despite the disaster. And keep an eye on your
fellow officers. Your support is one of the best resources that they have.
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Manic Monday:
Copter Crew Shares First Katrina Images
By Shea W. Gibbs
While enjoying a vacation in Hawaii, Helinet Aviation
Services owner Alan Purwin said he felt like he was in a bubble. He was
peacefully oblivious to the goings on of the outside world. Two days after
returning to the mainland on August 29, though, he and pilot/photographer
J.T. Alpaugh found themselves in the middle of the most significant event
going on in the world – Hurricane Katrina.
"We’re not hurricane chasers or extreme thrill seekers,"
Purwin says. But they are electronic news gatherers. So, when Purwin emerged
from the serenity of his vacation and heard that a category five hurricane
was bearing down on the coast of New Orleans, he quickly got a crew and
aircraft in position to bring the news of the storm’s destruction to the
public.
"We were the eyes of the world for the first couple
days," he says. Because of the advanced aerial photography equipment used by
Helinet Aviation (which is also involved in the film industry), as well as
their rapid response to the disaster, the company was chosen to be the main
source of state of the art live video for ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN and Fox news in
the aftermath. The images they captured were televised all across the
nation.
The company’s role quickly evolved when they took to the
skies in their Eurocopter B2 A-Star. And, as it happened, they were able to
function in the capacity that Purwin says is the future of his aviation
company – assisting law enforcement.
Helinet’s first function beyond reporting the news was to
locate the most desperate victims of the hurricane and subsequent flooding.
With Alpaugh behind the eyepiece, they were able to use their highly
sensitive cameras to pinpoint the location of many stranded people and
report their findings to Omaha 454, the DEA outfit that was controlling the
airspace. Soon, they also found themselves dropping water and MREs to those
who were unable to evacuate. Eventually, they were even called upon to save
people on rooftops where the water was rising at an alarming rate.
"It was an unbelievable sight," says Purwin. "The level
of devastation and destruction and the mayhem was beyond description."
Purwin and Alpaugh also got a chance to cover Katrina’s
aftermath in Gulfport and Biloxi. Over the course of their three city tour,
they worked with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of
Homeland Security, Army Corps of Engineers, Coast Guard and several state
police units.
"I see law enforcement as becoming our core business,"
Purwin says. "It’s something that’s very important to us."
Helinet’s imaging technology makes it a perfect fit for
airborne law enforcement as well as news gathering. By using a camera mount
and "slippering" technology that they developed as the first of its kind,
the company is able to stabilize and display high definition camera images
with three times the clarity of standard definition.
"Even at focal lengths greater than 1,100 mm, the image
remains extremely steady and crystal clear, allowing aircrews to determine,
for example, not just that a suspect is holding an object in his hand, but
whether it is a handgun or cell phone," says spokesperson Peter Epstein in a
release.
Hurricane Katrina didn’t offer Helinet their first
opportunity to assist in law enforcement, though. Their Cineflex V14 HiDEF
camera system is regularly used by the Los Angeles Police Department’s Air
Support Division for surveillance to support aspects of their homeland
security missions. It was also put into action by the Las Vegas Police
Department for aerial surveillance during last year's New Year's
celebration.
The Helinet Cineflex HD system consists of a Sony
HDW-F950 camera used in combination with a sophisticated, proprietary gimbal
system. The gimbal contains lenses and the optical block of the camera
system itself.
"We build a gimbal that is stabilized better than
anything else that’s out," says Purwin. "Our whole model is different. We
make sure it’s the best imaging equipment possible."
Helinet can configure the system with a variety of lenses
from all major manufacturers, but for Hurricane Katrina, the company
primarily used 1140mm 84x Fujinon zooms. The system, once configured, is
controlled from inside the helicopter by laptop. The helicopter also
features a sophisticated microwave transmitter and high-gain directional
pod, permitting live transmission of a high definition or standard
definition signal from the aircraft as the images are acquired. Helinet uses
a proprietary code to compress the HD signal for transmission to uplink
facilities as far as 100 miles away.
Helinet Aviation employs the same technology for both law
enforcement and broadcast news. But Purwin says that because not all news
outlets transmit in high definition, they are forced to provide imagery to
each and every station in standard definition. That’s not the case for law
enforcement units. Helinet is able to work with each one individually and
provide them the full advantage of their high definition technology.
"We’ve created an environment where the law enforcement,
which has always been ten clicks behind the news, is now ahead," Purwin
says. "We have a solution so that different law enforcement agencies have
leap-frogged the news agencies, and it’s a great feeling."
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