What's Available From the FCC?

As a ham radio operator and the holder of what was formerly called the commercial First Class Radiotelephone Operator License, I have learned to use the Federal Communication Commission's (FCC) database. For those who are scanner enthusiasts or others who have an interest in radio frequency assignments and coordination, the FCC General Menu Reports version 2.1.09 is the place to go to get license information.

It is very important to understand that the information in the FCC database pertains only to radio services licensed or otherwise regulated by the FCC. That specifically excludes federal radio services which are coordinated by the Interdepartment Radio Advisory Committee (IRAC).

Negotiating the FCC database can be a little tricky, but with a little experimentation, it becomes easier. All of the information provided is public record information. The FCC license application information for various radio services can reveal a remarkable amount of information. For that reason, the FCC database can sometimes be useful to private investigators and newspaper reporters.

The database should be reviewed periodically by corporate security managers whose company holds FCC licenses. The company's information technology manager is often the person charged with the administrative responsibility for licensing. The quality and quantity of information in the FCC database can sometimes point to some operational security issues that give security managers sleepless nights.

Resurrect the Video

This article headlined 2 Agents Say L.A. Police Abused Them appeared in the May 27 2005, Los Angeles Times. It recounts how a federal agent was appropriately confronted by Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers but how the officers ultimately refused to accept another federal agent's badge and credentials as identification. The result was two federal agents getting hauled off to jail for resisting the officers. But this was not the first time the LAPD had some difficulty realizing it was not the only law enforcement agency on the face of the Earth.

The city of Carson, CA, is policed by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD) and borders the LAPD's Harbor Division. A very narrow strip of land a block or two on either side of the Harbor Freeway connects San Pedro (Harbor Division) to the rest of the city, so the Sheriff's deputies in Carson necessarily drive on LA city streets. A few years ago, a marked LAPD Harbor Division patrol car stopped a plain but exempt-plated Sheriff's car occupied by two LASD deputies in uniform. The officers proned out the deputies on the ground even though the deputies were in uniform. (The LAPD officers later stated they believed the deputies were imposters.)

The situation could have become grave. The proned-out deputies, becoming concerned for their own safety and convinced the LAPD officers must be imposters, hatched a plan to roll, draw, and fire at the officers. Fortunately for all involved, a sergeant showed up, made the necessary calls, and resolved the matter before anyone was hurt.

The outcome was that some enterprising LASD deputies created a professionally narrated farcical videotape entitled, "How to Recognize a Deputy Sheriff" and sent a copy to LAPD Harbor Division. It was hilarious, but the LAPD was offended. In the interest of interagency harmony, the LASD retrieved as many copies of the tape as it could. Maybe it's time to resurrect the videotape. I'll bet there is still a copy or two that didn't get returned.

Report: Terrorism and Security Issues Facing the Water Infrastructure Sector

No, contrary to what some of our local residents think, the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway (BNSF) does not automatically qualify as a terrorist organization simply because it put its Hauser refueling station over the Spokane Valley - Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer which supplies drinking water to hundreds of thousands of people.

Nevertheless, the nation's water supplies are part of its critical infrastructure. Water is essential not only for drinking but also for transportation and power generation. Recognizing its importance is nothing new. Back in 1941, FBI Director Hoover wrote, "It has long been recognized that among public utilities, water suppy facilities offer a particularly vulnerable point of attack to the foreign agent, due to the strategic position they occupy in keeping the wheels of industry turning and in preserving the health and morale of the American populace."

On April 25, 2005, the Library of Congress's Congressional Research Service released an updated report entitled Terrorism and Security Issues Facing the Water Infrastructure Sector. The report is intended to update the members of the 109th Congress about the terrorism and security issues continuing to face the water infrastructure sector in the United States.

Quasi-Government

Former House Speaker Tip O'Neill observed, "All politics is local," so as I read The Library of Congress, Congressional Research Service's report for Congress dated May 18, 2005, and entitled The Quasi Government: Hybrid Organizations with Both Government and Private Sector Legal Characteristics, I couldn't help but think of our local quasi-government organization, the Lake City Development Corporation.

The cited report, of course, refers only to the federal government. Still, the fundamental concerns of the researchers apply equally to local governments and their shadows. The report notes:

"The quasi government, not surprisingly, is a controversial subject. To supporters of this trend toward greater reliance upon hybrid organizations, the proper objective of governmental management is to maximize performance and results, however defined. In their view, the private and governmental sectors are alike in their essentials, and thus subject to the same economically derived behavioral norms. They tend to welcome this trend toward greater use of quasi governmental entities."

"Critics of the quasi government, on the other hand, tend to view hybrid organizations as contributing to a weakened capacity of government to perform its fundamental constitutional duties, and to an erosion in political accountability, a crucial element in democratic governance. They tend to consider the governmental and private sectors as being legally distinct, with relatively little overlap in behavioral norms."

Maritime Security Reports

Since 09-11-2001 the issue of port or maritime security has received additional attention. Security professionals have long recognized many of the vulnerabilities inherent in the maritime cargo shipping industry. Here are two US General Accounting Office (GAO) reports providing updated information about US maritime security.

Maritime Security: Enhancements Made, But Implementation and Sustainability Remain Key Challenges GAO-05-448T, May 17, 2005

Maritime Security: New Structures Have Improved Information Sharing, but Security Clearance Processing Requires Further Attention GAO-05-394, April 15, 2005

Social Scientists at the Crime Scene

In his 1893 treatise "System der Kriminalistik", the noted Austrian jurist Dr. Hans Gross commented that it was impossible for a man to walk through a room and not leave some sign of his presence. At the time, Dr. Gross was no doubt talking about a sign that was physical and that with the proper method, could be collected, preserved, and then presented in court. Dr. Gross is considered by many to be one of the fathers of criminalistics.

But criminals often leave behind less tangible though no less observable signs of their presence. Often the remnants of their unique behaviors can give investigators some insight into the individual and cultural mindsets of the criminals. It is the job of forensic social scientists to look at the physical evidence either present or notably absent at a crime scene to try and draw some conclusions about the individual and group behavior of the perpetrator(s).

The work product of forensic social scientists is not a magic wand or a shortcut. Their work can complement but not replace the systematic and meticulous physical crime scene processing done by investigators and criminalists or crime scene investigators. Rather than pointing a finger at a specific suspect(s), the social scientists can identify behavioral indicators left and the crime scene and often suggest personal and group traits likely to be exhibited by the
suspect(s).

For more information about the work of forensic behavioral scientists at the crime scene, see

The FBI Academy Behavioral Sciences Unit

History of Profiling

McDevitt's Recusal

The Spokesman Review is reporting that the entire office of the US Attorney (USA) for the Eastern District of Washington is being removed from any involvement in the federal investigation of Spokane Mayor James West. Under the headline U.S. attorney to recuse himself, staff writer Bill Morlin said that a special prosecutor would be named to supervise the possible public corruption investigation. In the subhead, the article noted that the recusal had been requested by USA James McDevitt.

It is important to understand that this type of recusal is appropriate and anticipated. In no way does it suggest that USA McDevitt or any of his staff has done anything improper. The US Department of Justice (DoJ) recognizes that in performing their duties, its USAs necessarily will socialize and develop professional associations with local elected officials, officials who could become the target of public corruption investigations. Consequently, the DoJ has the processes in place to appoint special prosecutors when the local USA ethically and appropriately requests his office be recused.

A very good and readable explanation of the DoJ's rationale can be found in the Report to Congress on the Activities and Operations of the Public Integrity Section for 2002 on pages 1 and 2 under the heading "1. Recusals by United States Attorneys' Offices."

Thus, while the USA's Office recusal in the West investigation is newsworthy, it is hardly earthshaking.

Federal Counterterrorism Training - Who Does What for Whom

Contrary to what many people think, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is not the only agency providing counterterrorism training for federal, state, local, and tribal first-responders, government personnel, and private and public critical infrastructure personnel.

For a succinct and informative introduction to who does what for whom in federal counterterrorism training, see Federal Counterterrorism Training: Issues for Congressional Oversight. This 19-page report for Congress was prepared by The Library of Congress, Congressional Research Service, and released on May 16, 2005.

Who's in the Dark in Coeur d'Alene?

On Wednesday, May 18, 2005, The Spokesman Review staff writer Cynthia Taggart bylined an article headlined Program bridges gap for convicts. The article outlined the efforts by some residents of Coeur d'Alene to provide temporary transition housing for convicts as they are released from prison.

Last year when residents of Coeur d'Alene Place used the term "transitional housing" to describe the living arrangements of four convicted felons still on state-supervised probation or parole living together in one house in Coeur d'Alene Place, the Coeur d'Alene city government declined to enforce the city's zoning ordinance that would have required at least a special use permit (and therefore a public hearing) for this use of housing in the city.

Yet Cynthia Taggart's article clearly shows that the Empowering People in Communities (EPIC) project creates transitional housing. The State Department of Correction, Probation and Parole, offers male convicts the EPIC transition homes as an option.

I find it difficult to any longer believe the Coeur d'Alene city government's assertion that it was unaware of the offender housing program which we now know is the EPIC program. The EPIC program was begun about 30 months ago by Dick Wild. At the time, he was the State Probation and Parole's re-entry service coordinator for the Coeur d'Alene District. His supervisor, the Probation and Parole District Manager, has a state position description which includes a statement that, "Incumbents maintain a close relationship with the courts, law enforcement agencies, Parole Commission and Interstate Compact." Mr. Wild would not have undertaken this project without his supervisor's approval, and his supervisor (the one with the supposedly close relationship with the Coeur d'Alene Police Department) would surely have told the police about it. So are we to assume the police department didn't tell anyone else in city government about the structured offender housing?

The question is, why is the Coeur d'Alene city government refusing to enforce its zoning ordinances that would enable prospective property buyers and current owners to learn that their neighbors are on probation or parole or are registered sex offenders? Perhaps it's because the Coeur d'Alene City Council and Mayor places a higher value on property sales than on the peace and safety of residents.

Local Homeland Security Strategy

The International Association of Chief's of Police (IACP) has just released a nine-page report entitled From Hometown Security to Homeland Security -- IACP's Principles for a Locally Designed and Nationally Coordinated Homeland Security Strategy. The report, the first in a series based on the IACP's November 2004 project called the Taking Command Initiative, identified what the IACP considers to be a fundamental flaw in the national homeland security strategy. The IACP's perceived flaw is that the national policy was developed without the advice, expertise, or consent of public safety organizations at the state, local, and tribal level.

The IACP's report linked above identifies five principles it believes must for the basis for and be incorporated into an effective homeland security strategy.

1. All terrorism is local.
2. Prevention is paramount.
3. Hometown security is homeland security.
4. Homeland security strategies must be coordinated nationally, not federally.
5. The importance of bottom-up engineering, the diversity of the state, tribal, and local public safety community & noncompetitive collaboration.

In the future, the IACP plans to undertake a series of additional projects to realize its objective for a nationally coordinated homeland security strategy.

GAO Says "No" to Some Video News Releases

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) looked at the use of prepackaged news stories distributed by federal agencies to local television stations' news departments. These stories, known as video news releases (VNR), are made to resemble very closely locally produced news stories. What the GAO concluded was:

"While agencies generally have the right to disseminate information about their policies and activities, agencies may not use appropriated funds to produce or distribute prepackaged news stories intended to be viewed by television audiences that conceal or do not clearly identify for the television viewing audience that the agency was the source of those materials. It is not enough that the contents of an agency's communication may be unobjectionable. Neither is it enough for an agency to identify itself to the broadcasting organization as the source of the prepackaged news story."

In other words, news programs about the government prepared by the government must have their origin clearly disclosed to the viewers. GAO also concluded that some of the federally prepared VNRs it examined violated the publicity or propaganda provisions of federal law.

The GAO testimony Video News Releases - Unattributed Prepackaged News Stories Violate Publicity or Propaganda Provision was released on May 12, 2005.

Reprise: Public Corruption - Who Investigates It

Now that the initial investigation into Spokane Mayor Jim West's conduct in office will be done by federal authorities, most likely the Justice Department's Criminal Division - Public Integrity Section, it might be worthwhile to review my post from March 4, 2005, entitled Public Corruption - Who Investigates It.

The Public Integrity Section oversees the federal effort to combat corruption through the prosecution of elected and appointed public officials at all levels of government. The Section has exclusive jurisdiction over allegations of criminal misconduct on the part of federal judges and also monitors the investigation and prosecution of election and conflict of interest crimes. Section attorneys prosecute selected cases against federal, state, and local officials, and are available as a source of advice and expertise to other prosecutors and investigators. Since 1978, the Section has supervised the administration of the Independent Counsel provisions of the Ethics in Government Act.

It was wise for the Washington State Attorney General to defer initially to the US Department of Justice. Since West was a state legislator, there could be reasonable concern that some people in Olympia might bear a grudge against him that could taint a state investigation. Then, too, conducting overlapping but supposedly independent investigations seems wasteful and counterproductive.

Missing Children - Will Official Indifference Ever End?

No, I still haven't gotten over the unprofessional indifference and professional incompetence three of our local law enforcement agencies showed when Carissa Benway's mother tried in vain to report her missing in July 2000. But the subsequent recovery of Carissa's skeletal remains did allow our state legislature to create yet another law named after yet another dead child.

Our local agencies can take some solace from the information uncovered and reported by Thomas Hargrove in a May 10, 2005, Scripps Howard News Service article headlined Missing-children cases fumbled by police nationwide. Our local agencies were no more and no less indifferent than many other law enforcement agencies across the country. The third paragraph from Hargrove's article reads: "A first-of-its-kind study of computer files at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children conducted by Scripps Howard News Service has found that dozens of police departments across the nation failed to report at least 4,498 runaway, lost and abducted children in apparent violation of the National Child Search Assistance Act passed by Congress in 1990."

Hargrove's article also identifies some law enforcement agencies that have consistently been complying with the law and handling missing children cases properly, thus dismissing out of hand the usual weak agency excuses of "We don't have the manpower to work runaways," or "Wait a while and maybe your kid will come home."

I salute those agencies that take and make the time to work missing person cases aggressively and effectively. For those agencies that don't, I'd ask, "Why is it that you can find the resources to work the case after it becomes a homicide, yet you feel no obligation to devote the resources to prevent the homicide?" I wish that in addition writing a three-part, award-winning series on the high quality of the Kootenai County Sheriff's Department homicide investigation in the Carissa Benway murder, our regional newspaper, The Spokesman Review, had written an equally exhaustive article on how the same sheriff's department failed to act when it had an opportunity to prevent her death.

Techie Humor

This is a deviation from the usual police and security related stuff I post. My wife and I were very active in our church's drama programs before moving to Coeur d'Alene. We weren't actors; we were techies. We have an amazing array of black clothing as well as the requisite Gerber tool, screw guns, mini-flashlight with red lens, gaffer tape, spiking tape, plumber's strapping tape, and hot glue. Here is some techie humor extracted from several Internet websites:

Techie Proverbs

Behold, my son here is wisdom. Pay heed to these words, and in the days of thy play, in the hours of thy performing, thou shalt not be caught short. For truly, it is said, pay heed to the errors of others and you shall not make them yourself, and again, as we have been told from on old, to thine own self be true.

1.Give not unto the actor his props before his time, for as surely as the sun does rise in the East and set in the West, he will lose or break them.

2.When told the placement of props by the Director, write not these things in ink upon thy script for as surely as the winds blow, so shall he change his mind.

3.Speak not in large words to actors, for they are slow of thought and are easily confused.

4.Speak not in the language of the TECHIE to actors, for they are uninitiated, and will not perceive thy meaning.

5.Tap not the head of a nail to drive it, but strike it firmly with thy strength.

6.Keep holy the first performance, for afterwards you shall party.

7.Keep holy the last performance, for afterwards you shall party.

8.Remember always that the Technical Director is never wrong. If appears that he is, then you obviously misunderstood him the first time.

9.Leave not the area of the stage during the play to go and talk with the actors, for as surely as you do, you will be in danger of missing your cue and being summarily executed or worse.

10.Beware of the actors during scene changes, for they are not like unto you and are blind in the dark.

11.Beware of actors when flying in walls, for they will stand and watch and get crushed.

12.Take not thy cues before their time, but wait for the proper moment to do so.

13.Take pity on the actors, for in their roles they are as children, and must be led with gentle kindness. Thus, endeavor to speak softly and not in anger.

14.Listen carefully to the instructions of the Director as to how he wants things done - then do it the right way. In the days of thy work, he will see thy wisdom, give himself the credit, and rejoice.

15.And above all, get carried away not with the glow-tape, or thy stage will be like unto an airport.

Administrative Subpoenas and National Security Letters

Some agencies of the US government are increasing their use of administrative subpoenas and national security letters. These two authorities are vested in certain federal administrative agencies to compel testimony and or the production of documents or both in the performance of the agencies' duties. (Don't yawn yet.) During the 108th Congress and again during the 109th Congress, President Bush has encouraged legislation that would allow agencies to use these tools of expediency in the fight against terrorism. Congress seems inclined to agree with the President.

On April 15, 2005, The Library of Congress, Congressional Research Service, released a 46-page report entitled Administrative Subpoenas and National Security Letters in Criminal and Foreign Intelligence Investigations: Background and Proposed Adjustments. This report is a decent primer for those wishing a clearer understanding of the constitutional basis for both administrative subpoenas and national security letters. Though both have the potential to be useful tools for fighting crime and terrorism, both also have the potential to be abused by the agencies employing them.

Welcome to Odoriferous Kootenai County

In a Saturday, May 7, 2005, story headlined Source: Grubbs payoff soared, Coeur d'Alene Press staff writer Dave Turner has shed a little more light on the stench-laden deal between the Kootenai County Board of County Commissioners and former Sheriff's Department Captain Sam Grubbs. We need to rely on our smell, because the County Commissioners signed a deal that may forever hide from the light of day the reasons for Grubbs' departure. I've outlined the basics of this mess in my April 11, 2005, blog post.

Turner's Press article today states that Grubbs threatened to sue Kootenai County for wrongful termination. Though Grubbs purportedly resigned voluntarily, a court might well find that his termination was wrongful if the resignation had been coerced. That Kootenai County's insurance carrier, the Idaho Counties Risk Management Program (ICRMP), was willing to discuss paying Grubbs to leave quietly suggests two possibilities:

1. The payout to Grubbs would be less costly than the cost of defending against his lawsuit. That would be particularly true if ICRMP felt that Grubbs would prevail in the lawsuit.
2. Kootenai County, specifically the Kootenai County Sheriff's Department, had inadequately documented what it considered to be Grubbs' unsatisfactory work performance that would have justified his removal.

Contrary to what some people think, government employees can be fired. However, it is up to the employee's immediate supervisor and higher-ups in the chain-of-command to thoroughly and comtemporaneously document all of the events and remedial efforts leading up to any adverse personnel action. Competent human resources (HR) departments train supervisors to do this.

If an agency's supervisors fail to follow accepted HR procedures for counselling, documenting, and disciplining an employee, it will be extremely difficult to fire that employee. For example, if the employee's formal annual performance evaluations consistently rate him or her "satisfactory" or better, it will be difficult for the agency to fire the employee based on the agency's representation that the employee had a history of unsatisfactory performance. One of the worst and stupidest things an employer can do is to retroactively construct the historical documentation necessary to discipline or fire an employee. That process will be seen for what it is: an effort to cover up supervisory laziness, timidity, or incompetence. It also allows the employee to effectively argue that the events never occurred, or if they did, that they were so minor as to not justify termination.

According to today's Press article, Grubbs was under investigation because of his "'bullying the employee' technique style." If true, if Grubbs' abused employees but the alleged incidents and supervisory efforts to correct them were not documented, then the one event that precipitated the Idaho State Police (ISP) investigation would have to be so egregious as to justify termination on its own. Apparently it did not because if it had, Grubbs would have been fired outright, not promised another county job.

It's fair to wonder why Grubbs' superiors in the Sheriff's Department had failed to properly document the events and counsel him if they found his supervisory and management style were abusive. It's also fair to ask what the "final straw" was that caused the Sheriff to first suspend and then quietly (and expensively) remove him. Here, the Kootenai County Board of Commissioners should not have agreed to seal Grubbs' personnel record. By inking that agreement, the Commissioners may have been hoping to conceal the unsatisfactory performance of several elected county officials and some supervisors in the Sheriff's Department.

Community Policing

For some who haven't noticed, policing is changing. It's changing faster in some geographic areas than others, but it is changing.

From the 1930's until the 1980's, policing was in what some have called the Reform Era. During that period and under the strong leadership of reformists like O.W. Wilson, August Vollmer, and V.A. Leonard, progressive law enforcement agencies turned to more efficient policing. This included improvements in departmental communications, increased mobility, and generally more technology. But this increase in effeciency had a down side: It physically distanced law enforcement officers from the people in their geographic area of responsibility.

From the 1980's to now, policing has been transitioning into another era, the Community Policing Era. This is an effort to reestablish the connection between the law enforcement officer and the community in which s/he works. The theory is that if the officer shares community ownership with those who live and also work in the community, the officer will be more effective. It then follows that the officer's agency should be more effective. This transition is not smooth or simple. It is forcing department managers and leaders to deviate from the police culture in which they professionally advanced.

Because community policing is here, whether the police and their communities like it or not, it is helpful to better understand it. The California Attorney General's Office Community Oriented Policing and Problem Solving (COPPS) program "...is an approach that addresses the causes of crime and encourages long term innovative problem solving, improving law enforcement-community partnerships with better quality communication." This link offers three definitions of Community Oriented Policing.

COPS Gang Toolkit

Both Spokane and Kootenai County are well aware of the increase in gang activity in our area. Here are some links to the Gang Toolkit published by the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) of the US Department of Justice.

• Addressing School-Related Crime and Disorder
  
• Bullying in Schools
  
• Disorderly Youth in Public Places
  
• Graffiti
  
• Gun Violence Among Serious Offenders
  
• The Parents' Quick Reference Card
  

Report: "Aviation Security: Screener Training and Performance Measurement Strengthened, But More Work Remains

On May 2, 2005, the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) released its most recent report on aviation security. It was entitled Aviation Security - Screener Training and Performance Measurement Strengthened, but More Work Remains.

This report addresses the actions the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has taken to enhance training for passenger and checked baggage screeners and screening supervisors, how TSA ensures that screeners complete required training, and actions TSA has taken to measure and enhance screener performance in detecting threat objects.

After analyzing the findings of its study, the GAO recommends that the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) direct TSA to develop a plan for completing the deployment of high-speed connectivity at airport training facilities. The GAO also recommends that TSA establish and communicate appropriate internal controls for monitoring the completion of training.

TSA has reviewed the GAO's report and generally concurs with its findings and recommendations.

Report: "Renditions: Constraints Imposed By Laws on Torture"

Extradition is the usual and legal process of transferring a suspected terrorist from one country to another for the purposes of interrogation, arrest, detention, and trial. Extradition exists when countries sign treaties of extradition.

Rendition, on the other hand, is the extrajudicial transfer of a suspected terrorist (or other criminal) from one country to another. The United States has been accused of conducting extraordinary renditions of terrorist suspects and handing them over to countries friendly to the US but who are not constrained by the same laws regarding treatment of prisoners as the US.

On April 28, 2005, the Library of Congress, Congressional Research Service, released a report entitled Renditions: Constraints Imposed By Laws on Torture. The report discusses relevant international and US law regarding the transfer of persons to foreign states to be interrogated under torture. It also discusses US legislative proposals to limit such transfers to countries employing torture.

Well, It's Happened Again - Handcuffing

Last December the timely and proper application of handcuffs and the subsequent control or loss of control of an in-custody prisoner was an issue here in Kootenai County, Idaho. See my February 16, 2005, post.

Now, it's happened again, though the circumstances are somewhat different. In Seattle, police officers confronted a suspect, a suspect who apparently feigned compliance, and began to handcuff him. With one cuff applied, the suspect broke away and successfully removed the Seattle police officer's gun from his holster. The officer was able to overcome the prisoner, regain control of his service handgun, then shoot and kill the prisoner. The Seattle Post Intelligencer reported the story, headlined Suicidal man shot to death after struggling over officer's gun on Saturday, April 30, 2005.

State peace officer standards and training (POST) agencies as well as local, county, and state law enforcement agencies must insist that custodial restraint and arrest techniques training be emphasized and delivered no less frequently and probably more frequently than firearms training. It is simply not enough to give security and law enforcement officers restraint training during their entry-level training and then irregularly, if ever, throughout their careers.