Dillow’s focus on bomb making falls short of the mark
Clay Dillow’s October 2015 article in Popular Science “To Catch a Bombmaker” explores how FBI forensic skills have been developed since 2003 to benefit United States forces fighting bomb making foreign insurgents. Dillow tells the story of how a small lab at the Marine Corps Base at Quantico has used FBI analytical data to link more than 2,700 suspects to possible terrorist activities, adding more than 350 people to the terrorist watch list. Dillow’s purpose was to reveal how detective skills have evolved to address a growing number of homemade bombs threats to the United States. While the article examines many one case in which insurgents are nabbed, information is not shared on how forensic data alone may not be enough to tell a more balanced story about bomb makers. Dillow writes an article of how one bomber is stopped, but the narrative falls short of offering a deeper account of how effective our efforts have been to stop terrorists in their tracks.
Still overall, Dillow’s article
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has used forensics to demonstrate how the government has made progress with “connecting the dots” in finding and stopping a bomb making terrorist-- an example that took millions of dollars and man hours to catch one man and send him to jail for 40 years. The story “To Catch a Bombmaker” is sketchy even though the author seems to have a surplus of facts and dates to share with his readers. Dillow’s article fails to bring an in-depth understanding of what catching a bomber is about. He omits major pieces of the story while focusing on well-known cops and robbers techniques featured on popular television shows. While at certain points Dillow’s story is compelling, the article looks at off-the-shelf forensic but lacks the insight to shed light on the human drama and so the real driving force beneath Dillow’s facts and figures require unexplored and unexplained in this
In the following days, the AFP conducted thorough forensic investigations into the source of the bombings, as well as the scenes of the crimes. The forensic material was then processed in Australia after an emergency amendment to the Crimes Act, 1901 (Cth) was passed. This speedy response from the nations federal politicians allowed the processing of forensic data from offshore (Bali) in the highly sophisticated labs located in Australia. This quick response is what ensured the integrity of the forensics and ultimately what allowed the bombers to be arrested. With the support of forensic examination, the investigation progressed quickly. This led to the arrest by the INP of the first suspect, Amrozi bin Nurhasyim (Amrozi), on November 5, 2002, and the subsequent identification of other suspects. A second joint INP and AFP investigation team was formed to pursue the remaining suspects, which led to the arrest of Imam Samudra and a number of other suspects on 21 November 2002. This was followed by the arrests of Ali Ghufron (Muklas) on December 4, 2002, and Ali Imron on January 12, 2003. The rapid legal responses from the AFP and the Parliament is what allowed the arrest of the bombers, in what was a greatly effective response.
The key question he presented was whether or not the Terrorist Explosive Device Analytical Center (TEDAC) was capable of making a difference and finding those who were responsible for insurgent outbreaks. Dillow carefully covered each aspect that answered this one question and did not rely on his own point of view to strengthen the article. Multiple facts were given to supported his argument along with quotes from experts, such as Greg Carl and Tim Beam, who held important FBI positions. Carl stated, “Up until TEDAC, the Department of Defense didn't understand the
In 1978, on Monday the 13th of February, Australia faced what is believed to be its first experience of terrorism, when a bomb hidden in a bin outside the Sydney Hilton Hotel exploded, killing two council workers and a policeman (Cahill & Cahill, 2006). At the time, the hotel was hosting eleven heads of government who were in Sydney for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Regional Meeting (Cahill & Cahill, 2006). The Australian government reacted by mobilising the military, which came to be referred to as ‘Siege of Bowral’, that highlighted issues with the legislation that dealt with terrorism and how unprepared Australia was at responding to a terrorist event (Hancock, 2002). Over the following years, a range of legislation was enacted to handle matters associated with terrorism, laws such as allowing for defence to aid to the civil power, aviation and shipping safety, chemical, biological or nuclear weapons, surveillance and intelligence services (Hancock, 2002).
This report from the investigation by the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General (OIG) concerned allegations of wrongdoing and improper practices within certain sections of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Laboratory. Those allegations involved some of the most significant prosecutions in the recent history of the Department of Justice, including the World Trade Center bombing, the Oklahoma City bombing, and the mail bomb assassination of U.S. Circuit Judge Robert Vance (which was referred to within the FBI as the VANPAC case). The allegations implicated fundamental aspects of law enforcement: the reliability of the procedures employed by the FBI Laboratory to analyze evidence, the integrity of the persons engaging in
Law enforcement response to counter-terrorism fundamentally changed as a result of the unprecedented events of September 11th 2001 in New York and Washington (Kaldas, 2002, p61-62). This essay will examine how law enforcement has evolved in response to the changing nature of terrorism, with an emphasis on how this has impacted Australia. An analysis of arrests and subsequent
The body of this paper will examine the case of Pamela Foddrill and compare what happened in that real criminal investigation to the theory of criminal investigation discussed in our course textbook, Criminal Investigation: The Art and the Science. I will first examine the forensics evidence and
In the 1900’s and early 2000’s a series of events would bring a change in priorities for Federal Law Enforcement, namely the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), which was on the brink of being dissolved. “The Inspector General’s 2003 report stated that prior to 9/11, ‘the Bureau devoted significantly more special agent resources to traditional law enforcement activities such as white collar crime,
How would those perceptions have affected intelligence analyst judgments related to the threat posed by possible further use of efforts to hide explosives in ways previously unseen?
The devastating events of 9/11 provided a forewarning to our country concerning the dangers of terrorism. However, it has created a particularly greater impact on the duties and standards expected of law enforcement agencies on all levels (local, state, and national). Law enforcement has begun implementing new tactics in an effort to prevent future terrorist attacks from threatening our national security. One aspect of policing in which terrorism has brought about is the process of information sharing between all levels of law enforcement. Our nation has also witnessed a change from traditional policing to that of a militarized one. Furthermore, after the incidents of September 11th, the
In preparation for my debate on the topics of intelligence-led policing and Compstat policing, I have discovered the many advantages and disadvantages of using intelligence-led policing and Compstat policing. According to Carter & Carter (2009), intelligence-led policing is the collection of and analysis of data relating to crime, used by law enforcement in “developing tactical responses to threats and/or strategic planning related to emerging changing threats” (p. 317). When applied correctly, intelligence-led policing is a tool used for information sharing in identifying threats and developing responses to prevent those threats from reaching fruition (Carter, 2011). One of the advantages of using intelligence-led policing is its incorporation of data analysts. The role of the data analyst in the context of intelligence-led policing allows them to take specially trained analysts to take raw data from information found in reports and translate it into useful information for the officers, allowing the police to deploy resources more effectively and efficiently (Griffiths, 2016). Another advantage is its application through preventative and predictive policing (proactive policing), in which law enforcement take data and identify crucial variables such as terrorism or the emergence of criminal organizations, in hopes of stopping the problem at its roots (Carter, 2011). Terrorism is especially important and emphasized after the 9/11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Centers in
For as long as I can remember our country has been involved in some form of conflict. With these conflicts came groups who sought to hurt the U.S. on its sovereign soil. I was in pre-k when the Boeing 757’s hit the Twin Towers in New York. My mother checked me out of school after it occurred; she had a sense of urgency to get my brother and I home. I didn’t know what was going on and I was frightened because my mom was as well. When we got home she went straight to the television and turned it to the news. I did not really understand what I was seeing other than a couple of buildings that were on fire. As I grew older the more my understanding of what occurred that tragic day did too. I began to feel a sense of sorrow and that was the initial I needed to set my mind on the track to become a Special Agent in the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The task of the FBI is not to only investigate the scene after a major event like what occurred in New York, but their main focus is to stop any form of attack before it begins. April 2013, two brothers planted bombs at the Boston Marathon finish line, killing a few and injuring a couple of hundreds of people. Again, I feel this sense of sorrow, but this time I began questioning, “How safe is our country from attacks?” July 2015, Chattanooga, Tennessee a man began to open fire on the recruiting office… He killed five people four of which were Marines and the other a sailor. This act was my breaking point, my determination to
Criminal case is always tedious when it involves little or no information about the offender, like in the 9/11 terrorist attack which annihilated most of the workers in and damaged the New York Trade Center building. However, in an attempt to identify the offenders, government officials and investigators try out different ways such as criminal profiling and others. Thus, in the New Yorker article, “Dangerous Minds” by Malcolm Gladwell; the author informs the deeper problems with FBI profiling and argues that it is ineffective. He questions the usefulness of criminal profiling, “But how useful is that profile, really?” and uses other criminal cases, group research analyses, and analogies to refute
Intelligence collection and apprehension of criminals have occurred for many years; however, with the exception of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, these actions were performed by different organizations. Nonetheless, roles and responsibilities have changed since the attacks on September 11, 2001. Intelligence-led policing and the National Criminal Intelligence Sharing program were incorporated, and fusion centers were established to help gather intelligence from different levels of the government. Although law enforcement at the local, state, and tribal levels aid in intelligence collection, it is important to ensure that intelligence gathered to protect national security and law enforcement
By the mid-1950s, a psychiatrist named Dr. James Brussel, with no prior links to law enforcement, was asked by the New York City Police Department to profile the “Mad Bomber of New York” (Padbury, n.d.). After studying crime scene evidence and the bomber’s mail to the press, Brussel was able to develop a profile that described the bomber in detail. He claimed that offender would be heavy set, middle aged, and foreign-born. That he was Roman Catholic, single and lived with a sibling. He added that when found, the offender would most likely be wearing a buttoned, double-breasted suit. This proved to be very accurate. Brussel went on to aid other investigative agencies between 1957 and 1972. His work would lead to the arrest of Albert DeSalvo, the Boston Strangler in 1964 (Padbury, n.d.). It was Brussel’s technique of interpreting bizarre behavior of these killers and then applying his knowledge of psychiatry to the investigative realities that proved to be a very effective means to assist law enforcement solve cases such as these (Egger, 1999).
While the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is one, centralized agency, securing the homeland involves the cooperation and collaboration of many, different agencies and organizations ranging from local law enforcement to national agencies such as the NSA, CIA, and FBI. Each of these agencies contributes to the development of homeland security intelligence. By carefully analyzing and commenting on the objectives, tasks, strengths, weaknesses, and roles of each agency, a larger picture emerges regarding the capabilities and limitation of intelligence in supporting homeland security efforts.