Posted on 05/20/2005 3:52:10 PM PDT by Coleus
Are Bureacratic Battles Harming National Security?
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Tonight a federal report - criticizing the NYPD and New Jersey's counter terrorism agency. It claims both are resisting cooperation with the FBI, and it's gotten so bad that Congress is now looking into the matter.
Eyewitness News reporter N.J. Burkett is here with more.
"Asinine" and "outrageous" - those are just a few of the words being used tonight by local law enforcement. They are furious over this report because the allegations are so serious.
The NYPD has the most extensive intelligence-gathering network of any local police force in America. But tonight critics say the department routinely refuses to share its information with FBI headquarters in Washington.
The allegation is contained in a study by the National Academy of Public Administration and was delivered to Congress by former U.S. Attorney General, Richard Thornburgh.
According to the report, the NYPD's intelligence division and the New Jersey State Office of Counterterrorism "...have actively resisted coordination with the FBI..."
"Both organizations have sought to run their own independent counterterrorism operations and have resisted sharing information ..."
"... The panel believes that this lack of coordination could undermine a concerted counterterrorism effort."
Rick Cinquegrana, Academy of Public Administration: "You don't want the intelligence collection activities to be stumbling over each other and for example be conducting liaisons with foreign officials and foreign agencies independently of one another in ways that might prove counterproductive."
Among the panel's recommendations that Washington withhold federal funding until the two agencies become more cooperative with the FBI.
Sid Casperson, N.J. Counterterror Director: "This past year in 04 we gave over 4,000 leads to our Statewide Intelligence Management System - directly to the FBI."
New Jersey's homeland security chief told us there's nothing more his agency could be doing. The NYPD's spokesman seemed at a loss.
NYPD Spokesman Paul Browne: "For god's sake, no one is helping the FBI more than the NYPD."
The federal government, he told us: "...could help right now by making certain the money goes to where the threat is, namely, New York City."
But researchers admitted today that they based their findings on interviews conducted at FBI headquarters - that their report was, essentially, one-sided, and it was paid for by the FBI.
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