TRENTON, NJ – The New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness (NJOHSP) and New Jersey Regional Operations and Intelligence Center (NJ ROIC) launched New Jersey Shield on April 14, a program focused on strengthening information sharing and collaboration among the public and private sectors.
HAMILTON, NJ – The New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness (NJOHSP) opened the application period for the federal Nonprofit Security Grant Program (NSGP) on March 4. This grant opportunity appropriated by the US Department of Homeland Security for Fiscal Year 2021 supports security enhancements at eligible nonprofit organizations in New Jersey that are at the greatest risk of terrorist attacks.
The New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness (NJOHSP) and its cyber division, the New Jersey Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Cell (NJCCIC), want to remind all New Jersey residents, visitors, organizations, and businesses of resources regarding safe shopping practices during the holiday season.
The New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness (NJOHSP) reaffirmed its commitment to keep the State cyber safe after Governor Phil Murphy proclaimed October as Cybersecurity Awareness Month on October 2.
HAMILTON, NJ – The New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness (NJOHSP) released its 2020-2021 Supplemental Threat Assessment on September 23, which details how the convergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, civil unrest, and 2020 Presidential election are influencing the national threat landscape. This analysis highlights how evolving security threats will continue to impact New Jersey and the United States for the remainder of 2020 and through 2021.
With the ever-evolving terrorism threat landscape, communication between law enforcement entities is more crucial than ever.
In today’s episode, Special Agent Scott Robinson joins us to discuss the FBI’s role in counterterrorism efforts and how its partnerships with NJOHSP and other law enforcement agencies help keep New Jersey safe.
Homeland security and law enforcement professionals have taken notice of the rise in activity by white supremacist extremists. Individuals and groups following this ideology have cited the concept of accelerationism to justify their actions and evolved their tactics to include posting manifestos and livestreaming their attacks. The arrest of a Camden County man accused of directing others in a neo-Nazi network to vandalize synagogues, the sentencing of a Sussex County man obsessed with Nazis and mass shootings, and a doubling of recruitment efforts through flyering are examples of acts intended to intimidate, inspire, and network in New Jersey. NJOHSP increased the threat posed by white supremacist extremists from moderate to high in 2020, joining them with homegrown violent extremists (HVEs) inspired by foreign terrorist organizations as the most persistent hostile actors across the State.
Join our analysts in the final episode of the 2020 Terrorism Threat Assessment series as they break down what prompted the rise in threat level for white supremacist extremists and what to expect from them and HVEs this year in New Jersey and throughout the United States.
Despite experiencing significant organizational changes in 2019, terrorist groups overseas continued their calls for attacks against the United States and other Western interests abroad. Al-Qa’ida considers itself the de facto leader of the global jihadist movement while leaning heavily on the operations of its affiliates to motivate supporters. Despite the death of founder and leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in a US Special Operations Forces raid in October, ISIS is expected to operate similarly with multiple affiliates pledging allegiance to new leadership.
In the third installment of our 2020 Terrorism Threat Assessment series, our analysts discuss the activity of these foreign terrorist groups in 2019 and what impact it will have on their operations this year.
Communities in New Jersey and throughout the United States have experienced incidents stemming from a variety of ideologies associated with domestic terrorism, including an increased threat posed by white supremacist extremists. In 2019, domestic extremists conducted nine attacks and were responsible for an additional 35 plots, threats of violence, and instances of weapons stockpiling, according to an NJOHSP nationwide review. In particular, race-based extremists were responsible for 57 percent of all domestic terrorism incidents, highlighting a new threat focus for law enforcement.
Join us in the next installment of our 2020 Terrorism Threat Assessment series as our analysts discuss activity from domestic extremists in 2019 and what the threat landscape looks like for these groups this year.
HAMILTON, NJ — Director Jared M. Maples of the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness (NJOHSP) released the 13th annual Terrorism Threat Assessment analyzing the State’s overall threat landscape. The assessment provides information regarding homegrown violent extremists (HVEs), domestic and international terrorists, cybersecurity concerns, targeted mass violence, and attacks against Interfaith communities. This analysis will guide counterterrorism efforts for the year ahead.
Communities across the United States and around the globe have suffered unimaginable tragedies over the past year at the hands of individuals driven by hate. New Jersey has also faced incidents supportive of extremist ideologies. In December, two individuals fatally shot a detective and three civilians in Jersey City in an attack rooted in anti-Semitism and anti-law enforcement sentiment. A Camden County man was arrested in November on accusations he directed acts of vandalism against two synagogues in Midwestern states for the purpose of intimidating minorities. A Sussex County man accused of being obsessed with Nazis and mass shootings was charged in June with weapons offenses and bias intimidation. Recruiting efforts by various groups have been prevalent, with flyering incidents increasing since 2018.
Join us as we discuss the upcoming release of NJOHSP's 2020 Terrorism Threat Assessment, the major changes from our 2019 Terrorism Threat Assessment, and the threat extremist groups pose to New Jersey in 2020.
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Director Jared M. Maples of the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness (NJOHSP) testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on National Security, International Development, and Monetary Policy in Washington, D.C., on January 15 regarding how domestic terrorists and extremists fund their activities.
Mental illnesses are extremely common; mass violence is not. Despite the fear and public scrutiny, mass shootings are statistically rare events. But it is hard for most people to imagine that a mentally healthy person would deliberately commit an act of mass murder; thus, it is often assumed that the perpetrators of mass violence must be mentally ill. There is a tendency to overuse mental health problems as an explanation for violence, but the relationship is far more complex than typically presented. While there is a modest link between mental illness and violence, there is no basis for a generalized fear of people with mental illness. Having a mental illness does not predispose someone to violence of any type, and certainly not mass violence.
In our Season Four finale, Steve Crimando of the New Jersey Department of Human Services’ Disaster and Terrorism Branch joins us again to unpack this complicated relationship and offer insights into the programs and resources that address both mental health and mass violence in the State.
HAMILTON, NJ – Director Jared M. Maples of the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness (NJOHSP) has named Andrew C. Campi as the Office’s new deputy director. Beginning on December 9, Mr. Campi will assist the Director in leading the Office’s mission areas, serve as a principal advisor, and manage the administrative and internal operations of the Office.
HAMILTON, NJ – As holiday shopping begins, the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness (NJOHSP) and the New Jersey Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Cell (NJCCIC) remind all New Jersey residents, visitors, organizations, and businesses of the various resources available for a safe and secure holiday season.
The final piece of the intelligence cycle is to utilize the tools discussed over the course of this series to offer recommendations and provide intelligence products to decisionmakers. Intelligence products include reports and documents that contain assessments, forecasts, associations, links, and other outputs from the analytic process. These products are often disseminated to law enforcement agencies for prevention of crimes, target hardening, apprehension of offenders, and prosecution. Understanding how to articulate your analytical findings and being able to provide timely updates to your analysis will not only assist your agency in its public safety mission, but also increase your reliability and reputation as an analyst.
In the final episode of our Developing the 21st Century Analyst series, we discuss putting all the analytical tools discussed together to provide accurate and actionable products to leaders and policymakers.
On October 26, US Special Operations Forces killed ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in a raid in the northwest Syrian village of Barisha, located in the Idlib province.
Tune in as our analysts discuss how Baghdadi’s death will impact both ISIS and al-Qa’ida and what the future may hold for these two foreign terrorist organizations.
Continuing our discussion of the structured analytic techniques toolbox, we come to Analysis of Competing Hypotheses (ACH), which is an unbiased methodology that identifies a set of hypotheses and systematically evaluates data that is consistent or inconsistent with each hypothesis. ACH is an eight-step procedure grounded in basic insights from cognitive psychology, decision analysis, and the scientific method. The use of ACH compels analysts to set aside preconceptions and look for inconsistencies in the data that may indicate a flaw in their reasoning or deception by the target. It ultimately forces analysts to disprove hypotheses rather than allowing them to jump to conclusions before they properly evaluate the evidence.
In this episode of the Developing the 21st Century Analyst series, we discuss the steps of ACH and how our office uses this technique in real-world scenarios.
