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.
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.
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.
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.
Our previous episode discussed gathering information as a crucial step in the intelligence cycle, allowing analysts to provide actionable intelligence that ultimately improves how an agency performs its public safety responsibilities. There are several different sources of information, and knowing what these are and where to obtain them makes any public safety employee invaluable to their organization. Although there are six basic intelligence sources, or collection disciplines, the continual growth of different data repositories has tremendously increased the amount of information available to research for intelligence.
In the fourth installment of our Developing the 21st Century Analyst series, we delve deeper into the collection steps of the intelligence cycle by exploring the various resources that can be researched and utilized.
The Intelligence Cycle is the process of developing raw information into finished intelligence for policymakers to use when making decisions and taking action. There are hundreds of intelligence cycle models, which all generally include five or six distinct phases: Planning, Collection, Processing, Analyzing, Disseminating, and Feedback. Each organization may take a slightly different approach developing their intelligence model based on their needs and what suits their organization best.
Join us in the third installment of our Developing the 21st Century Analyst series as we discuss different models of the intelligence cycle and what happens at each step of the process.
The growth of intelligence-led approaches to law enforcement and homeland security has placed increasing demands on the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) of analysts. Core competencies are the KSAs analysts should have so that their contributions can improve organizational decision-making and how an agency delivers its public safety responsibilities.
The second installment of our Developing the 21st Century Analyst series explores what these core competencies are and how they enable growth in our mission of public safety and development of individual analysts.
Intelligence gathering is known from our earliest recorded accounts. Egyptian hieroglyphics describe voyages to foreign lands dating to 3200 B.C. Sun Tzu wrote about intelligence in The Art of War circa sixth century B.C. During the Revolutionary War, intelligence operations focused on military actions under our first commander in chief. Today, intelligence gathering remains a key practice for military and government entities, and also for commerce, finance, and other critical enterprises.
Tune in to the first episode of our six-part series, Developing the 21st Century Analyst, where we will discuss the history and evolution of intelligence over the centuries.Tune in to the first episode of our six-part series, Developing the 21st Century Analyst, where we will discuss the history and evolution of intelligence over the centuries.
Incels, or involuntary celibates, are primarily men who make up an online subculture that blames women for their inability to find romance or intimacy. Espousing male supremacist views, these individuals self-describe as resentful and disconnected, often justifying violence against people who more easily interact and engage in relationships with members of the opposite sex.
Tune in to today’s episode as Steve Crimando of the New Jersey Department of Human Services' Disaster and Terrorism Branch joins us to discuss the Incel movement, how extremist groups might exploit their grievances, and what role mental health has in such cases.
NJ Learn is a complete online learning management system managed by NJOHSP at no cost to state, county, and local first responder agencies. NJ Learn is available online and includes standardized training, a catalog listing of courses, processes for registrations, a digital resource library, the ability to provide notifications and other communications, and a complete records management system, with full reporting capabilities.
In today’s episode, we discuss how NJ Learn came to be, who can access the system, and related resources for all New Jersey residents.
The primary focus of NJ Transit’s Police Department (NJTPD) is providing police services to bus depots and rail stations throughout New Jersey. NJTPD is the only transit police agency in the United States with statewide authority and jurisdiction. NJTPD’s Intelligence Section manages NJTPD’s counterterrorism and criminal intelligence programs. The section is responsible for the collection, analysis, production, dissemination, and coordination of intelligence for NJTPD’s counterterrorism and crime prevention and suppression missions.
In today’s episode, we sit down with NJ Transit Director of Intelligence Ed Bruce to discuss the mechanisms of the intelligence cycle for New Jersey’s transportation system.
Some domestic extremists are likely willing to shift to foreign terrorist ideologies as a way to justify violence due to their susceptibility to radicalization, existing violent tendencies, and willingness to support extremist groups. An NJOHSP review found that many domestic extremist and foreign terrorist ideologies share similar viewpoints typically rooted in hatred and intolerance.
Tune in to today’s episode as our analysts review these recent cases and explore possible causes for their ideological shifts.
Trauma is the leading cause of death in Americans under age 46. These life-threatening traumatic injuries require immediate action to stop someone from dying. The University Hospital’s Center for Emergency Preparedness and Response, located at the University Hospital campus in Newark, provides a variety of training courses for healthcare professionals, first responders, and community members throughout the entire State. The center specializes in the rapid development and implementation of courses to address emerging issues.
On the latest episode, instructors from the Center for Emergency Preparedness and Response sit down with NJOHSP to discuss the Until Help Arrives and Bleeding Control training programs and how they can prepare individuals for these scenarios. The group reviews these two programs and the importance of educating and empowering community members to take action and provide lifesaving care before the professional help arrives.
Earlier this year, the Stevens Institute of Technology Maritime Security Center (MSC)—a US Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Center of Excellence—and the NY/NJ Regional Metro Alumni Chapter of the Naval Postgraduate School’s Center for Homeland Defense and Security (CHDS) hosted the Technology Foresight Forum. This forum brought together a broad base of representatives from the public, private, and government sectors to engage in discourse on the capabilities and potential implications of artificial intelligence, machine learning, and autonomous vehicles on safety, security, and public policy.
In addition to presenting at the forum, NJOHSP took Intelligence. Unclassified. on the road to talk to some of the forum participants, see how technology impacts each of their organizations, and learn what they hoped to get out of these artificial intelligence-related panels.
