[Infowarrior] - Police chiefs endorse anti-terror community watch

[Richard Forno]

Police chiefs endorse anti-terror community watch
By EILEEN SULLIVAN and P. SOLOMON BANDA (AP) – 1 day ago

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jjBtFzn5wwzu39fUZGs9MfHJmyUgD9B3TH801

DENVER — A store clerk's curiosity about why Najibullah Zazi was  
buying large quantities of beauty supply products indicated that  
something about the transaction wasn't quite right — and it's an  
example of the kind of citizen vigilance that can combat terror, a  
police commander said Saturday.

Los Angeles police Cmdr. Joan McNamara cited this summer's incident as  
police chiefs meeting in Denver adopted a model for a nationwide  
community watch program that teaches people what behavior is truly  
suspicious and encourages them to report it to police.

Federal authorities allege Zazi, 24, tried to make a homemade  
explosive using ingredients from beauty supplies purchased at Denver- 
area stores. He has been jailed in New York on charges of conspiracy  
to detonate a weapon of mass destruction in a plot that may have  
targeted New York City. Zazi has denied the charges.

Zazi reportedly told an inquisitive clerk he needed a large amount of  
cosmetic chemicals because he had "lots of girlfriends." While his  
purchases weren't reported to authorities because suppliers often buy  
large quantities, the police chiefs hope a coordinated publicity  
effort will make people think differently about such encounters.

Los Angeles police Chief William Bratton, who developed the iWatch  
program with McNamara, called it the 21st century version of  
Neighborhood Watch.

The Major Cities Chiefs Association, headed by Bratton and composed of  
the chiefs of the 63 largest police departments in the U.S. and  
Canada, endorsed iWatch at the group's conference Saturday.

iWatch would have provided an easy way for that Colorado store clerk  
and others to report suspicious activity so police could launch  
investigations earlier, McNamara said.

"That clerk had a gut instinct that something wasn't right," she said.

Using brochures, public service announcements and meetings with  
community groups, iWatch is designed to deliver concrete advice on how  
the public can follow the oft-repeated post-Sept. 11 recommendation,  
"If you see something, say something."

Program materials list nine types of suspicious behavior that should  
compel people to call police, and 12 kinds of places to look for it.  
Among the indicators:

_If you smell chemicals or other fumes.

_If you see someone wearing clothes that are too big and too heavy for  
the season.

_If you see strangers asking about building security.

_If you see someone purchasing supplies or equipment that could be  
used to make bombs.

The important places to watch include government buildings, mass  
gatherings, schools and public transportation.

The program also is designed to ease reporting by providing a toll- 
free number and Web page the public can use to alert authorities. Los  
Angeles put up its Web site this weekend.

"It's really just commonsense types of things," Bratton said, adding  
that his department is providing technical assistance to other  
agencies that want to adopt the program.

But American Civil Liberties Union policy counsel Mike German, a  
former FBI agent who worked on terrorism cases, said the indicators  
are all relatively common behaviors. He suspects people will fall back  
on personal biases and stereotypes of what a terrorist looks like when  
deciding to report someone to the police.

"That just plays into the negative elements of society and doesn't  
really help the situation," German said.

After the Sept. 11 attacks, the Bush administration proposed enlisting  
postal carriers, gas and electric company workers, telephone repairmen  
and other workers with access to private homes in a program to report  
suspicious behavior to the FBI. Privacy advocates condemned this as  
too intrusive, and the plan was dropped.

Bratton and McNamara said privacy and civil liberties protections are  
built into this program.

"We're not asking people to spy on their neighbors," McNamara said.

If someone reports something based on race or ethnicity, the police  
will not accept the report, and someone will explain to the caller why  
that is not an indicator of suspicious behavior, McNamara said.

The iWatch program isn't the first to list possible indicators of  
suspicious behavior. Some cities, like Miami, have offered a public  
list of seven signs of possible terrorism. Federal agencies also have  
put out various lists.

Other efforts encourage the public and law enforcement to report such  
signs through dozens of state-run "fusion centers" across the country.  
One such center, the Colorado Information Analysis Center, has a form  
on its Web site to report suspicious activity.

Bratton hopes the iWatch program becomes as successful and as well  
known as the Smokey Bear campaign to prevent wildfires.

"There he is with his Smokey the Bear hat, similarly here, we hope  
that this program, even though it's in its birthing stages right now,  
in a few years will become that well known to the American public."

Associated Press Writer Eileen Sullivan reported from Washington, D.C.

On the Net:
	• Major chiefs: http://www.majorcitieschiefs.org
	• Los Angeles Police Department: http://www.lapdonline.org
	• Los Angeles iWatch Web site: http://www.iWatchLA.org
Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.