Glendale police search for woman in 'suspicious' disappearance

Chinese national convicted of trying to smuggle military equipment out of U.S.

A federal jury in San Diego has convicted a Chinese national of attempting to smuggle sensitive military equipment out of the United States.

Chi Tong Kuok was convicted of attempting to smuggle encryption equipment, communications gear and global positioning system equipment used by U.S. and NATO forces. Federal law prohibits export of such items without permission of the State Department.

Kuok allegedly attempted over several years to buy these materials, but in this case was arrested after negotiating with an undercover U.S. agent.

He is scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 23.

Kuok, 44, faces a maximum sentence of 45 years in prison.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/

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From the New York Times

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Small New York Town Makes English the Law

JACKSON, N.Y.

It's about 2,500 miles from this green, rural town in the rolling hills near Vermont to the Mexican border at Nogales , but that hasn't stopped Jackson from making a bid to be New York's small version of Arizona in the immigration wars .

Or that's how it is beginning to feel two months after Jackson — which has 1,700 people, no village, no grocery store or place to buy gasoline, no church, no school, two restaurants and maybe a few Spanish-speaking farm workers — decided it needed a law requiring that all town business be conducted in English .

One nearby town, Argyle, has since passed a similar resolution. A third, Easton, is likely to consider one at its Town Board meeting in June. The law has already put Jackson at odds with the New York Civil Liberties Union , which says it violates state and federal law. But in the great American echo chamber, every mouse gets to roar, so Roger Meyer, who proposed the law, feels he is making progress toward protecting the English language from threats near and far.

“For too long, the federal government has shirked its duty by not passing English as the official language of the United States,” said Mr. Meyer, 76, a Town Council member and retiree who runs Chains Unlimited, a sawmill and chain saw and logging supply company. “So seeing as this law couldn't be passed from the top down, I felt I'd start a grass-roots movement to try to get it passed from the bottom up.”

The law designates English as the town's official written and spoken language, “to be used in all official meetings and business conducted by the elected officials and their appointees.”

The civil liberties union has asked the board to rescind the ordinance.

“The English language is not under attack in Jackson or anywhere else in the state or country,” said Melanie Trimble, director of the civil liberties union's capital region chapter.

The group said the law prohibited constitutionally protected speech and discriminated against anyone with limited English skills who tried to conduct business with the town, whether they wished to report a crime or to testify in local court or to obtain a building permit. It contains no exceptions for medical emergencies and police investigations, in which public health and safety are at stake, the group said.

Asked if, for instance, he felt the law would prohibit a flier in Spanish about a rabies epidemic, Mr. Meyer said he believed it would not. Alan Brown, the town supervisor and the only board member to vote against the law (it passed 3 to 1, with one member absent), said he thought it would.

Mr. Brown added that he saw no reason to spend taxpayer money to defend a law that couldn't be enforced. “The law would play to some people's prejudices, and I don't think that's a good thing,” he said.

One thing supporters and opponents agree on is that the law reflects no imminent threat.

“We have records going back to 1816, and they've never been written in anything but English,” Mr. Meyer said. “This law isn't changing anything. It's just making it official that we're going to do what we've been doing for 190 years.”

And Mr. Meyer said the law was in support of English, not in opposition to any group. “It's not prejudicial or anything like that,” he said.

Still, he said, he wanted to make a statement in reaction to what he believed was a movement whereby immigrants were less likely to learn English and assimilate into the culture than in the past.

“People come here because it's better than the place they were in,” he said. “If that's the case, you should be adapting yourself to our ways. We shouldn't be adapting ourselves to your ways.”

The debate on the proposal was split almost down the middle, but Mr. Brown concedes he has taken some heat from his vote, while Mr. Meyer said he had received only praise.

“I walked into a restaurant in Hoosick Falls the other day and a fellow sitting at the counter said, ‘There's the guy that pushed the English,' ” he said. “And they all applauded me.”

People are quick to say that the few Hispanic farm employees in the area are valued workers and that there is no animus in the law. But Mr. Brown said that if not animus, there was probably something else tied to the undercurrent of unease everywhere, even in this distant, peaceful place.

“This law didn't just pop up because someone has interest in and sympathy for the fact we've always done our meetings in English,” he said. “What is a human's greatest fear? It's fear of whatever, of death, of terrorism, fear of what we don't understand. We're all afraid of the unknown. My opinion is that this is just adding to all that.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/13/nyregion/13towns.html?hp=&pagewanted=print

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Leg Lost to Land Mine, Boy, 11, Moves Israel

JERUSALEM — On his junior year abroad here in 1984, Jerry White, a student at Brown University , stepped on a buried land mine while hiking with friends in the Golan Heights. The explosion tore off part of his right leg and nearly killed him. It also set the course for his life's work — leading him to help found what is today called Survivor Corps , an organization that shared the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize, and persuade scores of countries to clear their lands of antipersonnel mines and ban their production and use.

But Israel is not among them. Officially at war with two of its neighbors and on guard against infiltrators from all sides, this country has held to the belief that its mined frontiers have served its security and national interest.

“We always got the same party line here,” Mr. White, who has continued to visit and lobby in Israel, said the other day in Jerusalem. “They say, ‘We can't talk with our neighbors about land mines unless it is part of an arms control treaty. We need land mines to prevent terrorism.' ”

But in February, the ground shifted. Daniel Yuval, a precocious 11-year-old Israeli, was walking in fresh Golan snow with his family in a field where other families were throwing snowballs. He stepped on a mine that blew off his right leg below the knee and shot shrapnel at his 12-year-old sister Amit.

Over the years, others have been hurt by land mines. But earlier this week, Daniel, fitted with a prosthesis, walked into the Parliament building in Jerusalem with his family and other victims, telling a committee meeting that the time had come for Israel to remove its land mines.

“When I woke up from the operation in the hospital and saw that my right leg had been amputated, I said to my mother that I didn't want anyone else to be hurt by land mines, and that I intended to do something about it,” he said in a statement.

Daniel did not complain about his fate, nor did he blame anyone for his suffering. Instead, he set to work, telling Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by phone and a host of other senior officials in person that Israel's policy had to change.

For the first time in this country, that may well happen. Seventy-three members of the 120-seat Parliament have co-sponsored a bill aimed at establishing a national authority for clearing mines “that are not required for security purposes.” The bill needs three readings in the coming few months and the backing of the government, which has not yet expressed its views. The fact that Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in southern Lebanon have been known occasionally to use land mines recently could pose a problem.

But those monitoring the issue in Israel say that they sense momentum and that most of the 260,000 land mines lining the borders — some from wars of decades ago, others placed there by the nation's enemies — may finally be set for removal in the coming 5 to 10 years, at a cost of about $60 million.

The shift comes as 68 American senators have urged President Obama to consider signing the international treaty that bans land mines. Neither the United States nor Israel deploys such mines anymore, analysts said, but like China, India, Russia and most of the Middle East, they have both declined to sign the treaty and get rid of them.

Tzachi Hanegbi, a member of the opposition Kadima Party and chairman of the parliamentary committee on defense and foreign affairs, has taken up the cause, saying that until Mr. White came to see him recently, he had never considered the issue.

“I have been a member of the Knesset for 22 years, and I had no idea about the problem or the fact that there is a United Nations treaty signed by 158 countries against the use of land mines,” Mr. Hanegbi said in an interview. “Like many in Israel, I feel sad and humiliated that it has taken until now.”

At the committee meeting led by Mr. Hanegbi this week, Daniel Yuval sat next to him at the head of the table, his tiny frame failing to fill the armchair but his political savvy drawing praise.

“Thank you, Daniel, for helping take us into the family of nations,” Einat Wilf, a parliamentarian from the Labor Party, told him.

Tzipi Livni , leader of the opposition, added, “Daniel, you have paid a heavy price, but you are moving this society to do the right thing.”

For Mr. White, what has happened here in recent months is a major achievement. He brought Diana, Princess of Wales , into his cause in the 1990s and, later, Queen Noor of Jordan, showing that he understood the importance of personalities and star power.

“What Diana was internationally for the land-mine movement, Daniel is for Israel,” he noted.

Mr. White, who grew up along Boston's South Shore, has an unusual relationship with Israel. He says he believes that he was the first Jewish studies major at Brown who was not Jewish. He learned decent Hebrew here, much of it in the hospital after his accident. He has many friends here. He knows how the country works.

“In 2004, I tried to get Israelis interested in land-mine clearance,” he recalled. “They said, ‘You're not Jewish, you're not with the government, you're not in the military. Forget it.' They were right.”

But he says he believes that with consciousness raised by Daniel's tragedy, and the need for greater tourism cooperation with Jordan and the Palestinian Authority , the day of Israeli mine clearance is approaching.

As a result of the interest of Queen Noor and other members of the Jordanian royal family, Jordan has been clearing its borders, notably the long one with Israel, removing about 58,000 mines.

On the border between Jordan and the Israeli-occupied West Bank, along the Jordan River, is the site traditionally said to be where Jesus was baptized . From the Israeli-controlled side, pilgrims and other tourists have to cross through an area surrounded by minefields and watched by soldiers.

One of the topics that Mr. Netanyahu has frequently mentioned as a source of future cooperation among the states of Israel, Jordan and a future Palestine is Christian pilgrimage. Mine clearance at the Jesus baptismal site would help, Israeli officials acknowledge. Mr. White also contended that joint land-mine removal along the Golan would be a project that a future Israeli-Syrian peace treaty could include.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/13/world/middleeast/13israel.html?ref=world&pagewanted=print

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Wal-Mart Gives $2 Billion to Fight Hunger

The Wal-Mart Corporation announced plans Wednesday to contribute $2 billion in cash and food to the nation's food banks , one of the largest corporate gifts on record.

Over the next five years, the giant retail company will distribute some 1.1 billion pounds of food to food banks and provide $250 million to help them buy refrigerated trucks, improve storage and develop better logistics.

“Hunger is just a huge problem, and as the largest grocer in the country, we need to be at the head of the pack in doing something about it,” said Margaret McKenna, president of the Wal-Mart Foundation.

While the economy seems to be turning around, the number of people turning to charities to help put food on their tables continues to grow. A recent survey by Feeding America found that 37 million people a year now use its national network of food banks, a 46 percent increase from 2006. The survey drew on interviews with more than 61,000 people who use food banks, as well as reports from 37,000 food banks across the country.

Put another way, 1 in every 8 Americans uses a food bank to make ends meet, the survey said.

More than one-third of those surveyed said they would not have been able to pay for basics like rent, utilities and medical care without relying on food banks to offset the cost of their meals — and more than a third said at least one person in their household was working.

“It is not just the unemployed that are going hungry,” said Vicki B. Escarra, chief executive of Feeding America .

Wal-Mart began taking on hunger as a cause in 2005, when it distributed 9.9 million pounds of food to food banks; last year, it provided 116.1 million pounds of food. The company also has donated the services of its staff to help food banks improve lighting and refrigeration and develop ways to increase the amount of fresh food on their shelves.

“We've learned a lot about this problem and the kinds of things we can do to help,” Ms. McKenna said. “We've learned, for instance, that there is a huge gap in terms of the protein and fresh produce that food banks can deliver, so we've learned how to fast-freeze things like meat and dairy. You can't put 100 pounds of bananas on a truck that isn't refrigerated and expect them to be edible for long.”

Almost one-third of the food Wal-Mart is donating this year will be fresh, and one of the first cash gifts out of the new grant will go to increasing the number of refrigerated trucks delivering food to food banks. “These are the types of resources we don't get much from other sources,” Ms. Escarra said.

Feeding America puts the retail value of donated food at $1.59 per pound.

Wal-Mart and other companies are focusing on how to get food to children to expose them to fruits, vegetables and meats that traditionally have not been available to poor families because of limited supplies or high cost. For instance, the Target Corporation on Tuesday announced a $2.3 million program to create pantries in schools that can be used to teach children about good nutrition at the same time they are fed.

Target provided an additional $1.2 million to Feeding America to support other school-based feeding programs.

Ms. McKenna said she was concerned about getting food during the summer to children who rely on school breakfast and lunch programs. “We know about sending kids home with backpacks of food for the weekends,” she said, “but what do we do to feed them when they aren't going to school?”

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/13/us/13gift.html?ref=us&pagewanted=print

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Price of Facebook Privacy? Start Clicking

Pop quiz: Which is longer, the United States Constitution or Facebook 's Privacy Policy?

If you guessed the latter, you're right. Facebook's Privacy Policy is 5,830 words long; the United States Constitution, without any of its amendments, is a concise 4,543 words.

Facebook, one of the most popular social networks in the world, has more than 400 million registered people on its Web site. Half of these users log in to the service every day, the company says, and users spend 500 billion minutes on the site each month.

But in recent months, Facebook has revised its privacy policy to require users to opt out if they wish to keep information private, making most of that information public by default. Some personal data is now being shared with third-party Web sites.

As a result, the company has come under a blitz from privacy groups, government officials and its own users, who complain that the new policy is bewildering and the new opt-out settings too time-consuming to figure out and use.

“There are always trade-offs between providing comprehensive and precise granular controls and offering simple tools that may be broad and blunt,” said Elliot Schrage, vice president for public policy at Facebook. “We have tried to offer the most comprehensive and detailed controls and comprehensive and detailed information about them.”

The new opt-out settings certainly are complex. Facebook users who hope to make their personal information private should be prepared to spend a lot of time pressing a lot of buttons. To opt out of full disclosure of most information, it is necessary to click through more than 50 privacy buttons, which then require choosing among a total of more than 170 options.

Users must decide if they want only friends, friends of friends, everyone on Facebook, or a customized list of people to see things like their birthdays or their most recent photos. To keep information as private as possible, users must select “only friends” or “only me” from the pull-down options for all the choices in the privacy settings, and must uncheck boxes that say information will be shared across the Web.

Facebook's “Help Center” is available to assist users, but the word count for the privacy-related FAQ adds up to more than 45,000 words.

Even if a user changes all the settings on the privacy section of the site, certain pieces of information will still be shared across the site unless a user takes further action. For example, under the Account Settings option, in the Facebook Ads tab, two options are automatically turned on to share some information with advertising networks and friends. Anyone who wants to keep this information private must uncheck the boxes in that tab.

And still, some information will no longer remain private because Facebook has also added a feature, called community pages, which automatically links personal data, like hometown or university, to topic pages for that town or university. The only way to disappear from those topic pages is to delete personal data from Facebook.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/13/technology/personaltech/13basics.html?hp=&pagewanted=print

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From the White House

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"The Future That Our Military Families Deserve"

Earlier today, First Lady Michelle Obama spoke at a summit hosted by the National Military Family Association and called it the country's "moral obligation" to recognize the state of military families today. She commended families for their resilience and dedication to service and called for the “vision of a nation that truly supports our military families.”

The First Lady discussed hardships that military spouses endure, including struggling to access benefits and assistance and mental health counseling for the stress of separation. She called for the nation to support and engage military families not only during their time of military service, but at every stage of their lives.

And although I think it would pain most Americans to hear this, we have to be honest.  Too many of our military families still think a lot of Americans don't fully appreciate what they're going through, how they sacrifice for us.  As one military mom appealed to me in a letter, she said, “Please don't let Americans forget or ignore what we live with.”  She said, “We are at war.”

And finally, we know that the needs of our military families are only going to grow.  Our forces and their families face more deployments.  That means more veterans needing care, especially those with post-traumatic stress and traumatic brain injury.  It means more caregivers needing support.  It means more survivors who can never be forgotten.

The First Lady explained that the Administration has made military families an important priority by increasing benefits and funds for military housing, childcare, counseling and career development, and also expanding health care for veterans and support for caretakers.  She praised the Department of Defense for launching the Military Family Life Project, a study of over 100,000 spouses and service members to assess their quality of life for a better understanding of how families are affected by deployments. She also talked about the Department of Agriculture's 4-H program , which forged partnerships with the armed services to help military children when their parents are deployed.

The First Lady announced that the President has directed the national security staff to lead a government-wide review to identify new priorities and partnerships to support military families. She explained that the initiative will lay the foundation for a coordinated government approach to supporting and engaging military families.

And it won't be easy.  It's going to take many years.  It's going to require a great deal of patience, as you all know.  But if Americans respond to this challenge; if we mobilize every segment of society; if we work together; if we hold ourselves to the same high standard of excellence that our military families live by every day, then I know we can succeed.  I know we can realize our vision of an America that truly supports and engages our military families not just now, but for decades to come.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/05/12/future-our-military-families-deserve

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From the Department of Homeland Security

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Testimony of Under Secretary and Chief Intelligence Officer Caryn Wagner and Principal Deputy Under Secretary Bart Johnson, before the House Committee on Homeland Security, on the Office of Intelligence and Analysis' Vision and Goals

May 12, 2010

Cannon House Office Building
(Remarks as Prepared)

Introduction

Chairman Harman, Ranking Member McCaul, and distinguished Members of the Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today to discuss the vision and goals for the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Office of Intelligence and Analysis (I&A).

This is my first testimony before the Subcommittee on Intelligence, Information Sharing and Terrorism Risk Assessment since my confirmation on February 11, 2010. I am honored to serve as the Under Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis and Chief Intelligence Officer for DHS. I look forward to working closely with this Subcommittee and the Congress to lead and strengthen the critical intelligence mission of the Department.

The Office of Intelligence and Analysis Strategic Vision

I&A's overarching vision is to be the trusted leader in meeting our nation's homeland security intelligence needs. This vision drives our core focus of strengthening the Department's and our partners' ability to protect the homeland by accessing, integrating, analyzing, and sharing timely and relevant intelligence and information, while protecting the privacy and civil rights and civil liberties of all Americans.

I&A's programs and activities align with the core DHS missions designated in our recently completed Quadrennial Homeland Security Review (QHSR). Intelligence and information sharing are identified as key activities for the Department in the QHSR. To that end, I&A plays a critical role to DHS' success in all of its core mission areas: preventing terrorism and enhancing security; securing and managing our borders; enforcing and administering our immigration laws; safeguarding and securing cyberspace; ensuring resilience to disasters; and strengthening and maturing the Department.

I have spent considerable time reviewing the roles, missions, functions and alignment of I&A since my confirmation in February. Much of my review has focused on what I&A must do to enhance its support to core customers at the Department and to its non-federal partners at the state, local, tribal and territorial levels. I have also evaluated how I&A can improve upon the services that it already provides to the Intelligence Community (IC) and its interaction with Congress. I am focusing now on four main areas:

• Creating a true homeland security information-sharing enterprise through greater focus on the state, local, and major urban area fusion centers;
  
  
• Unifying and sustaining a DHS intelligence enterprise as the Chief Intelligence Officer of the Department;
  
  
• Producing first-rate analytic products tailored to the needs of core customers, including to those not often served by traditional members of the IC; and
  
  
• Establishing the program management processes necessary to improve the morale, efficiency, and professionalism of I&A as an organization.

In the last few months, we have made substantial progress in defining priorities, improving management processes, and determining the best structure for I&A to meet the goals that I have set forth. I would be remiss if I did not express my appreciation for the outstanding work and leadership of Principal Deputy Under Secretary Bart Johnson during his tenure as Acting Under Secretary; much of what I propose today builds on his foundational efforts. The following specific steps, already underway, will translate I&A's goals into an organizational and program-execution reality.

Executing the Strategic Vision

Two basic themes drive I&A's need for realignment: (1) the need for I&A to maximize support to core customers and; (2) the need for I&A to take better advantage of its collective resources.

I have also identified areas in which we can improve I&A's organizational structure. I&A's proposed realignment consolidates similar activities, invests more resources in areas of required core competencies, and frees up existing resources for new endeavors.

I&A's proposed realignment establishes four core offices, three of which are supervised by a Deputy Under Secretary: Analysis; Enterprise and Mission Support; and Plans, Policy and Performance Management; and the fourth by a Director of the Department's new Joint Fusion Center Program Management Office (JFC-PMO). The I&A Principal Deputy Under Secretary will have direct responsibility for overseeing the overall fusion center effort. We plan to forward a reprogramming action to consolidate the resources of the legacy State and Local Program Office (SLPO) into the JFC-PMO. We are also determining the relationship the JFC-PMO will have with the emergent National Fusion Center Program Management Office (NFC-PMO) directed by the White House.

I will now describe in further detail some of the key initiatives underway that support the four focus areas previously described: (1) supporting state and local fusion centers; (2) strengthening the DHS intelligence enterprise; (3) providing first rate analytic information to core customers; and (4) improving I&A management and processes. These focus areas are the guiding principles under which I&A's goals have been established.

1. Supporting State and Local Fusion Centers

A primary role of I&A is to share intelligence and information with our partners at the state, local, tribal, territorial, and private sector levels. The state, local, tribal and territorial first responders and first preventers are the leading edge of the homeland security enterprise. The linchpin of our interaction with our non-federal partners is through stronger partnerships with state and local fusion centers. Fusion centers are a vital tool for strengthening homeland security, and it is I&A's job to work closely with state, local, tribal, and territorial partners on some of the nation's most pressing homeland security issues. Further strengthening this capability is a top priority.

We are continuing to expand the level of cooperation and information sharing with our state, local, tribal and territorial partners via a robust network of intelligence and law enforcement agencies participating in state and local fusion centers. Secretary Napolitano approved the plan to implement the Joint Fusion Center Program Management Office (JFC-PMO) on March 15, 2010. The JFC-PMO will bring to bear all the Department's resources – not just I&A's – to support information sharing among state, local, tribal, territorial, and federal law enforcement partners, as well as to coordinate relevant support from all DHS elements, not just from I&A. The Department is now considering how the JFC-PMO will align with the White House's direction that DHS be the lead agency in establishing the National Fusion Center Program Management Office (NFC-PMO). I&A developed an implementation plan for the NFC-PMO with the assistance of state and local representatives and more than15 federal agencies. The implementation plan was widely coordinated throughout the federal government and will soon be sent to Secretary Napolitano for her review.

To leverage the capabilities of our non-federal partners, I&A has deployed 55 intelligence officers to fusion centers nationwide and plans to deploy a total of 70 officers by the end of FY 2010, with the ultimate goal to deploy personnel to all 72 designated fusion centers and assign 10 regional coordinators to the field. I&A has installed the Homeland Secure Data Network (HSDN), which allows the federal government to share Secret-level intelligence and information with state, local and tribal partners, at 33 fusion centers. Additional centers are undergoing facilities certification to be accredited to house HSDN. This burgeoning network greatly expands two-way information sharing flows between federal and non-federal homeland security partners. We are also partnering with the DHS Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties and the DHS Privacy Office to provide training to federal, state and local fusion center personnel, to ensure privacy, civil rights and civil liberties are appropriately addressed in fusion center activities and products.

2. Strengthening the DHS Intelligence Enterprise

I&A is continuing to take concrete steps to promote a unified, collaborative DHS intelligence enterprise. Our goal is to make intelligence activities at DHS more integrated, efficient and effective, and to allow DHS, both headquarters and components, to give and receive better intelligence support. A critical tool in this effort is the Homeland Security Intelligence Council (HSIC), which I chair in my role as Chief Intelligence Officer. The HSIC is comprised of component intelligence leaders and other key officials representing a broad range of DHS activities that require intelligence support. The HSIC is focused on governance-level, DHS intelligence enterprise-wide objectives, such as overseeing the completion of the first coordinated, enterprise-wide analytic production plan, playing a leading role in reviewing DHS-wide protocols for disseminating Homeland Security Intelligence Reports and preparing an FY 2012 consolidated intelligence budget recommendation to the Secretary.

Another successful example of the power of the DHS intelligence enterprise is the DHS Threat Task Force (DTTF). The DTTF was established in the summer of 2009 to support the Zazi and Headley investigations. The DTTF is composed of I&A analysts and representatives from the DHS operational components and ensures that all the Department's information and expertise is brought to bear on an issue or investigation. Last summer, the DTTF provided information to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on hundreds of additional individuals who were determined to be potentially relevant to specific, high-profile cases. DHS reactivated the DTTF on Christmas Day, after the attempted bombing of Northwest Airlines Flight 253. We institutionalized this task force to focus and unify the efforts of the whole Department on mitigating terrorist threats to the homeland. These efforts have directly contributed to the effective use of watch lists and have supported Department programs for passenger travel analysis and airport screening procedures.

I&A recently completed a comprehensive set of Standing Information Needs (SINs) that uniformly document ongoing intelligence and information needs of the entire Department. These SINs improve DHS' ability to participate in the IC's collection management processes and the quality and quantity of information received in support of those needs, as well as the information I&A produces. In addition, since October 2009, our Collection and Requirements Division assisted more than 20 fusion centers in developing their own SINs, with the goal of improving the level of support they can receive from the Department and the rest of the IC. We are putting in place tools to ensure our analytic products adhere to information needs of both departmental and non-federal partners. These same SINs also provide the starting point for I&A's planning and performance measurement activities.

3. Providing First Rate Analytic Information to Core Customers

I&A's analytic programs now better align with the Secretary's priorities and the Department's SINs, and encompass those analytic topics that are most meaningful for homeland security. Our analysts – in partnership with National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) and the FBI – address threats to the homeland from both international and domestic terrorist groups and actors and also analyze terrorist tactics, techniques, and procedures to inform the development of protective measures at home. As a result of recent trends, I&A is working closely with its IC partners to develop a framework for analysis of homegrown violent extremism that is consistent with protecting privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties.

I&A has primary responsibility within the IC to analyze, evaluate and disseminate analysis on threats to homeland critical infrastructure. Through our robust relationship with the private sector and partnership with DHS' Office of Infrastructure Protection (IP), we routinely assess the impact of threats to industry and, with our IP partners, identify specific vulnerabilities and consequences that could result from terrorist attacks or other hazards. We are working with IP to improve the partnership and the utility of the products produced in this area.

Our border and immigration security analysts focus not only on terrorist threats to the U.S. on or at our land and maritime borders, but also address trends regarding travel, asylum and refugee issues and the rising violence on the Mexican side of the Southwest Border. I&A, in fact, uniquely supports the U.S. government's efforts to identify, track, deter and prevent terrorists from traveling to the homeland. I&A's role in preventing terrorist travel focuses on providing targeted intelligence analysis that leverages unique DHS databases and expertise, and on sharing information broadly within DHS and also with the U.S. government and foreign partners. I&A plays a key role in monitoring changes to and effects of global immigration and travel security policies, provides direct support to DHS asylum and refugee programs, informs Customs and Border Protection targeting rules and Transportation Security Administration screening measures, and produces unique assessments on alien smuggling and illicit travel patterns in support of the IC and other customers.

I&A also possesses a cyber intelligence analytic program. This team provides a national intelligence analytical framework in support of key cybersecurity customers, such as the DHS National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center (NCCIC), the DHS United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT), and the Industrial Control Systems CERT. We are working with partners in the community to collaborate on strategic cyber analysis, and we continue to determine the amount of analytic support necessary to the Department's cybersecurity mission.

I&A also maintains expertise in the fields of health intelligence and chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) issues to serve its departmental, federal, state, local, tribal, territorial and private sector partners. DHS is a co-founder, with the Defense Intelligence Agency, of the National Center for Medical Intelligence at Fort Detrick, Maryland, which focuses on a broad range of foreign medical risks that could threaten the United States. We use our combined research and analytic talents to produce all-source threat analyses on human health, agriculture, and food security to support DHS components – a recent example being the health intelligence we provided to support first responders' relief efforts in Haiti – as well as federal, state, local, tribal and territorial government agencies and the private sector. Our analysis goes beyond just the science of health threats to address relevant foreign policy and socio-economic issues that could adversely affect homeland security operations and critical infrastructure and key resources.

On CBRN issues, our experts collaborate with their IC partners on broad-ranging assessments and national-level exercises; provide the threat basis for risk assessments that drive DHS policy formulation and detection and response programs; and provide practical insights to state, local, tribal and private sector partners on CBRN indicators they might encounter in the course of their operational and law enforcement roles.

4. Improving Management and Processes

To ensure that I&A is able to meet the broad range of its responsibilities, I am placing great emphasis on strengthening its planning, management and performance oversight functions. I&A is making considerable progress developing fair and transparent policies and decision-making processes, aligning resources to priority missions, and assessing the efficacy of investments. I&A has established leadership-level policy, personnel, and resource requirements boards to improve the management of I&A's workforce, programs and budget. As part of my commitment to improving management, policy development, and business processes, I&A's realignment proposal establishes a Deputy Under Secretary for Plans, Policy and Performance Management (PPPM), as discussed earlier in this testimony. This new element will enable more streamlined and integrated strategic planning, programming and performance measurement, and budgeting life cycle processes. PPPM will further the Department's intelligence mission by providing DHS intelligence enterprise and departmental information sharing management guidance by overseeing the Executive Directors of both the Homeland Security Intelligence Council and the Information Sharing Governance Board. For example, PPPM will be the focal point for our partnership with the DHS Chief Information Officer to improve departmental information sharing governance and establish enterprise-wide best practices.

The new Deputy Under Secretary's responsibilities will include developing and unifying applicable strategies, plans, and policies for the entire intelligence mission cycle, leading to integrated DHS intelligence and information-sharing enterprises focused on mission and customers. PPPM will also develop a detailed I&A strategic action plan that will include a mapping of all organizational activities and performance management metrics to measure program execution and effectiveness. This, in turn, will institute valid metrics to measure success and create a systemic cycle that facilitates organizational improvement. Finally, it will serve as I&A's primary focal point for intelligence policy planning and representation of the intelligence mission to the rest of DHS, the larger IC, and the national security policy community.

I&A's proposed Office of Enterprise and Mission Support is intended to centralize intelligence mission support functions for I&A, as well as the larger DHS intelligence enterprise. It is designed to maximize the effectiveness of our information technology knowledge management, counterintelligence, training, collection requirements, and external operations programs.

Intelligence training is a critical capability that will enable fulfillment of I&A's strategic goals, and the proposed Office of Enterprise and Mission Support will build on existing I&A training successes. This program, which will be staffed by additional intelligence trainers, is intended to support the establishment of a culture of disciplined intelligence work in I&A.

Immediate Way Forward

These steps are a beginning, and I&A will undergo further refinement over time. I&A must—and will—continue to mature its management and business standards; move towards more proactive, collaborative and prioritized process planning and; ensure that all of its activities align with DHS missions and goals.

Conclusion

Members of the Subcommittee, I appreciate the opportunity to appear before you today to discuss the strategic vision for I&A. I&A has made significant strides, and we continue to adapt ourselves to the continuing emerging needs of the Department. I&A has a vital and unique mission, and we will continue to improve our strategic posture to more effectively support core customers.

I&A's efforts to gather, assess, analyze and share intelligence and information will continue to be guided by the dual imperatives of protecting the country from those who wish to do it harm, and protecting our privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties. With your support, the leadership of Secretary Napolitano, and the fine men and women of I&A, I believe we can accomplish our goals and fulfill these imperatives. I look forward to keeping the Subcommittee apprised of I&A's continued progress.

Thank you for your time, and I look forward to your questions.

http://www.dhs.gov/ynews/testimony/testimony_1273674426083.shtm

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From the Department of Justice

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Protecting Our Children from Crimes Online

The following post appears is adapted from the remarks of Acting Deputy Attorney General Gary G. Grindler, who spoke today at the National Internet Crimes Against Children's Conference in Jacksonville, Florida.

Crimes against children are particularly vile. The threat to our children is real and with the advent and increasing sophistication of the Internet, the threat is evolving as much as it is expanding. Assessing the threat posed by child exploitation is difficult.  But in order to address the situation, we must try to better understand the dangers. 

Research indicates that there has been a significant increase in the proliferation of child pornography, driven in large part by an enormous financial incentive for peddlers of these abhorrent images.  It is estimated that more than 200 new images are circulated daily and the profit derived from these criminal acts could be as high as $20 billion annually. 

Like child pornography, the enticement of our children over the Internet is a serious threat.  Offenders are using networks of like-minded deviants to share strategies, lurk in chat rooms, social networking or gaming sites where children commonly gather. Ensuring our children are aware of this hidden danger and know how to keep themselves safe is as crucial to our fight as is strong law enforcement efforts.  

Some children also face the threat of being victimized by commercial sexual exploitation.  Runaways, throwaways, sexual assault victims, and neglected children can be recruited into a violent life of forced prostitution.  The numbers are staggering.  Between 2004 through 2008, Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Forces saw a 914 percent increase in the number of child victims of prostitution complaints processed by their members. 

We know that some criminals have turned away from illicit activities such as drug dealing and robbery toward child sex trafficking because it's more profitable — these traffickers can make up to several thousand dollars a day as a single child can generate as much as $1,000 on a weekend night. 

Understanding all of these dangers, we must also keep in mind that it is not just our own children who are at risk.  The child sex tourism industry continues to thrive.  Child sex tourists prey on the most vulnerable children in the most impoverished areas of the world. 

Through leadership and coordination with our international allies, federal, state, local, and tribal partners, NGOs, child advocacy centers, victim service providers, educators, and industry we will leave the criminals no place to hide. Through coordination we can devise strategies to combat this war and rescue these victims.

The Department of Justice is committed to continuing to fight against the sexual exploitation of children on all fronts, including: prevention, deterrence, and interdiction.  While law enforcement remains a very important strategy, we also recognize that we can not simply prosecute our way out of this problem.  On the law enforcement side, we must ensure that we have expertly trained investigators and prosecutors. 

The solution to child exploitation must also include prevention through public awareness and education campaigns.  It must also include deterrence using tools like sex offender monitoring.  And, law enforcement must have the technological tools you need to investigate these crimes.  The Department is taking a number of steps to help on each of these fronts.

A National Database: The Department is working closely with the ICACs and others to design and build an Internet Crimes Against Children Data System that will support our efforts and result in a smarter more effective response.  This system will provide meaningful deconfliction among federal, state, local, tribal, and even some international partners who investigate child exploitation.

The Expansion of the Innocence Lost Initiative: The Department is also exploring the expansion of the Innocence Lost Initiative.  This program targets child prostitution and has shown remarkable success. 

National Sex Offender Registry: One of the Department's short-term goals is to have the U.S. Marshals Service stand up a fully operational National Sex Offender Tracking Center to better track and apprehend fugitive sex offenders.  The Center is already online and the Marshals are working to fully staff the Center with analysts and other professionals in the near future.

A National Coordinator: To help bring all of the pieces together and to further the coordination efforts, the Department has appointed Francey Hakes as the National Coordinator for Child Exploitation Prevention and Interdiction.  She is an experienced federal prosecutor who previously worked closely with the ICAC in her home state of Georgia, has personally prosecuted numerous cases of child pornography and exploitation, and she is eager to work with our other partners to increase overall coordination of our efforts. 

Ultimately, whatever form of child exploitation we discuss, whether it is child pornography, the enticement of children by online predators, or the trafficking of children for sex trafficking – a central theme seems to emerge – child exploitation is a global problem that spans borders and requires a global response.  Coordination and marshalling all of our collective efforts will be necessary to attack these criminals and stop the devastation that they will otherwise wreak.

We must act together as a nation to protect our children, and children worldwide, and the ICAC program does just that by bringing thousands of federal, state, and local investigators and prosecutors together to share information, investigate cases, conduct training, and develop law enforcement technologies and techniques to interdict child exploitation.  By increasing our cooperation and coordination we will increase our ability to rescue victimized children, arrest those who abuse them, and, hopefully, prevent other children from ever facing the threat of sexual exploitation.

http://blogs.usdoj.gov/blog/archives/792

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Strategies to Fight Meth and Other Drugs

Today, President Obama released the Administration's inaugural National Drug Control Strategy, which establishes five-year goals for reducing drug use and its consequences through a balanced policy of prevention, treatment, enforcement, and international cooperation.

As first responders, law enforcement officers can play an important role in informing the public about the dangers associated with meth and other drug use. Through a project funded by the Justice Department's Office of Justice Programs and its Bureau of Justice Assistance with the Partnership for a Drug-Free America, law enforcement agencies across the nation are collaborating with other stakeholders to educate their communities about the dangers of substance abuse. They also provide information, tools, and resources to educate and empower concerned citizens to address these threats in a proactive and informed way.

PACT360 – Police and Communities Together – is a law enforcement-led, community prevention education system designed to deal with and rapidly respond to, drug threats in communities. Presentations are jointly delivered by teams of local law enforcement, treatment and prevention professionals. The goal of the program is to help reduce illicit drug use, and its accompanying criminal behavior, to improve public safety and quality of life in the community.

The primary program components of PACT360 include:

Since 2005, programs have been launched in 24 lead communities, with a planned expansion to 10 additional communities in 2010. Since the inception of the program, over 800 presentations have been delivered across the country and were seen by more than 27,000 audience members. More than 1,300 presenters have been trained to deliver the programs, and more than 1,440 people have registered as presenters in 48 states and 9 foreign countries.

If you are a law enforcement, prevention, or treatment professional , or if you work in another way towards the prevention of substance abuse, you can join the PACT360 community by becoming a presenter or coordinator.

If you are a member of the public who is concerned about the rise of meth abuse and wants to see a presentation, or host one at your community group or place of business, the Presentation Search function can be used to locate presentations and/or contact presenters near you.

Please visit the program websites today to download materials – all free of charge- and to participate in online presenter training, learn about upcoming presentations in your community, and discover what you can do to become a champion for these prevention education programs in your community.

Through our partnerships with the Office of National Drug Control Policy, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Partnership, the Department of Justice is committed to fighting this devastating problem and supporting effective prevention, education, treatment and enforcement strategies.

As President Obama said:

“By boosting community-based prevention, expanding treatment, strengthening law enforcement, and working collaboratively with our global partners, we will reduce drug use and the great damage it causes in our communities.”

For more information on the national drug control strategy visit: http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/strategy/

State Corrections Officers and Others Plead Guilty in Drug Trafficking Scheme

Wifredo R. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; John V. Gillies, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office; and Ric Bradshaw, Sheriff, Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, announced today the resolution of a long-term undercover public corruption investigation of Florida State Prison guards. All 16 individuals charged in February 2010 in a wide-ranging federal indictment have pled guilty and will be sentenced in the near future.

The federal indictment charged defendants Latess Hill, Jentle Chatman, Zedra Warner, Belinda Davis Brown, Tanika Wright, Samantha Wilkerson, Kenyetta Biggs, Elisha Allen, Melvin Brown, Antonio Key, Jason Miller, Marcus Pitre, Dondia Wilkerson, Pakesha Mccray, Takisha Golden, and Melissa Jefferson, with one count of conspiracy to possess cocaine with intent to distribute, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 846. The indictment also charges individual defendants in nine counts of attempting to possess cocaine with intent to distribute it, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Section 841(a)(1). Each of the charged individuals pled guilty to at least one felony count involving either conspiracy to possess cocaine or attempting to possess cocaine with the intent to distribute.

Eleven of the 16 individuals charged were employed by the State of Florida as corrections officer at the Glades Correctional Institute, located in Belle Glade, Palm Beach County, FL. Of those employed elsewhere, defendant Tanika Wright was employed as a Corrections Officer at Florida Road Prison, located in Loxahatchee, Palm Beach County. Defendant Elisha Allen was employed by The Geo Group, a third-party contractor with the State of Florida, as a Corrections Officer at South Bay Correctional Facility, located in South Bay, Palm Beach County. Defendants Antonio Key, Dondia Wilkerson, and Pakesha Mccray were not Correction Officers, but misrepresented themselves as Corrections Officers during the undercover investigation.

During the investigation, FBI undercover agents represented to the defendants that they were members of a purported drug trafficking group, interested in having the defendants protect and facilitate the undercover agents' drug trafficking operation in exchange for cash payments. As discussed during the various guilty pleas, undercover federal and state and local law enforcement agents posed as drug traffickers, and paid each of the defendants to carry multi-kilogram quantities of cocaine from Miami to West Palm Beach in exchange for cash payments of $5,000. Undercover meetings, the delivery of sham cocaine, and the payment of cash bribes were all recorded by law enforcement using digital audio and video equipment; all of the defendants wore official clothing during the time of the nine separate drug transportation episodes. Due to security concerns, the FBI never allowed any sham or fake cocaine to be smuggled into any state prison facility. After their arrest in February 2010, most of the defendants confessed to the FBI.

The charges stem from an investigation that began at the request of the Florida Department of Corrections into alleged smuggling of contraband into Glades Correctional Institute by state employees. As a result of the investigation, conducted jointly by federal, state and local authorities. State charges against other guards are still pending against other guards not charged federally.

“Prison guards have one of the toughest jobs in law enforcement and are crucial to public safety,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge John V. Gillies, “When they break the law, not only does it create an unstable prison environment, but it also puts our communities at risk. Our success in this investigation was the direct result of the exceptional cooperation and expertise among the federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies.”

Mr. Ferrrer commended the investigative efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office. Mr. Ferrer also noted with appreciation the cooperation of the Florida Department of Corrections during this investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stephen Carlton and Julia Paylor.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls . Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov .

http://miami.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/pressrel10/mm051210.htm

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Uniform Crime Reports

The Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program was conceived in 1929 by the International Association of Chiefs of Police to meet a need for reliable, uniform crime statistics for the nation. In 1930, the FBI was tasked with collecting, publishing, and archiving those statistics. Today, several annual statistical publications, such as the comprehensive Crime in the United States , are produced from data provided by nearly 17,000 law enforcement agencies across the United States.

Other annual publications, such as Hate Crime Statistics and Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted address specialized facets of crime such as hate crime or the murder and assaults of law enforcement officers respectively.

Special studies, reports, and monographs prepared using data mined from the UCR's large database are published each year as well. In addition to these reports, information about the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) , answers to general UCR questions , and answers to specific UCR questions are also available on this site.

• A Word about the Data
  
  
• UCR Publication Schedule
  
  
• Data Quality Guidelines
  
  
• Frequently Asked Questions
  
  
• UCR Categories (pdf)
  
  
• UCR Methods of Quality Control (pdf)
  
  
• UCR Reporting Forms

Note : Most documents on this site are prepared in PDF (Portable Document Format). Selected tables are also available in Microsoft Excel format.

Get e-mail updates when new reports are posted here

Crime in the United States

Crime in the United States (CIUS) is an annual publication in which the FBI compiles volume and rate of crime offenses for the nation, the states, and individual agencies. This report also includes arrest, clearance, and law enforcement employee data.

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Internet Crime Complaint Center

http://www.ic3.gov/complaint/default.aspx

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Victim Assistance

http://www.fbi.gov/hq/cid/victimassist/home.htm

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From the DEA

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Internet Pharmacy Ring Dismantled

MAY 12 -- PHILADELPHIA – Federal law enforcement officials today announced the unsealing of a superseding indictment charging two in a large-scale illicit Internet pharmacy operation. The superseding indictment charged Carleta Carolina and Wayne White with conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and other charges. The indictment was announced by DEA Special Agent-in-Charge John Bryfonski, United States Attorney Zane David Memeger, and IRS Acting Special Agent-in-Charge Troy Stemen. In addition to the conspiracy, Carolina and White are charged with the distribution of controlled substances, conspiracy to commit international money laundering, international money laundering, conspiracy to introduce misbranded drugs into interstate commerce, and mail fraud. The superseding indictment alleges that from at least April 2005 to December 7, 2009, the defendants illegally distributed controlled and non-controlled prescription drugs without valid prescriptions.

“Today, a criminal drug trafficking organization that misused technology to open the world's medicine cabinet, placing unbridled greed before health and safety, has been stopped,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge John J. Bryfonski, who also pointed out that several of these charges are the first in violation of the Ryan Haight Online Pharmacy Consumer Protection Act passed by Congress. “Those who choose to violate laws designed to ensure the safe and legal dispensation of pharmaceutical drugs will not escape the scrutiny of DEA by attempting to hide on the Internet.”

Defendant Carleta Carolina allegedly owned, operated, and was affiliated with websites, such as www.discreetonlinemeds.com , that sold controlled and non-controlled prescription drugs, primarily the controlled weight-loss drugs phendimetrazine and phentermine, to customers who were onlrequired to complete an online medical questionnaire but were not examined by a physician in connection with their orders. According to the indictment, Carolina hired physicians to review the customers' online questionnaires and to issue prescriptions based solely upon the customers' responses. She then hired pharmacies, including Superior Drugs in Miami, Florida, to fill and ship these invalid prescriptions. Superior Drugs was operated by defendant Wayne White, who is a pharmacist. At least one of the doctors and one of the pharmacies that Carolina hired, as well as many of the online customers, were located in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

“Although the Internet may have provided the defendants with a veneer of legitimacy, it does not change the unlawful and dangerous character of the conduct alleged in the indictment,” said Memeger. “The defendants are charged with drug dealing, plain and simple. It is unlikely that the customers of the websites that the defendants allegedly used would ever patronize a drug corner; yet they apparently had no problem ordering prescription drugs over the Internet, and the defendants allegedly had no problem filling their orders in an unlawful manner.”

The superseding indictment also charges violations of sections of the Controlled Substances Act that were amended by the Ryan Haight Online Pharmacy Consumer Protection Act and charges the defendants with devising a scheme to defraud. According to the indictment, the defendants: represented to prescription drug customers - who lacked prescriptions from their personal physicians - that the websites selling these drugs were a legitimate, lawful, safe, and responsible source; represented that customers who were getting physicals after April 13, 2009 [the effective date of the Ryan Haight Act] were doing it to join a cost-saving “health plan,” when, in reality, they were getting the physicals so that they could purchase phentermine by means of the Internet; and falsely represented to federal and state agencies that Superior Drugs was a full-service, walk-in pharmacy, when, in reality, Superior Drugs was dedicated almost entirely to filling orders for controlled and non-controlled prescription drugs for Internet websites.

“This case serves as a perfect example of what can be accomplished when different law enforcement agencies pool their resources and expertise to achieve a common goal; to protect the American public from the many perils of illegal prescription drugs,” said Acting Postal Inspector-in-Charge Tommy Coke, Philadelphia Division. “It is our duty as United States Postal Inspectors to investigate and stop those individuals who attempt to ship illicit drugs through the U.S. Mail.”

“The actions announced today are the result of tremendous dedication and perseverance of the investigators and prosecutors who worked tirelessly throughout this investigation,” said Acting Special Agent-in-Charge of the IRS Criminal Investigation Troy Stemen. “IRS, Criminal Investigation is pleased to have had the opportunity to contribute our financial expertise in following the money to assist in this case. The agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration and other law enforcement agencies, along with the prosecutorial team a the United States Attorney's Office are to be applauded for their diligence and commitment.”

If convicted, defendant Carolina faces a possible maximum statutory sentence of 474 years imprisonment and a $10.9 million fine. White faces a possible maximum statutory sentence of 314 years imprisonment and a $6.9 million fine.

The case was investigated by the Diversion and Enforcement Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division, the Food and Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigations, the United States Postal Inspection Service, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Southern District of New York office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Frank R. Costello, Jr. and Kevin R. Brenner.

http://www.justice.gov/dea/pubs/states/newsrel/2010/phila051210.html

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