Introduction
While acts of terrorism are as old as human civilization, the horrific events of 11th September 2001 brought home the painful reality of the devastating nature of terrorist attacks to Americans. The city that bore the brunt of these attacks was New York City which suffered multiple human losses and property loses in the billions of dollars.
Prior to these attacks, New York had relied heavily on the Federal government for protection against terrorists. However, the 9/11 attacks demonstrated that the federal government was not fully capable of preventing all attacks.
This perception made defense against terror attacks a priority for the New York Police Department (NYPD) and to achieve this, the department created its own unique counterterrorism program. This program has taken some of the tasks that are traditionally carried out by Federal agencies such as the FBI and the CIA.
This paper shall argue that the NYPD program provides a model for what might be used by other major cities to protect themselves from terrorist attacks. To reinforce this claim, this paper shall analyze the most significant strengths and weaknesses of NYPD counterterrorism program.
The paper shall then demonstrate that the proliferation of such metropolitan programs can be a positive development enhancing the effectiveness of federal CT efforts.
Significant Strengths
Local law enforcers have powers which give them the ability to work at the local level in a manner that federal authorities cannot.
A report from the 5th Annual Sovereign Challenge Conference (2010) revealed that while the federal government is supreme in matters that pertain to external security and foreign affairs, they have a fairly restricted scope when it comes to local operations.
This is a fact that is corroborated by Finnegan (2005) who states that the NYPD has deeper resources than the federal agencies which enables it to perform its counterterrorism works at the local level more effectively.
The NYPD counterterrorism program initiatives have resulted in the foiling of various terrorist attempts. Through operation “Hercules” which involves teams of heavily armed officers fortifying high-profile targets, the NYPD program manages to intimidate terrorists by an overt display of force.
Finnegan (2005) states that this display of force creates a hostile environment for terrorist operatives making it unlikely that they will target New York.
The effectiveness of these intimidation techniques is evident from the foiled bombing of the Brooklyn Bridge by an Al Qaeda operative who on capture admitted that the intense police activity around the bridge resulted in his postponing of the bombing activity (Finnegan, 2005). The NYPD program therefore results in less terrorism plots against the city.
An especially effective initiative by the NYPD counterterrorism program is the outreach program which empowers local business people who might unwittingly come into contact with terrorists. This initiative is through a program called Nexus which keeps track of businesses that deal with merchandise that may be used for terrorism purposes.
Finnegan (2005) reveals that through this program, the NYPD visit hundreds of businesses weekly and request for information that might be of use from business owners.
One of the key speakers at the Annual Sovereign Challenge Conference (2010) noted that any person who buys dual-use material such as concentrated hydrogen peroxide in large quantities in New York would be flagged down by the NYPD since the seller would most likely report the unusual purchase.
Such programs are therefore highly effective in the prevention of terrorist attackers who utilize locally available materials.
Weaknesses
NYPD has placed some of its officers overseas to assist the department learn from attacks in other cities. While the intention may be admirable, the manner in which NYPD goes about these overseas missions is highly ineffective and is allegedly a major cause of concern for Federal intelligence officials.
Stein (2010) highlights that NYPD foreign officers lack the proper training or resources to operate effectively in the international sphere. Police Commissioner Kelly justifies having NYPD officers overseas by stating that they act as an early warning system by providing useful pieces of information that can be used to better protect New York (Schorn, 2006).
However, federal law enforcers demonstrate that these overseas officers are redundant since the NYPD has 130 officers in the federal run Joint Terrorism Task Force. These officers investigate terrorism under federal authority and some are even deployed abroad to assist with forensics support (Annual Sovereign Challenge Conference, 2010).
These officials have access to classified information that is obtained from foreign CIA operatives. As such, the NYPD foreign officers are of no real value to the NYPD and they only serve as a hindrance to federal CT efforts.
Another great weakness posed by NYPD’s counterterrorism program is the sheer amount of monies that are dedicated to funding the program. Stein (2010) documents that the NYPD spends an excess of $68 million annually for its intelligence and counterterrorism operations.
While some of these funds are obtained from private donors, the lion share comes from taxpayers. New York is constantly appealing for federal grants to undertake its counterterrorism activities. Some of these funds are used to fund programs such as the International Liaison Program whose usefulness is highly questionable.
In addition to this, well established traditional federal agencies such as the FBI and the CIA are better equipped to handle international cases. Efforts by the NYPD on this front are therefore redundant and a misuse of taxpayer’s money.
Discussion
The event of 9/11 clearly demonstrated that cities need more than solely relying on federal protection from terror attacks. Schorn (2006) states that “New York is believed to be the No. 1 target of international terrorists”. With this in mind, it is justifiable for the city to take up measures to counter terrorism.
The major strength that the NYPD possess is that they are able to work directly with the community and with individuals and business within their jurisdictions.
The federal CT efforts can make use of this strength and therefore increase their effectiveness which is mostly reduced as a result of resource restriction. The NYPD counterterrorism program can therefore play a complementary role to the efforts of the federal counterterrorism efforts.
Evidently the vast resources that New York has give it the ability to carry out its counterterrorism programs at a scale that most other cities cannot.
Falkenrath (2009) reveals that the NYPD is able to devote a significant portion of its resources to counterterrorism measures due to the wealth of the City as well as the relatively low crime rate which means that funds can be diverted from other crime fighting programs.
It is therefore unlikely that the NYPD program could become adopted in totality by other cities in the USA. However, the NYPD program offers a good model of how the police force of a city can integrate counter terrorism efforts with its primary role of law enforcement.
The positive results that the NYPD program has had in terms of foiled terrorist attacks and increase awareness and response times are attributes that each city should aim to emulate.
Conclusion
New York City is hailed as the American city which has done the most to help defend itself against terror attacks. This paper set out to demonstrate that the NYPD program does indeed present a model that might be used in other major cities to counter terrorisms.
To reinforce these claims, this paper has engaged in a detailed discussion as to the strengths of the NYPD program and how it can be used together with the federal departments to form a powerful combination.
However, the paper has also demonstrated that there are inherent weaknesses in the program that make the NYPD program a potential hindrance to federal CT efforts. Nevertheless, the strengths and promise that NYPD’s counterterrorism program holds makes it a worthwhile model in the fight against terrorism.
References
5th Annual Sovereign Challenge Conference. (2010). Regional Issues – Global Implications. The JSOU Press, MacDill AFB, Florida.
Falkenrath, R. (2009). Inside NYPD’s Counterterrorism Operations. Web.
Finnegan, W. (2005). The Terrorism Beat; How is the NYPD defending the City? The New Yorker.
Schorn, D. (2006). Inside the NYPD’s Anti-Terror Fight. CBS. Web.
Stein, J. (2010). “NYPD intelligence detectives go their own way”. Washington Post. Web.