Many States Bash Intelligence Sharing
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=1809837
NEW YORK Apr 5, 2006 (AP)— Most state Homeland Security
directors are dissatisfied with the quality of intelligence
data provided by the federal government, a report released
Wednesday says, and most also believe that multiple demands
on National Guard forces undermine their emergency response
capabilities.
The survey was the second annual report on homeland security
conducted by the National Governors Association, and the
first since Hurricane Katrina and the emerging threat of
a global avian flu pandemic. As a result, natural disasters
and pandemic influenza joined the security officials' list
of top concerns, along with intelligence, interagency
coordination and emergency communications.
The survey was sent to homeland security directors in each
state and five territories and commonwealths; 40 directors
responded. Among the major findings:
Multiple demands on National Guard forces have left more
than half the states with a diminished capability to meet
responsibilities of state emergency plans.
The directors remain concerned about lack of state input
into the development of federal security policy.
Directors are nearly unanimous in recommending that the
federal government coordinate with states prior to adopting
and implementing policies.
Most of the directors are dissatisfied with the specificity
and usefulness of intelligence their states receive from
the federal government.
Most directors view the primary state grant program
of the federal Department of Homeland Security as
underemphasizing disaster prevention and recovery.
One director said more flexibility was needed so states
could spend the money as they saw fit, whether that be
for adding personnel or tightening protection of
possible terrorism targets.
According to the survey, the states do not feel they
have representation in the Department of Homeland Security's
policy development and rule-making process.
Several state directors said DHS consults with a few
hand-picked state officials and "then claims that it
produced policy based on broad state input," the survey said.
The state directors also suggested that federal security
officials could do more to reduce bureaucratic red tape
and burdensome paperwork requirements.
Regarding intelligence, 60 percent of responding state
directors were dissatisfied with the specificity of
intelligence they receive from the federal government,
and 55 percent were dissatisfied with the "actionable quality"
of that intelligence. In the initial survey a year ago,
less than half the directors voiced such dissatisfaction.
Regarding the National Guard, the state directors
noted that most states and cities rely on these
forces to help cope for the first three or four
days after a major disaster. A majority of the
directors said that the demands on Guard forces
including overseas deployment in Iraq and elsewhere
have reduced their emergency-response capability by
at least 25 percent.
The survey said this problem could worsen, depending
on the outcome of a proposed change that would allow
active-duty military deployment of Guard units to be
extended from 270 days to one year.
The Department of Homeland Security did not respond
immediately to telephone and e-mail requests for
comment on the survey.
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Two in Homeland Security now charged with child sex crimes
http://www.knoxstudio.com/shns/story.cfm?pk=PREDATOR-04-05-06&cat=AN
The other Homeland Security official charged with a
sexual offense involving a girl is veteran administrator
Frank Figueroa, 49, the ICE special agent in charge
of the agency's operations in central and northern Florida.
Figueroa, who also ran the agency's El Paso, Texas, office,
has pleaded not guilty to charges he exposed and fondled
himself to a teenage girl last year at a mall in Tampa.
Within ICE, Operation Predator is a high-profile program
launched in 2003. It is dedicated to identifying, investigating and
catching child predators, and reports more than 6,900 arrests
nationwide since the program began, according to the ICE
Web site. (www.ice.gov).
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