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Aviation Daily on Airports: Police Officers, TSA Offer Views on Screener Badges
To give airport screeners police like badges and uniforms is a grave mistake. You are not only putting the screeners themselves in harm’s way in that they will be mistaken as sworn law enforcement, but you are creating more of a safety risk to [...]
The Unofficial Coast Guard Blog notes a variety of recent headlines, commentary and policy showing that the Coast Guard is taking on more and more responsibilties in the homeland security environment and, appropriately, gaining in stature and influence inside the Beltway.
Yesterday the Coast Guard announced a new enlisted rating focusing on law enforcement. While I’ve [...]
Fellow Security Debrief blogger David Olive wrote recently about the conflicting messages and mandates that flow from the 86 conflicting and contending homeland security committees in Congress. The latest example of this Hamlet-like system of self-contradiction comes from the House Appropriations Committee, which complains that US Immigration and Enforcement spends too much time on … well, immigration enforcement.
Let’s be clear - TSA screeners are not law enforcement officers. They are not certified inspectors. They do not require access to crime scenes and they are not equipped or trained to respond to law enforcement incidents. They only special access they require is to certain areas of airports - for which their TSA badge and credential provides them access.
Much has been written and discussed in the past few weeks regarding the medical care of detainees held in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody. I don’t know how to avoid coming off as an insensitive, cold and heartless human being in coming to the defense of ICE and the management of its detainee health care program but I’ll give it a try.
FederalTimes.com
The most successful Web 2.0 initiatives are going to be those tied to the agency’s mission, said Michael Wertheimer, assistant deputy director and chief technology officer for analysis at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. ODNI’s Intellipedia is among the first in government to break down the internal barriers between management and workers [...]
I’m surprised not to have seen reporting in the mainstream or at least security-oriented media about a significant leadership change at US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The long-time No. 2 man at ICE, John Clark, recently retired and was succeeded by John Torres, a very respected agent who has held a number of leadership positions at ICE. The change is more important than individuals only; it represents a significant evolution for ICE as a cohesive and maturing law enforcement agency.
An Unofficial Coast Guard Blog: Congress Authorizes 10,000 CG Reservists
By a vote of 384-23 on May 22, 2008, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to increase the size of the USCGR to 10,000 members - an increase of 1,900 members from the present end strength of 8,100 reservists.
This important provision was tucked inside the 700 [...]
Much is made about morale at the Department and appropriately so. There are lots of ways to improve it. Better salaries and leadership/career development opportunities are just two. So is a better work environment. Investing in the physical infrastructure of the place you want working 24-7, 365 days a year without stop, without risk of physical breakdown and that is not an embarrassment is not a luxury - it’s a requirement.
Law.com - Posner Blasts Immigration Courts as ‘Inadequate’ and Ill-Trained
Posner, who sits on the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, said administrative law judges who serve in the immigration courts are ill-trained and insufficient in number. He also said the bar that represents applicants doesn’t have enough qualified lawyers, and that the Board of Immigration [...]
The 2004 Madrid subway attacks and the 2005 London subway and bus attacks demonstrate that the terrorists consider passenger rail and mass transit as preferred targets. The rising fuel costs for automobiles and congested air travel could logically push more passengers to rail throughout the course of the year and beyond. This is where DHS and DOT should place their emphasis.
Over the past week we have run a series of suggestions by Randy Beardsworth, former Assistant Secretary for Strategic Plans at the Department of Homeland Security, advising the next Administration on the DHS transition. Below is a recap of all five suggestions:
DHS, more so than any other department, cannot afford an aloof, take-no-prisoners approach to the transition. Most departments have a strong bureaucracy and established processes that can temper the whims of an ill chosen transition team. DHS has neither the strong bureaucracy nor the established processes. Based on my own experience during the transition effort to initially set up DHS, as well as decades in public service, I will offer five pieces of advice for the next president’s DHS transition team, laying out one each day over the next several days.
This week, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is marking its 5th Anniversary with a number of events - including one that brought together President Bush, Secretary Chertoff and Secretary Ridge to reflect on the Department’s creation and look forward to the next steps in its future. Security DeBrief Contributors Chris Battle & Rich Cooper weigh in.
The creation of DHS was the first major step we took in a new era of Darwinism (survival of the fittest). For too long, we allowed our country’s power and success to breed bureaucracies and complacencies that fostered individualized, self-focused operational cultures to take root. As a result, we often ignored and overlooked the threats and challenges (foreign and domestic; terrorism and Mother Nature) that were gaining in strength and consequence.