New York – Rashad Alkhader – Free Yemen Eye – From -News FBI<\/p>\n
International Association of Chiefs of Police
\nSan Diego, California
\nOctober 14, 2023
\nDirector Wray Addresses International Association of Chiefs of Police Conference<\/p>\n
Remarks as prepared for delivery.<\/p>\n
Thanks, John.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s great to be here surrounded by so many friends and close partners.<\/p>\n
This is my seventh year participating in the IACP Annual Conference, and it strikes me that, in many ways, our partnerships are stronger today than ever before.<\/p>\n
And I feel sure this is what Chief Webber Seavey had in mind back in 1893 when he called the first meeting of what was then the National Police Chiefs Union.<\/p>\n
That year, 51 chiefs met in Chicago to look for better ways to fight crime across the country by working together.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s in that spirit of cooperation that IACP and the FBI formed such a close bond, going all the way back to the Bureau\u2019s creation in 1908.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a partnership that\u2019s been instrumental to both organizations, and one that remains close today\u2014115 years later.<\/p>\n
The reason our relationships are so strong\u2014both between IACP and the FBI and among the agencies we represent\u2014is because we share the same values and commitment to working tirelessly and selflessly to protect our fellow citizens. Through our partnerships, we\u2019re constantly looking for better ways to fulfill our critical, shared mission and protect the ones we serve. But we\u2019re not just bound by a common mission; we also face similar challenges that bring us even closer together, whether it\u2019s the budget constraints we all confront from time to time, the recruiting challenges so many state and local departments continue to deal with, or the recent attacks on our institutions and, worse, our people.<\/p>\n
Although the challenges we face may take different forms, in today\u2019s world, no agency or department is immune. In that, too, there\u2019s no doubt we\u2019re all in this together. And I\u2019m confident that through the partnerships we\u2019ve built over decades\u2014relationships that are stronger now than ever\u2014we can tackle any threat and overcome any challenge when we work together.<\/p>\n
Israel Conflict
\nBefore I get into some of the specific ways we\u2019re doing that work together, I want to take a moment to offer my heartfelt condolences to the people of Israel, and share the outrage I know we all feel at the sheer brutality and disregard for innocent lives there.<\/p>\n
History has been witness to antisemitic and other forms of violent extremism for far too long. Whether that be from foreign terrorist organizations, or those inspired by them, or domestic violent extremists motivated by their own racial animus, the targeting of a community because of their faith is completely unacceptable.<\/p>\n
We remain committed to continue confronting those threats\u2014both here in the United States and overseas.<\/p>\n
In this heightened environment, there\u2019s no question we\u2019re seeing an increase in reported threats, and we have to be on the lookout, especially for lone actors who may take inspiration from recent events to commit violence of their own.<\/p>\n
And I\u2019d encourage you to stay vigilant, because as the first line of defense in protecting our communities, you\u2019re often the first to see the signs that someone may be mobilizing to violence. And I\u2019d also ask you to continue sharing any intelligence or observations you may have.<\/p>\n
On our end, we\u2019re committed to doing the same, so that together, we can safeguard our communities.<\/p>\n
Partnerships on Crime: Surging Federal Resources
\nThat\u2019s something we have a long and successful history of doing together.<\/p>\n
And there\u2019s no threat where that collaboration is more important than violent crime, a topic that remains front and center in the discussions I have with all of you when I travel around the country.<\/p>\n
Like you, we\u2019ve been laser focused on combatting the violence that\u2019s infecting so many of our communities, and we\u2019re committed to continuing to work alongside you in that fight. In what we\u2019ve seen as a terrible rise in violent crime over the past few years, we\u2019ve strategically surged resources to communities that have been hit particularly hard.<\/p>\n
One way we\u2019ve done that is by deploying FBI agents to help state agencies clear out their backlogs. For instance, we sent agents to Tucson in July to reduce the number of old state warrants and work side-by-side with state police to take criminals off the street and seize their firearms.<\/p>\n
That took us about six months from planning to deployment to wrapping everything up and resulted in more than 70 arrests. And we plan to repeat that model soon in other cities and to get even faster.<\/p>\n
We\u2019ve also pushed resources to double down on joint efforts that have proven successful in the past. Take Houston as an example\u2014together, we built on what was already great work at the Texas Anti-Gang Center, a place where FBI agents and task force officers are within arm\u2019s reach of their counterparts from the Houston Police Department, Harris County Sheriff\u2019s Office, Texas Department of Public Safety, HSI, ATF, the U.S. Marshals Service, and DEA\u2014all in the same physical facility.<\/p>\n
Starting a year ago, the Bureau surged additional agents, analysts, and forensic experts to Houston as part of a violence-reduction initiative. And what was key in Houston is we had prosecutors on board who were ready, willing, and able to bring significant racketeering charges to put the criminals terrorizing communities away for a long time.<\/p>\n
We quickly made arrests and brought indictments against the 100% Third Ward Gang\u2014and that went along with a number of other law enforcement initiatives, including positive community engagements. By February, the Houston Police Department reported a drop of more than 10% in overall crime in just fivw months.<\/p>\n
But we\u2019re not just focused on big cities\u2014last month, we began surging resources to tribal areas, sending special agents, intelligence analysts, and victim specialists to focus specifically on crimes affecting Native American women and children. And those efforts are already starting to bear fruit. In one case, for example, we were able to track down enough information to get a confession in a cold case. Our goal is to build on results like that\u2014committing FBI resources to work some of the hardest cases and letting people who often feel neglected know that they have not been forgotten.<\/p>\n
Sextortion
\nAnd our redoubled efforts against criminals extend to our international partnerships, too.<\/p>\n
One of our most heartbreaking cases was that of 17-year-old Jordan DeMay of Marquette, Michigan. Jordan was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in March 2022. His case led our Detroit office to identify an increase in incidents of financially motivated sextortion, where abusers tricked or coerced child sexual abuse material out of their victims and then extorted money from those kids\u2014mostly young boys\u2014threatening to tell others what they had done or make their pictures public, even going so far as to push these young victims to take their own lives if they couldn\u2019t pay. Some of whom, like Jordan, ultimately, and tragically, did.<\/p>\n
As difficult as it is for them, Jordan\u2019s family wants us to talk about him, to help educate other families and prevent more victims. So our Detroit office has started a national campaign to warn children about these dangers. And they\u2019ve led an international effort across multiple continents to track down Jordan\u2019s tormentors. That effort eventually led to a joint operation with one of counterparts\u2014the Nigerian Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. And in August, that team successfully extradited two men from Nigeria to face prosecution for sexually extorting numerous young men and teenage boys across the U.S.\u2014including Jordan DeMay.<\/p>\n
That work not only put criminals behind bars, it also sent a message that we will tenaciously pursue those who prey on kids\u2014even leveraging our international relationships to bring them back here to the U.S. from overseas to face justice.<\/p>\n
Task Forces
\nOf course, as great as surges and special initiatives are, we can\u2019t always count on those who ultimately control our budgets to see the wisdom of providing the resources we need to support and sustain those efforts.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m not even going to try to make sense of the political climate we\u2019re all having to operate in\u2014we\u2019ll leave those conversations for another time. But that context puts a premium on partnership and leveraging our collective resources to maximize impact. And the best tool we have in our toolkit to do just that, and to have a lasting impact, is our FBI task forces.<\/p>\n
We\u2019re now up to more than 6,000 task force officers from hundreds of departments and agencies across the country, all working together to combat violent crime, gangs, drugs, organized crime, and child exploitation. And I remain humbled that so many of you are willing to entrust your outstanding officers and investigators to serve on our task forces\u2014knowing you don\u2019t have personnel and resources to spare but that you realize the tremendous value of our collaboration.<\/p>\n
Small Town Wins: Charleston, West Virginia, and Brunswick, Georgia
\nAnd that\u2019s true in communities large and small. This year, we worked with federal, state and local law enforcement agencies around Charleston, West Virginia, in one of the largest illegal narcotics investigations in state history, about 300 officers and agents total.<\/p>\n
That investigation seized more than a hundred kilograms of methamphetamine, loads of deadly fentanyl powder, thousands of fentanyl pills, firearms, hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, and resulted in close to 50 arrests. That operation\u2014and so many others like it\u2014make a real difference to the people who live in communities like Charleston.<\/p>\n
Or take the work of our Coastal Georgia Safe Streets Violent Gang Task Force, run out of our Brunswick, Georgia, satellite office. In January, that task force arrested 74 members of the Ghost Face Gangsters and seized a number of illegal guns and drugs. That takedown didn\u2019t make national headlines.<\/p>\n
But what matters\u2014to me, to you, and to the people of coastal Georgia\u2014is that three months after that law enforcement action, the Brunswick Police Department reported a 50% reduction in fentanyl overdoses.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s making a difference in people\u2019s lives.<\/p>\n
Juveniles
\nAnother big part of the violent crime problem that I\u2019ve discussed with many of you is that, more and more, the offenders responsible for so much of the violence we\u2019re seeing are juveniles.<\/p>\n
The national crime statistics the FBI plans to release this coming week confirm what we\u2019ve all felt for some time, and that is that the number of juveniles committing violent crimes is on the rise.<\/p>\n
Whether it\u2019s carjackings, armed robberies, or even worse violence\u2014juveniles committing serious violent crimes is a challenge we all face. And on top of that, hardly a week goes by when I\u2019m not briefed on a juvenile here in the United States motivated to commit violence by some foreign terrorist organization or other ideology.<\/p>\n
While I\u2019m sure we all agree that our young people can benefit from services and community outreach and prevention programs, at the same time, there are repeat violent offenders who have to be held accountable, even if they are juveniles. And we need to work together, with prosecutors at all levels\u2014federal, state, and local\u2014to make sure that criminal prosecution is an effective deterrent.<\/p>\n
Innovations: IMD and CAST
\nBut partnership is about more than just going after the bad guys and making arrests. It\u2019s also about bringing everyone\u2019s expertise and unique capabilities to the fight. For our part, today more than ever, that includes keeping pace with emerging trends and technologies, and sharing those with all of you to make sure our collective response remains agile.<\/p>\n
Take how we collect, handle, and use law enforcement data, for instance. Our Information Management Division recently processed, extracted, and converted 100,000 digital images to help our state and local partners in New York working the Gilgo Beach serial killer case.<\/p>\n
Another asset we\u2019ve increasingly been sharing with our partners is CAST\u2014that\u2019s the Cellular Analysis Survey Team. For anyone who may not be familiar with the program, CAST provides location information for cellular devices. We use CAST teams to locate fugitives or determine whether a suspect was nearby when a crime occurred. We have CAST assets around the country that can support every threat we cover, along with serious violent crimes investigated by agencies like yours.<\/p>\n
Last year, CAST members provided expert testimony in over 400 criminal trials. They assisted in more than 5,000 cases and analyzed nearly 26,000 sets of call detail records\u2014just in one year. And while CAST is of course an invaluable resource for federal investigations, the vast majority of that team\u2019s work is to support state cases where there\u2019s no federal prosecutorial interest.<\/p>\n
CAST was used, for instance, in the recent kidnapping of that 9-year-old girl in the Albany area. A TFO who\u2019d graduated from CAST certification school just a week earlier used analysis of the subject\u2019s cell phone and car to place him near the crime scene. That information helped investigators get the search warrants that ultimately led to the little girl\u2019s safe recovery.<\/p>\n
And in September, we used CAST to locate and recover another minor who\u2019d been kidnapped and held for ransom by a cartel to settle a drug debt\u2014and, in the process, we arrested the three kidnappers.<\/p>\n
But we\u2019re finding more and more innovative uses for CAST, like helping to find people who have gone missing after natural disasters. I\u2019m talking about things like tornadoes in the South and Midwest or the recent devastating fires in Maui.<\/p>\n
This is just one more example of the ways we\u2019re putting talent and innovation into action quickly to make a real difference in communities\u2014large and small\u2014around the country and the world.<\/p>\n
Training
\nAnother important part of our partnership over the years has been the sharing of ideas, best practices, and innovative concepts across the profession.<\/p>\n
Many of you in the audience are graduates of our FBI National Academy. What you may not know is that National Academy dates all the way back to 1935 and owes much of its early success to the support and buy-in of IACP.<\/p>\n
We later built on that foundation to add LEEDs, the Law Enforcement Executive Development Seminar for mid-sized agencies, and then in just the past few years, we added the National Command Course to reach even smaller departments. All in an effort to raise law enforcement standards and strengthen partnerships and networks across the board.<\/p>\n
Danger to LEOs
\nBefore I close, I want to touch on one final subject\u2014and that\u2019s the danger our men and women face each and every day. Tragically, the number of officers killed and assaulted in the line of duty continues to increase each year.<\/p>\n
Already this year, there have been 50 law enforcement officers feloniously killed in the line of duty. That\u2019s right in line with last year when we had one of the highest totals in a decade and comes just two years after we saw the highest number of officers murdered on the job since 9\/11.<\/p>\n
The number of brave men and women killed on the job is extremely troubling, and it\u2019s an issue that does not get anywhere near the attention it deserves. I\u2019m out there trying to raise awareness on this topic every chance I get, and I know you are, too.<\/p>\n
But beyond raising awareness, we\u2019re taking concrete steps to try to make our agents and officers safer. To take just one example, we\u2019re working to build out the violent person file within NCIC, so the same repository that has the wanted persons, sex offenders, and missing persons files.
\nAt the moment, we have almost 16,000 dangerous people listed in the file\u2014that\u2019s 16,000 people who may have a propensity for violence against law enforcement officers. I don\u2019t have to convince any of you how critical that information can be for an officer running a check before approaching a stopped vehicle or responding to a domestic violence call.<\/p>\n
So, I encourage you to continue submitting data on people with a violent criminal history or who have made credible threats. Getting our violent person file populated more comprehensively might make the difference between life and death for one of your officers when they make a stop some late night. And that\u2019s the most important reason we\u2019re working together\u2014to save lives.<\/p>\n
Conclusion
\nThere\u2019s no question these are challenging times for law enforcement. The jobs you and your people have devoted their lives to aren\u2019t easy\u2014even in the best of circumstances. And these days, we often find ourselves operating in less than ideal circumstances\u2014and that\u2019s putting it mildly.<\/p>\n
But we\u2019ve been through other difficult times, and I\u2019m confident that by working together we\u2019ll continue to get the job done\u2014and done well\u2014for the people we all serve.<\/p>\n
Our partnerships are stronger than they\u2019ve ever been, and you have my commitment that from the FBI\u2019s perspective, we\u2019re going to make sure that remains true.<\/p>\n
We recognize the immense responsibility you carry, and I\u2019m incredibly grateful for your unwavering resolve in the face of challenging situations
\nI\u2019m proud of the difference every department here is making in the lives of Americans\u2014in small towns and big cities alike\u2014and in the lives of everyday people all around the world.<\/p>\n
And the FBI will continue to stand with you and your officers in protecting the people we serve.<\/p>\n
Thank you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
New York – Rashad Alkhader – Free Yemen Eye – From -News FBI International Association of Chiefs of Police San Diego, California October 14, 2023 Director Wray Addresses International Association of Chiefs of Police Conference Remarks as prepared for delivery. Thanks, John. It\u2019s great to be here surrounded by so many friends and close partners. …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":101867,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[50],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-101866","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-diverse-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fye-yemen.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101866","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fye-yemen.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fye-yemen.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fye-yemen.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fye-yemen.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=101866"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/fye-yemen.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101866\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fye-yemen.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/101867"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fye-yemen.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=101866"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fye-yemen.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=101866"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fye-yemen.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=101866"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}