![\"Director](\"https:\/\/fye-yemen.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/A9F98103-051C-402C-84F9-FCE867B81D4B-300x205.jpeg\")
\nViolent Crime
\nThough the surge in violent crime during the pandemic has leveled off or dropped in some places, Wray said, \u201cit\u2019s still higher than anyone in this room would like.\u201d Partnerships have helped reduce it.<\/p>\n
In western Pennsylvania last summer, the FBI and its partners arrested 58 members of a violent gang that trafficked fentanyl and methamphetamine. In the months after, violent crime dropped by 20% there.<\/p>\n
In Los Angeles, the FBI and its partners targeted an organized crime syndicate that trafficked fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine across North America. Charges were brought against the Mexican-based suppliers, the Canada-based truck drivers, and the distributors in the United States.<\/p>\n
FBI-led task forces are working cases like these nationwide, Wray said, and they include more than 6,000 officers from hundreds of departments and agencies, \u201cincluding many from the departments represented in this room.\u201d<\/p>\n
And the Bureau doesn’t take task force officers for granted, he added. With it comes security clearances; access to our systems, intelligence, and training; and contacts that allow for easier deconfliction and coordination.<\/p>\n
Juvenile Crime
\nCalling the surge in juvenile crime \u201can alarming trend,\u201d Wray said, \u201cmore and more we\u2019re seeing some of the offenders responsible for some of the worst violence are minors.\u201d<\/p>\n
And this includes not just carjackings, shootings, and assaults, he continued, but many who are radicalized by foreign terrorist organizations or other extremists to commit violence.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, we\u2019ve looked for ways to bring together law enforcement, community partners, mental health professionals, schools and social workers to deter juvenile offenders,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
This multidisciplinary approach diverted at least two juveniles in Dallas who were \u201con dangerous paths toward carrying out shootings,\u201d he said, but added he would still continue to press the Department of Justice and federal prosecutors to make criminal prosecutions an effective deterrent.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are repeat violent offenders who have to be held accountable, even if they\u2019re minors,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Border Security
\nThreats that cross the border don\u2019t stop there, Wray said. Dangerous drugs, like fentanyl, make it into our neighborhoods, as does the violence that follows drug and gang activity.<\/p>\n
Another concern is the increase in recent years of KSTs\u2014known or suspected terrorists\u2014who\u2019ve attempted to enter the country, and the possibility that some KSTs won\u2019t be caught at the border.<\/p>\n
The seriousness of the KST threat stems from our border vulnerabilities, Wray said, and the heightened risk since October 7, 2023, of a terrorist attack, given \u201cthe rogue\u2019s gallery of foreign terrorist organizations out there who are all calling for attacks.\u201d<\/p>\n
To address this threat, he said, the FBI is focusing on intelligence sharing, community outreach, and Joint Terrorism Task Forces building up their source networks.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re also counting on the backstop of the 800,000 local officers with NCIC [National Crime Information Center] access to trigger a notification if a KST is encountered anywhere,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Election Security
\nOn top of perennial threats, Director Wray said the election year presents its own challenges, including foreign adversaries seeking to undermine confidence in our elections and cyber threats.<\/p>\n
Though Russia is often associated with election influence operations, he said, two Iranian nationals recently were indicted for an online campaign to interfere in the 2020 elections.<\/p>\n
In April 2023, 34 officers from China\u2019s Ministry of Public Security were also charged. Using fake social media accounts, they promoted divisive narratives, for instance, on the anniversary of George Floyd\u2019s death, portraying law enforcement as thuggish and racist.<\/p>\n
The reality about our elections, Wray said, \u201cis that advances in AI [artificial intelligence] are lowering the barrier for foreign actors to engage in efforts like this. It makes those efforts appear more realistic, which makes them more dangerous.\u201d<\/p>\n
The FBI, he said, has stepped up efforts with Intelligence Community partners to expose these foreign adversaries.<\/p>\n
Turning to cyber threats, he said they ranged from system intrusions to theft and information leaks. Though voting machines garner the most attention, pre-election processes, like voter registration systems, are actually more vulnerable.<\/p>\n
Spies and criminals want voters\u2019 personally identifiable information so they can exploit it for various purposes, he said, but we\u2019re working with election officials to harden that target.<\/p>\n
Other threats, he added, included ballot and voter fraud, campaign finance violations and physical threats against election workers.<\/p>\n
The good news is, thanks to extensive safeguards, he said attempts to compromise the election likely will not cause large-scale disruptions or prevent voting.<\/p>\n
Even though you and other state and local partners have the lead for a lot of these issues, he told the sheriffs, the FBI wants to be a good partner. We\u2019ll share intelligence and step in when a crime becomes a federal one.<\/p>\n
He asked the sheriffs to get to know the election crime coordinators. Each FBI field office has two of these coordinators\u2014a special agent and an intelligence analyst, respectively\u2014who work closely with state and local officials, public and private sector partners, and others on election crime.<\/p>\n
Swatting
\nDirector Wray concluded his talk with swatting, a crime \u201cthat seems to be growing all the time,\u201d he said. To combat it, the FBI has prioritized providing resources and education.<\/p>\n
In May 2023, a common operational picture was set up to track swatting and understand its characteristics. Today the group includes 700 members from 350 agencies, and more than 600 incidents have been tracked.<\/p>\n
This was so we could improve training, he said. And since the first of year, the FBI has trained around 24,000. Beyond this, he added, we have to work toward imposing consequences because \u201cthe bad guys think they can get away with it.\u201d<\/p>\n
He cited a recent case where partners across several states worked together to arrest a \u201cparticularly prolific juvenile\u201d and charge him as an adult. Eventually, the juvenile was arrested in Los Angeles and extradited to Florida where he is \u201cnow locked up,” Wray said.<\/p>\n
\u201cSwatting incidents are expensive; they\u2019re dangerous; and they put innocent people at risk,\u201d Director Wray concluded, \u201cand it\u2019s going to take all of us working together to stop them.\u201d<\/p>\n
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New York \u00a0-Rashad Alkhader – Free Yemen Eye – From News FBI FBI Director Christopher Wray spoke with the sheriffs of the U.S.\u2019s most populous counties about violent crime, extremism, border security, election security and swatting. Director Wray met with the Major County Sheriffs of America during their 2024 Winter Conference on February 9 in …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":106924,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[50],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-106923","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\/106923","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=106923"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/fye-yemen.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106923\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fye-yemen.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/106924"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fye-yemen.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=106923"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fye-yemen.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=106923"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fye-yemen.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=106923"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}