NYPD Commissioner Touts Counter-Terrorism Unit
Tuesday, July 20, 2010 at 2:32PMPhilip Bunnell - Talk Radio News Service
New York Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said Tuesday at the Center for National Policy the New York Police Department has handled numerous terrorism threats in the wake of the September 11 attacks, including the recent terror scares on the New York Subway and in Times Square.
The NYPD has stopped “11 terrorist plots in eight and a half years,” said Commissioner Kelly, but noted that “NYPD has not given up an inch in its fight against crime,” citing a decrease in crime rates since 2001, despite losing around 6000 officers during that same period.
Kelly credited positive results to NYPD’s extensive counter-terrorism unit, noting that New York was “the first police department in the country to have [its] own counter-terrorism unit.” The commissioner said New York’s counter-terrorism unit has “hired a team of civilian analysts, experts in military intelligence and foreign affairs [who] follow trends in terrorist tactics.”
Notably, Kelly said that NYPD’s counter-terrorism unit has recruited from within their own ranks “some 700 certified speakers of 45 sensitive languages,” to assist in counter-terrorism measures. In addition to the multi-lingual counter-terrorism unit, NYPD has sent senior officers to “11 international cities [who] work closely with the local police agencies if a terrorist attack occurs.”
Kelly stressed the importance of inter-agency cooperation, which he called “a must,” for combating terrorism, using NYPD’s information sharing strategy, where data is despersed to agencies across the country, as an example. Kelly also said that the NYPD’s advanced surveillance systems, which have software that can seek out suspicious items or persons, and a random screening net in the subway has helped keep New York safe.
When asked if the New York model could be implemented with success in other large cities, Kelly said that “he could only speak for New York,” and that it was first necessary to “take the pulse of the local community,” to see if they feel threatened, noting that New York City had already been attacked twice.
What's Next For The 99% Movement?
The tents, communal kitchen and library might be out of Zuccotti park, but it doesn’t seem like the Occupy Wall Street movement will be packing it in anytime soon.
Thousands of protesters hit the streets of New York yesterday for the OWS Day of Action, a series of events scheduled to mark second month anniversary of the protests.
But in the wake of the early morning police raid in Zuccotti park on Tuesday, and subsequent court ruling allowing the NYPD to prevent protesters from bringing tents, sleeping bags or large containers into the park, the day’s events also signaled that the Occupy movement could still mobilize large scale public support and attention, even without its symbolic encampment.
Groups of protesters occupied subway stations through out the five boroughs before convening at Foley Square around 5:30 PM to take part in a rally organized by the Service Employees International Union Local 1199. Some initial reports said that more than 30 000 people were at the Foley Square but police officials have since said the crowd size was probably between 5 000-10 000.
Several thousand protesters later made their way to the Brooklyn Bridge under the watchful eye of a large police contingent, and crossed the bridge along the pedestrian walkway as drivers on the road bellow honked their horns in support.
Some protesters were seemingly able to place a projector that displayed a series giant Occupy slogans like “ We Are the 99%” and “Occupy Earth” on the side of the Verizon building next to the Brooklyn bridge.
The NYPD is reporting that more than 250 people were arrested through out the day. The large majority of arrests came early in the morning, when protesters marched through the streets of the financial district to disrupt traffic and access to the New York Stock Exchange. Several media reports allege NYPD officers used their batons on protesters.
Police have reacted particularly aggressively in their response to acts of civil disobedience in the heart of the financial district and previous early morning attempts by protesters to reach the NYSE have resulted in several dozen arrests and violent confrontations.