Designing Law Enforcement
Many crime control strategies developed today are based upon successes of the past. Given the complex nature of the environment, the chances for these strategies to achieve real success are limited. Design thinking and Adaptive Campaigning recognize and incorporate the evolutionary nature of the environment in their structure, allowing law enforcement agencies to not only expect environmental changes to occur as operations are ongoing, but anticipating those changes and manipulating the responses toward an intended future. Design strategies permit law enforcement agencies to be increasingly effective in disrupting criminal activity and reducing crime, particularly against criminal organizations like street gangs. To develop such adaptive strategies, law enforcement command staff members must first assemble a group of critical and creative thinkers who can take the necessary time to understand the complex network of relationships within and between members in these criminal organizations and who can use this knowledge to target those relationships. By understanding the environment as it exists in real time and continuing a cycle of understanding, designing, influencing, and evaluating, designers can guide their target through a series of intended responses. Used against criminal organizations such as street gangs, adaptive strategies target and exploit the relationships among middle-tier operators resulting in their incarceration and removal from the operational environment. Without these middle-tier operators, the ability for the criminal organization to effectively conduct its criminal affairs is lost, resulting in the disruption, destabilization, and dismantling of the organization in a way that prevents a power vacuum and the violence typically associated with it.
What we need is some common sense in law enforcement, not more of it. What the hell does LE need drones for? On the Border… Maybe. But this “very necessary and needed tool” will be abused like so so many others. Don’t get me wrong I am not against LE… But far too many of them think they are on a combat patrol, not a street patrol. Yes I am well aware that there are rough areas.
My experience is not necessarily with street gangs, but with both domestic and international Drug Trafficking Organizations. In my experience the key to your investigation is information – without it you may still conduct enforcement activities, but you will not have successful prosecutions.
In my experience information (evidence) is usually obtained through informants, undercover operations and lots and lots of surveillance (that’s where drones would be helpful). IMO the point of infiltrating an organization is to identify the C2, source of supply, method of operation, assets, and additional organization members before cutting the head off the body.
Title III investigations can be very effective at dismantling DTOs and I would assume street gangs as well if the members are communicating with phones Now that I think of it rarely have I been involved in investigations which had a great deal of success dismantling a DTO by starting at the bottom of the totem pole. For the most part I would say that we usually end of infiltrating an organization somewhere in the middle.
As far as LE management is concerned they are no different than any other -remain flexible in your thinking, don’t be resistant to change, invest in your people, embrace technology, and most importantly GET OUT OF THE WAY.
Air support in LE is very expensive, but so useful for rolling surveillance operations. Having access to a drone/UAV to assist with a mobile surveillance or undercover operation would be huge. I would think it would cut down on costs considerably for local law enforcement – not having to maintain air frames and associated costs, but air traffic control would most likely be an issue.
IMO LE does go in too hard at times, but its from experience and lessons learned. I also think LE forgets that they (we) work for the public, the tax payer and need to act accordingly – but that also goes for the public -be respectful.
John Bertetto,
I thought this was an interesting article. I liked the fact that it brought the important point of focusing on the Relationships!!!! between parties in order to identify points of attack. But I must confess that I was a little stymied at this attack middle management in order to avoid creating a power vacuum???? Can you expand on that? or Did I just not understand it properly? I always tried to create as many power vacums as possible. And I tried to aim as high and to get as many memembers as possible. Drones are coming because of the overwhelming cost advantage, not sure at what level(maybe keep most at the State level) and to what extent but they are coming. As an old timer I like to to see the next generation of LEO’s thinking out of the box.
John,
As I said my previous post, interesting article. I am not in LE (military) but I do have a question. You state by taking out middle mangement you can disable the organization without the assocated violence that so often accompanies shifts in leadership. Would this not create opportunities for promotion within the ranks or possibly recruitment of replacements to fill voids in the organization? I can see where it would be totally disruptive to organization, along with creating problems such as flow of product, rebasing of services, loss of income etc. Would this not require taking out all or a majority or the middle near symaltaniously to have a direct and quantifiable impact? It would seem to me that anything less, could be worked around. And by using the cycle you can repeat this as required, until you acheive distruction. Would not this method leave enough of the organization intact to either move operations to a new AO or a stand down to conduct a reset and then then are up in running again in short order?
PS. I am still no fan of drones and camera in America!
Mr. Bertetto,
If at all possible could you shoot me an email at [email protected] I’m a retired Military Police Sergeant Major working as a Road Patrol Deputy in Columbia County GA. I’m also a POST certified General Instructor and my Chief Deputy has asked me to teach a Professionalism/Ethics/Leadership Course to the entire agency. I recently read your article, “Toward a Police Ethos: Defining Our Values as a Call to Action” and for obvious reasons I loved it and was wandering if you could assist me.
Thanks,
v/r
Prescott Griggs
John-
I appreciate your writing here. Counter Threat Network seems to be the best solution to the US gun violence problem. By identifying the critical factors of Transnational Criminal Organizations and their associated Criminal Groups and Gangs in the US we can degrade the organizations and their ability to function in US Cities. Strategic targeting of individuals and assets will provide the best return on investment for Police and Sheriff’s Departments facing shrinking resources and persistent threats.
Terrence Clark
ATF
Chief
Violent Crime Intelligence Division