Joint Terrorism Task Force

San Francisco JTTF reforms stalled, Supervisor considering legislative fix

The struggle to bring the San Francisco Police Department’s involvement in the local Joint Terrorism Task Force back under civilian oversight is still dragging on – and the head of the FBI’s San Francisco office appears to be firmly in opposition to any reform efforts.

A memo from the ACLU of Northern California and the Asian Law Caucus to a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors indicates that Special Agent in Charge Stephanie Douglas, who heads the San Francisco Branch of the FBI, is firmly opposed to local regulations that bar police from monitoring people engaged in First Amendment activity.

The ACLU and the Asian Law Caucus say that Special Agent in Charge Stephanie Douglas informed them of her stance on altering SFPD’s participation at a May 31, 2011 meeting. The memo also states that SAC Douglas does not approve of San Francisco’s regulations restricting SFPD from monitoring First Amendment activity. Continue reading →

FILED UNDER: Politics, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Joint Terrorism Task Force, San Francisco, San Francisco Police Department, Surveillance

September 8, 2011 | 5:00 PM | By Ali Winston

Jostling continues on SFPD participation in JTTF

The debate over the San Francisco Police Department’s participation in the regional Joint Terrorism Task Force has slogged on for months after the American Civil Liberties Union revealed the agreement governing SFPD’s involvement in the anti-terror program disregarded long-standing LOCAL restrictions on police intelligence gathering and surveillance.

At a joint Human Rights/Police Commission meeting in May, dozens of local Muslims and civil libertarians called on the Police Commission to pull out of the controversial memorandum of understanding between the city and the FBI. The MOU was approved in March 2007 by then-Police Chief Heather Fong without the knowledge of the Police Commission, which is responsible for such policy decisions.

The ACLU and the Asian Law Caucus have urged San Francisco to follow the lead of Portland, Oregon, which pulled its police department out of the regional JTTF over concerns about over-broad homeland security investigations. In May, Portland entered into an agreement with the FBI and the U.S. Attorney for Oregon to allow local police to participate in the JTTF on an “as-needed” basis.

SFPD Commander Michael Biel, who is in charge of the Investigations division, contacted the Portland City Attorney and the FBI’s Portland office to learn more about the state of affairs with Portland’s new joint resolution. At last night’s Police Commission hearing, Biel reported that under the new agreement, Portland Police officers did not have top-secret clearance nor access to regional, national or international intelligence received by the JTTF. Continue reading →

FILED UNDER: Politics, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Joint Terrorism Task Force, Portland, San Francisco, San Francisco Police Commission, San Francisco Police Department

September 7, 2011 | 3:23 PM | By Rina Palta

Three ways 9/11 changed policing

lawreports.co.uk

September 11, 2001 changed many things in America, not the least of which is how the country approaches its internal security. At the front lines of these changes are local police departments, which have been called on to add whole new dimensions to their missions of protecting the public. So how has 9/11 impacted policing? Here are three ways:

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FILED UNDER: Community, counterterrorism, fusion centers, Joint Terrorism Task Force

May 19, 2011 | 2:58 PM | By Ali Winston

Local Muslims urge San Francisco to overhaul JTTF participation

Ali Winston

Human Rights Commissioner Theresa Sparks (standing), SFPD Chief Greg Suhr and Police Commissioner Joe Marshall at a May 17, 2011 hearing on the JTTF

Admist complaints from Bay Area Muslim, Southeast Asian and Middle Eastern residents of unwarranted surveillance, harassment at San Francisco International Airport and federal agents offering fast-track immigration status in exchange for information, , the participation of the San Francisco Police Department in the local Joint Terrorism Task Force came under review at last night’s joint hearing of the Police and Human Rights Commissions.

Last night also saw the introduction of a proposal from the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California and the Asian Law Caucus to alter SFPD’s participation in the JTTF to give more local control over city police officers participating in the anti-terrorism team.

Currently, SFPD has 2 officers allocated to the Bay Area JTTF, which is run by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s San Francisco office. SFPD participates in the task force under a memorandum of understanding, and has done so since 2002 under the oversight of the Police Commission. Continue reading →

FILED UNDER: Community, Joint Terrorism Task Force, San Francisco, San Francisco Human Rights Commission, San Francisco Police Commission, San Francisco Police Department

May 17, 2011 | 7:47 PM | By Ali Winston

Oakland Police tight-lipped on role in Joint Terrorism Task Force

Ali Winston

An unidentified federal agent records protesters on July 8th, 2010

Oakland Police are keeping their cards close to their chest about the department’s participation in the Bay Area’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, Northern California’s multi-agency counter-terrorism team headed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Oakland Assistant Chief of Police Howard Jordan canceled a Tuesday interview on the JTTF with the Informant late last night, citing “internal policy decisions” as the reason for OPD opting not to speak on their role in the task force.

The interview was to focus on a Memorandum of Understanding between OPD and the FBI, reauthorizing the department’s participation in the JTTF. The current MOU, signed in 2007 by then-Chief of Police Wayne Tucker and Charlene B. Thornton, the FBI Special Agent in Charge of the San Francisco field office at the time, was released to the Informant earlier this month in response to a Public Records Act request. The MOU will continue “indenfinitely” until it is updated or Oakland opts out of the JTTF.

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FILED UNDER: Police, ACLU of Northern California, Asian Law Caucus, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Joint Terrorism Task Force, Oakland, Oakland Police Department

April 6, 2011 | 11:19 AM | By Rina Palta

What you need to know about SF’s Joint Terrorism Task Force

Should Bay Area cities continue supplying local police officers to the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force? That’s a question that the San Francisco Board of Supervisors took on Tuesday, and one that privacy groups are hoping will result in an end to the use of an increasingly controversial intelligence-gathering program. A group of lawyers from the ACLU of Northern California and the Asian Law Caucus recently received copies of agreements between the FBI and the San Francisco Police Department they say demonstrate that officers involved in the San Francisco JTTF have been operating under an agreement with the FBI that violates state and local law–by authorizing San Francisco police officers to spy on individuals in the community without having to demonstrate that those individuals are suspected of crimes or plotting crimes.

The San Francisco Police Department has not yet returned requests for responses to these allegations.

Here’s a primer on the issue, which is likely to heat up in San Francisco politics over the next couple of weeks.

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