Critical Releases in Homeland Security: September 22, 2010

"The Advisory Panel on Department of Defense Capabilities for Support of Civil Authorities After Certain Incidents (hereinafter, 'Advisory Panel') was established by Section 1082 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008, Public Law 110-181, January 26, 2008 (as further amended by Section 1034, National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010, Public Law 111-84, October 28, 2009). Those statutory provisions require the Advisory Panel to submit a report to the Secretary of Defense and to the Committees on Armed Services of the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives not later than 12 months after the date of its initial meeting, which occurred on September 15, 2009. The Advisory Panel is required to include in that report its findings, conclusions, and recommendations for improving the capabilities of the U.S. Department of Defense to provide support to U.S. civil authorities in the event of a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or high-yield explosive incident. Given the critically important relationships between numerous entities of government at all levels--Federal, State, and local--and, potentially, private sector and international entities in the effective provision of such support, the Advisory Panel report also contains findings and recommendations that apply to entities outside the U.S. Department of Defense. Findings and recommendations in this report should be of interest to departments and agencies of the Federal Government with responsibilities for protecting against, preparing for, and responding to chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or high-yield explosive incidents; to Governors and to other State, territorial, and local officials with similar responsibilities; to entities in the private sector that may have capabilities to support a government response to such an incident; and to allied and friendly governments whose assistance may be offered or requested."

"Crime in the United States is a web-only publication that has expanded to 81 tables, along with charts and graphics, based on information provided by nearly 18,000 city, university and college, county, state, tribal, and federal law enforcement agencies from all 50 states and Washington D.C., as well as from law enforcement in Puerto Rico and other outlying areas."

"The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) initiated this review in response to congressional inquiries that raised concerns over whether the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had improperly targeted domestic advocacy groups for investigation based solely upon their exercise of First Amendment rights. The congressional inquiries were prompted by media reports describing FBI documents released by the FBI pursuant to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. For example, in a letter to the OIG: Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren stated that the circumstances described in the news reports 'suggest that the FBI is investigating these advocacy groups based solely on their engagement in peaceful, lawful speech and assembly activities protected under the [First] Amendment.' In a congressional hearing, Senator Patrick Leahy questioned FBI Director Mueller about allegations that the FBI had 'targeted Americans based on their exercise of First Amendment rights,' and Director Mueller stated that he would welcome such an investigation by the OIG. [...].Our review focused on FBI investigative activities and documents that related to the exercise of First Amendment rights, most commonly protest activities. [...].This report is divided into nine chapters. Chapter Two describes the relevant statutes, the Attorney Generals' Guidelines, and FBI policies governing the conduct of FBI investigations. Chapter Two also examines the predication requirements for certain investigative activities and the limitations or conditions on the FBI's use of investigative techniques that implicate First Amendment rights, including limitations on the collection or maintenance of records describing how an individual exercises his or her First Amendment rights. Chapter Nine summarizes our findings regarding the individual groups and sets forth our overall conclusions and recommendations."