Terrorist plot busted: 7 ways police can learn from the incident

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Topics & Tactics for Law Enforcement with Scott Buhrmaster

By Scott Buhrmaster
PoliceOne Managing Editor

After diffusing a plot to blow up as many as 10 Britain-to-U.S. flights and arresting 24 suspected terrorists, officials have raised the terrorism threat level and escalated security measures. News reports continue to flow as details on the plot and the infiltration of the group responsible for it surface. (Read the national news reports).

What can law enforcement learn from this situation and how can you use it to be better prepared? PoliceOne.com posed that question to two terrorism experts. Here’s what they suggest:

1. Leverage the intel opportunity.

“Breaking up this plot gives law enforcement officers of all levels an opportunity to get an inside look at how terrorists think, what they want to accomplish and what strategies they will try to employ to reach their goals,” said Dr. Vincent Henry, Founder and Director of Long Island University’s Homeland Security Management Institute.

“As an officer, you should be paying extremely close attention to the intelligence that surfaces from this situation in the weeks and months to come and try to apply it to your own areas of responsibility. Keep an eye out for things that are different from other incidents you’re aware of and see what you can learn and how this new information can help you be better prepared.”

Chief Clark Staten, Chief Analyst and CEO of the Emergency Response and Research Institute, agrees. “Always keep an eye on what is happening in other countries,” he said. “Those attack tactics and strategies you see used overseas will come here. Just because they haven’t been used here yet doesn’t mean they won’t be used in the U.S. Now is the time to study those tactics and prepare for them.”

2. Think creatively.

Dr. Henry suggests you consider where the tactics the terrorists were planning to employ could be used elsewhere.

“Just because this attack was being planned for planes doesn’t mean officers who don’t work in or near airports can stand down,” said Dr. Henry. “All officers should be looking at the tactics they were going to use and imagining where they could be used in other areas, like commuter trains, subway stations, buses,  crowded buildings.”

“Officers must learn to think like a terrorist. In order to do that, you need to know what terrorists think. Studying this incident and others very closely will give you an opportunity to figure that out.”

3. Regardless of where you work, never underestimate your impact on homeland security.

“Just because you’re a street cop doesn’t mean you’re not in a position to play a major role in breaking up a terrorist plot,” Henry said. “It’s hard to impress upon an officer who walks down Main Street in the heartland that he does play a role in homeland security...but he does.”

Henry cited a case in Brooklyn several years ago where hundreds of lives were likely saved because a transit cop working the beat in the middle of the night was wise enough to take serious note of a yet unrecognized terrorist.

The terrorist, in his pre-attack nervousness, decided to take a late-night stroll down to the New York subway station he was going to bomb the next morning.

“The bomber,” Henry explained, “walked up to the transit officer and in broken English mumbled, ‘Boom. Boom.’

“That officer could have easily looked at that man, disregarded him as a typical nut roaming around in the middle of the night and told him to go sleep it off. Instead, he trusted his instincts and training and looked further into what seemed an odd and potentially ominous statement.

"Ultimately, that decision ended up preventing an attack.”

Which leads to the next point…

4. Educate yourself and the public on the definition of “out of the ordinary” and “suspicious.”

“It’s not enough just to tell people, ‘Be sure to call us if you see something out of the ordinary or suspicious,’" said Henry. “You need to educate them—and yourself—as to what 'out of the ordinary’ and ‘suspicious’ means in that context.

“If you see some guy walking down the street wearing two different colored shoes or mumbling to himself, that’s by definition out of the ordinary, but it’s likely not cause for enough alarm to alert authorities.

“However, if you see someone hiding a suspicious package in a crowded area, alarm bells should be sounding.”

Help empower the public with enough information to make an educated decision as to what warrants contact with authorities, but also try to help prevent potentially counter-productive hyper-vigilance.

5. Remember the importance of subtleties.

In this instance, the terrorist plot involved everyday items. There were likely not going to be any overt signs of a pending attack or any kind of high-profile, easily noticeable “equipment” that could raise red flags. As the news has reported, simple, everyday liquids and small personal electronic devices were going to be enough to launch the attacks.

Henry suggests that this serves as a good reminder to officers that staying alert to more subtle cues--things like signs of noticeable nervousness, excessive loitering, or evasive movements when approached by law enforcement--can play a key role in spotting potential terrorist activity.

6. Be sure you are tactically sound in your “everyday” police work.

“I’m really concerned for the street cop who ends up running into an armed terrorist,” says Chief Staten.

“What’s going to happen if that unsuspecting officer pulls over a car being driven by a terrorist who's on the run or in the midst of some kind of attack preparation? That terrorist will not hesitate to kill that cop and walk away smiling. Officers need to remember that they can run into these people anywhere, anytime.”

Staten urges you to take every traffic stop and street encounter seriously and to stay focused on using the officer survival tactics that can help you spot and engage a threat. “Terrorists have a deadly mindset and solid attack training,” said Staten. “Officers need to be constantly vigilant, fully focused on officer survival and prepared to encounter the deadly terrorist mindset when they may least expect it.”

7. Share information.

Chief Staten also urges all law enforcement to share information from the top down and from the street up.

“These terrorists keep evolving. They come up with new strategies that we all need to be aware of. The key to staying on top of their evolutionary development is information sharing within all rank levels and all emergency service channels.”

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