December 14, 2024

A few recent stories in the news

PERF members,

This week I’d like to highlight a few recent news stories that caught my attention.

FBI Director Christopher Wray to resign

On Wednesday FBI Director Christopher Wray announced he will be resigning next month. President-elect Trump appointed Wray to a 10-year term in 2017, but Trump has said that he will replace Wray with Kash Patel. Patel, a former public defender, federal prosecutor, congressional staffer, principal deputy at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and chief of staff at the Department of Defense, would need to be confirmed by the Senate.

Director Wray at PERF’s October Town Hall Meeting in Boston

In 1976 Congress passed a law limiting FBI directors to single 10-year terms in response to J. Edgar Hoover’s long and influential 48 years in the position. Lawmakers were concerned by some revelations about the relationship between the FBI and the White House uncovered during the Watergate scandal, and they sought to separate the position from politics by instituting a single term that did not align with the presidential election cycle. So it’s concerning to see the position becoming more tied to presidential politics.

Director Wray was widely respected by police executives across the country, and he regularly spoke at PERF’s Town Hall Meetings about violent crime, artificial intelligence, terrorism, and the countless other issues facing the Bureau. This past October, he told our meeting attendees that his favorite part of the job is visiting the agents in the field, some of whom came back from injuries sustained on the job, and hearing about their work. I know they will miss him, as will the Bureau’s many law enforcement partners.

Using monitoring technology to prevent self-harm by students

The New York Times published a lengthy report on schools’ use of artificial intelligence technology to monitor students for signs of self-harm. When these technologies flag potential issues outside of school hours, police are often called to respond. The article cites some successes, such as police intervening in life-and-death situations and schools connecting at-risk students with services. It also mentions some of the downsides, including privacy concerns, false positives, and late-night police responses to false alarms.

This is a fascinating example of how artificial intelligence is changing the way public safety officials are doing their jobs. Police departments and sheriffs’ offices need to figure out how to harness its capabilities to do their work more efficiently and effectively while protecting civil liberties.

Man acquitted in New York City subway death

Last year, Marine veteran Daniel Penny used a chokehold to subdue Jordan Neely, a subway performer who was acting erratically. Manslaughter charges against Penny were dismissed last week, and this week he was acquitted of negligent homicide.

This case has raised questions about what we expect bystanders to do when they see their fellow community members threatened. Bystanders should immediately call 911, but sometimes these incidents happen in isolated locations and people may feel compelled to act. These are often moral dilemmas for those individuals – they want to take action, but they don’t have training on what to do. This is a complicated issue, and I welcome any thoughts you may have about how you are addressing these types of situations with your communities.

Just as important is how we get sustained help for individuals with mental health problems who are behaving erratically and threatening others. These conflicts will continue to occur if we do not get these individuals the assistance they need.  

Law enforcement leaders testify before Congress on the threat of drones

On Tuesday, several law enforcement leaders testified before the House Committee on Homeland Security on the threat posed by unmanned aerial systems, or drones. Witnesses included representatives from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the FBI, and the U.S. Department of Justice, as well as NFL chief security officer (and former Washington, D.C. police chief) Cathy Lanier. These witnesses discussed legislation that would improve law enforcement’s ability to detect and destroy potentially malicious drones.

PERF published a report on this issue in 2020. At that time, many local law enforcement agencies were calling for the authority to use counterdrone technologies, but Congress has not taken action in the four years since.

Lanier told the committee that there were 2,537 rogue drone flights into restricted airspace around NFL games in 2022 and 2,845 in 2023. “The NFL and other sports leagues have urged Congress to enact legislation that would take the appropriate next steps to meet this growing threat by providing counterdrone authority to state and local law enforcement officials, which are the entities that actually lead the work to provide safety and security at nearly all of our stadiums,” she said.

The danger of weaponized drones will continue to increase in the coming years, as technology we’re seeing on battlefields across the world may be used to threaten us at home. And this week many in the Northeast have been worried about unconfirmed reports of large numbers of drones appearing above New Jersey and Maryland, a reminder of the public consternation this technology can cause.

Have a fantastic weekend!

Best,

Chuck