Over two years have passed since 9/11 and, still, law enforcement agencies continue to rethink their practices and find ways to work together to combat terrorist threats.  Indeed, corrections has become a key player in the battle against terrorism in this country, especially since inmates are particularly vulnerable to recruitment by terrorist organizations.

"There's certainly a history of terrorists being connected with the prison population," said Chip Ellis, Research and Program Coordinator for the National Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism (MIPT).   

According to Ellis, terrorist organizations often recruit members from prisons and other correctional institutions. 

"Prisoners are a captive audience and they usually have a diminished sense of self or a need for identity and protection," Ellis said.  "They're usually a disenchanted or disenfranchised group of people," he added.  "Terrorists can sometimes capitalize on that situation."

Aside from prisons being places of isolation where terrorists can have an inmate's full attention, the facilities can also lend themselves to the spread of terrorist propaganda and information.

"Terrorist groups [can use] prisons as a university of sorts where [terrorists] can exchange notes," Ellis said.  "[They can be used] as a launching pad for getting new recruits and developing conspiracies."

The Importance of Sharing Intelligence

Bill Sondervan, Director of Professional Development for the American Correctional Association (ACA) and a former Maryland Corrections Commissioner agrees that prisons are fertile grounds for the development of potential terrorists.

"From a Corrections Commissioner perspective, one of the things that is a big concern nationally is that prisons are becoming breeding grounds for terrorist recruitment," Sondervan said, citing an example of a Muslim chaplain in Maryland who was fired for trying to persuade Muslim inmates to become involved in "some bad things."

With the help of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) the state confronted the issue and took the appropriate actions, an example of the kind of cooperation between agencies Sondervan sees as essential to combating terrorist threats.

"After September 11th and some of the things that are going on in the world [today], it's more important that corrections and law enforcement share information for the good of society," Sondervan said. 

Traditionally, he noted, there has not been a great exchange of information between corrections and law enforcement.

"A lot of times [law enforcement] didn't value what corrections had to offer," Sondervan said.  "More recently they've realized that we do have a lot to offer and it's in everyone's best interest to break down those barriers and share information," he added. 

"Prisons are gold mines of intelligence," Sondervan pointed out.  "Trust needs to be developed [between agencies] and formal relationships need to be worked out."

Keeping a Watchful Eye on Terrorism in Texas

Texas is one state where inter-agency data exchange has been put into practice.  There, corrections is working alongside the FBI to identify potential terrorist threats in the state's correctional facilities.

"We learned a long time ago that sharing intelligence information is an important part of public safety," said Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) Inspector General John Moriarty.

With over 100 correctional facilities throughout the state and nearly 700,000 offenders under the department's supervision, TDCJ has taken steps since September 11th to ensure that it is aware of any potential terrorists threats that exist within its prisons.

"Right after 9/11 we wanted to know who we had in our custody so we got together with the FBI and provided them with a list of convicted felons we had in custody," said Moriarty.  "[Then], they could tell us if any "persons of interest," as they call them, were in our custody."

As it turned out, by teaming up with the FBI, TDCJ was able to identify approximately 150 inmates who qualified as "persons of interest," or individuals who present some type of security threat because of their involvement or potential to become involved in terrorism or other illegal activities.

According to Moriarty, no specific groups are being targeted in this effort, even though Texas has a large Muslim inmate population.

"It's not a religious thing; it has to do with [the inmates'] affiliations with different organizations that may be causing some problems," said Moriarty.  "We're not targeting them, that's the bottom line," he added.  "[They are] from many countries, not just the Middle East," Moriarty said, dispelling any notions that TDCJ is specifically focusing on offenders of a particular nationality, ethnicity or religion.

Once these inmates were identified, TDCJ began to take a closer look at the their visitation sessions and correspondence.

"Unlike a lot of states, inmates [in Texas] don't have a telephone service [regularly] available to them," Moriarty said.  "The only way to get anything in or out is through the mail system and/ or visitation, which is monitored on an as-needed basis."

For the select group of inmates under closer watch, their mail is monitored, copied and then transmitted to a central office in Huntsville, Texas, where TDCJ has an investigator, Moriarty explained.  Then, the department uses an imaging machine to send any correspondence written in a foreign language that TDCJ can't translate to the FBI, he said.

"What we determined to be a security deficiency was that we didn't know what a lot of these inmates were saying [in their correspondence] because they were writing in Arabic or Arabic dialects," Moriarty said.  "We saw a loophole in the system."

Because the department did not have the resources to hire groups of translators for the purpose of monitoring mail, the FBI was enlisted to aid TDCJ.

"They report back to us on what's in the letters," Moriarty said, noting that, typically, they are benign messages to families and friends.  "It's saved a lot of time and effort on our part."

But, if it is discovered during this process that any of the inmates are, indeed, a security concern, the situation would be handled according to procedures that TDCJ already has in place for such incidences, Moriarty explained.

"If one of the individuals that we're all interested in is a security concern, I'd advise people at the unit that there's an issue," Moriarty said.  "It would be just like any other security risk," he added.  "[Then], we'd follow the procedures the agency already has in place."

Overall, Moriarty believes that monitoring certain TDCJ inmates has been beneficial to both the department and the FBI, which have a strong working relationship because they've been connected in the state for many years through an extensive fugitive recovery effort, Moriarty pointed out.

Although TDCJ has joined forces with the FBI and the two agencies share information, Moriarty admits that the department is less concerned with Homeland Security and more focused on safety within the state.

"Our first priority is the safety and security of the institutions," Moriarty said.  "If it serves the purpose of Homeland Security, [too], that's great."

This partnership has been mutually beneficial, though, Moriarty said.  Aside from bolstering security in correctional facilities in Texas, monitoring certain inmates has also produced some intelligence that is useful to the national cause of Homeland Security, he added.

"There's been some beneficial information to the Homeland Security effort obtained in what we've been doing," Moriarty said.  "[But], I can't tell you about that."

While the particular successes of this effort by TDCJ and the FBI are not clear because of national security concerns, one thing is certain, according to Moriarty. 

"It's just been a good cooperative effort between the feds and [the department]," Moriarty said.  "It's been a win-win situation."

Taking Steps to Counter Terrorism in New Jersey

In contrast to Ohio, a state much closer to the site of the 9/11 attacks has fallen in line with Texas in taking aggressive steps to monitor its facilities and inmate population.

"There have been procedural changes made for visitors and delivery people who have access to loading docks in an effort to strengthen security," said Matt Shuman, Public Information Officer for the New Jersey Department of Corrections (DOC).  "They're making sure that [they know] everyone who steps foot in the institution."

While strict security procedures pertaining to visitation and other people entering facilities have always been in place, they are now better enforced, Shuman noted.

Some procedures involving inmates have changed in New Jersey as well.

"The Department's Special Investigations Division now [works] with the New Jersey Office of Counter Terrorism to try and identify any inmates who might have terrorist links," said Shuman.

Mark Salaga, Director of Custody Operations for the New Jersey DOC, shed some light on why the state has been so aggressive in confronting the potential threats associated with inmates' involvement with terrorist organizations.

"Because of the location of New Jersey and the issues of terrorism in general in this region of the country, the state as a whole has been more proactive in addressing the issues that have come up after 9/11," Salaga said.  "New Jersey was directly, intimately involved in 9/11," he added.  "Most of the terrorists were, in fact, living in New Jersey prior to the attacks."

And the anthrax scares that swept through the country shortly after the World Trade Center attacks also impacted the state, Salaga pointed out.

"New Jersey, again, was ground zero for [some of] the anthrax attacks," Salaga said.  "The Department of Corrections was attacked directly by hoaxes," he added about the incidents that prompted the DOC to move their mail handling operations off-site.

Aside from changes to mail handling, Salaga could not elaborate much on other steps the DOC is taking to combat terrorist threats, especially as they involve inmates.  He could, however, liken the investigative processes used for terrorism to those that take place with gangs.

"It's more on the same lines of what our gang intelligence unit would do," Salaga said about the agency's efforts to collect information about inmates that may have ties to terrorism.  "The same types of processes that are used to collect, store and disseminate [information about gangs] are what we use in this case."

As part of these practices, correctional officers collect information from inmates based on tattoos they have on their bodies, activities that take place in the inmates' cells and conversations between offenders, Salaga said.

Little pieces [of information] start to add up to big pieces," said Salaga who stressed the importance of sharing this information with other agencies that may have their own data to add.

"Information sharing is crucial to counter-terrorism," Salaga said.  "When you start to put together with other issues what [you may] see as an insignificant little event, situation or issue, that's when you start to see a picture of terrorism as well as other criminal activities," he added.  "You see more with 100 [pairs of] eyes than you do with one."

Arizona Takes a Proactive Stand

The Arizona Department of Corrections (DOC), too, subscribes to this philosophy and shares information with the FBI Task Force there.

"It's very important that information is being shared," said Nolan Thompson, Special Investigations Manager and Homeland Security Coordinator for the Arizona DOC.  "Prior to 9/11, all of your different agencies, [like] the CIA, FBI, Border Patrol, and Secret Service, had their own information and were working on their own thing."

Since the attacks, however, information sharing has become a more widespread practice and Arizona has revamped some of its security procedures to gather intelligence for this purpose and to improve safety in the state's correctional facilities.

"We've enhanced our procedures in mail scans and property investigations, specifically looking for key words or phrases from certain groups," said Todd Gerrish, Manager of the DOC's Security Threat Group Unit.  "We're reaching out to some other agencies and organizations that are experts on some of the more radical international and domestic [terrorist] groups."

Some groups of inmates, Thompson added, are being monitored more closely than others.

"We focus on those individuals who are more of a threat to the management of the agency and to Arizona," Thompson said.  "We're looking at those people who have already demonstrated a potential for violence and violent behavior."

But, taking a closer look at inmate security threat groups is something that Arizona is accustomed to doing.

"We've been proactive for the last 15 years in developing a management system of intelligence and procedures that has put us ahead of a lot of other corrections agencies in the country," Thompson said.

Dealing with Terrorism Concerns in Ohio

Another agency that has long been proactive in data sharing is the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (DRC), which was one of the first departments in the country to launch an online inmate information database. 

Like many other states, Ohio recognizes the value of making inmate data available to other agencies.  This type of information sharing is now even more critical in light of events like 9/11.  As a result, DRC staff participate in Ohio's Homeland Security Task Force so that ideas can be shared back and forth among agencies.

"There is a bigger sense of cooperative interactions than what I've seen before 9/11," said Reginald Wilkinson, Director of the DRC.  "When or if we need to provide intelligence to the task force or any federal office, then we're prepared to do that."

But, Ohio is confident in the procedures it has had in place all along to deal with various types of security threats, including terrorism.

"With corrections, we were prepared for these kinds of things before anybody else because it's what we do," said Wilkinson.  "We know what it's like to manage crowds, we know how to handle disasters," he added.  "The federal agencies and Homeland Security Office can learn a lot from what we do."

Although the DRC has some restrictions placed on it in terms of inmates' privacy, there are procedures in place that enable the department to take action when they suspect a security threat such as terrorism.

"We can sensor mail, but we can't read it," Wilkinson said.  "We don't do that because case law prevents it."

If there's a reason, however, the DRC will go through the proper channels to obtain warrants to read any correspondence in question.  Also, if the need arises to investigate or monitor certain inmates, whether the concern is related to terrorism, drugs or the like, the department will respond as necessary.

"We have procedures and processes that we follow in order to do that," Wilkinson said.  "We can do that whether it's an issue related to Homeland Security [or something else]."

But, since there have been no significant incidents relating to inmates becoming involved in terrorism while in Ohio's correctional facilities, Wilkinson believes that the department is in good shape.

"There's no crisis of any sort that's going on, nor do we anticipate any," Wilkinson said.  "We're just not in a panic about it."

Looking Ahead

Some corrections agencies are taking on terrorism with enhanced security procedures, like mail scans and foreign language translation.  Others are relying on the procedures they already have in place to weed out terrorist threats. All, however, are in agreement that sharing information with other agencies is crucial to the security of correctional facilities and the country as a whole.

And, according to Gerrish, agencies hope to see information sharing practices improve in the future.

"[Hopefully], corrections agencies [across the country] can start to exchange intelligence, especially through an electronic media format," said Gerrish.  "That's something that's been on the horizon and is very promising."

While the Arizona DOC waits for a system like this to develop, Thompson believes it is prepared to respond to any terrorist threats or situations that may arise.

"We're looking ahead, way ahead, at what we need to do."

Resources

To contact Chip Ellis, call (405) 232-5121

To learn more about MIPT, go to www.mipt.org

To contact Bill Sondervan, call (800) ACA-JOIN

To learn more about the ACA, go to www.aca.org

To contact TDCJ, go to www.tdcj.state.tx.us or call (512) 463-9988

To contact the Ohio DRC, go to www.drc.state.oh.us or call (614) 752-1150

To contact the New Jersey DOC, go to www.state.nj.us/corrections or call (609) 292-9860

To contact the Arizona DOC, go to www.adc.state.az.us or call (602) 542-3133