DELAWARE STATE POLICE INTELLIGENCE UNIT
Captain Peter B. Sawyer
The Delaware State Police Criminal Intelligence Section is made up of several units. Each of this units has statewide responsibility for their operations and assists patrol and criminal investigative troops further their investigations. Intelligence investigators handle an array of investigations from gangs to domestic and international terrorism. The Electronic Surveillance Unit is responsible for all overt and covert electronics equipment throughout the Division. The High Technology Crimes Unit and Delaware Child Predator Task Force are responsible for identifying on-line crimes and their follow-up forensic investigations. And finally the Delaware Information and Analysis Center is Delaware’s state designated fusion center, responsible for the information sharing of multiple disciplines, in a “all-hazards, all-crimes” approach.
The following is a breakdown of the highlights of each unit’s activity in 2009:
Criminal Intelligence Investigations
Criminal Intelligence Investigators participate in
professional organizations, both regionally and nationally.
Regionally, the section is a member of the Combined Law
Enforcement Intelligence Group, or CLEIG, which is comprised
of members from Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania,
and New Jersey. Nationally, the section is a member of the
Law Enforcement Intelligence Unit, or LEIU, which has a
strong national membership and been in existence since 1958.
Other national memberships are GLOBAL’s Criminal
Intelligence Coordinating Council, the International Outlaw
Motorcycle Gang Investigators Association (IOMGIA), the
National Bunco Investigators (NABI), the Mid-Atlantic Gang
Investigators Network (MARGIN), and the East Coast Gang
Investigators Association (ECGIA). Membership to these
organizations ensures the Criminal Intelligence Section and
the Delaware State Police are maintaining professional
standards in the area of intelligence management, staying
abreast of current threat issues, and obtaining the most
current intelligence information available from credible
sources.
The investigations conducted by this unit are confidential
and federal law mandates dissemination of intelligence
information to law enforcement only. The investigators
within this unit have national security clearances to work
and share information with our federal partners in the area
of homeland security.
The “Counter-Terrorism Unit” that was established in April
of 2002 continues their homeland security efforts,
protecting the citizenry and key assets of Delaware. This
unit works directly with the U.S. Attorney’s “Anti-Terrorism
Advisory Council” (ATAC), the Federal Bureau of
Investigation’s Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF), the
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, the United States
Secret Service, the United States Coast Guard, the Bureau of
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (BICE), the U.S. Postal
Inspector, the Delaware National Guard, all U.S. military
service investigative units, other state police agencies,
and regional, county/municipal law enforcement agencies. The
“Counter-Terrorism Unit” is charged with investigating
terrorism and related activities within the state of
Delaware and works with federal agents to develop criminal
intelligence information and criminal prosecutions in this
area. This unit also monitors the toll free tip line for
leads and assigns these leads appropriately to various law
enforcement jurisdictions.
In November 2009, the Counter Intelligence Unit sponsored
its first “Hometown Security Conference” at the Wilmington
University Campus in Dover. The conference concentrated on
educating local law enforcement about the reality of small
town ties to national and international terrorist events. It
was a very successful and informative conference with local
and regional experts in many related fields. Representatives
from thirty Delaware police departments attended.
Electronic Surveillance Unit
The Electronic Surveillance Unit is another unit within the
Criminal Intelligence Section. The Electronic Surveillance
Unit assists investigative units within the division of
State Police in addition to local and federal agencies. The
Electronic Surveillance Unit procures and distributes all
video and audio equipment for the Division and is tasked
with the maintenance of the electronic equipment throughout
the Division. In the course of criminal investigations,
detectives within the unit also supply detectives in the
field with specialized electronic equipment that is required
for a successful case conclusion and prosecution. Case
specifics and equipment used by the Electronic Surveillance
Unit are of a confidential nature to protect the integrity
of the investigations and methods used to gather
investigative leads. During the 2009 calendar year the unit
experienced a significant increase in the number of requests
for service. The Electronic Surveillance Unit handled 1,259
requests for service, which is a 21% increase over 2008.
High Technology Crimes and Delaware Child Predator Task
Force
In response to the sophistication of computer technology and
resources challenging Delaware law enforcement to
investigate high technology and computer crimes, the
Delaware State Police established the High Technology Crimes
Unit (HTCU). HTCU provides all Delaware law enforcement
agencies technical and investigative expertise on
computer-related crimes.
Its mission is to provide computer and high technology
forensic capabilities, become a resource for law enforcement
and government agencies on computer or high tech crime
issues, provide training to the public, law enforcement, and
government agencies on the threat and awareness of computer
crime, and proactively work to identify computer criminals
and prevent future cyber crimes. The High Technology Crimes
Unit consists of six sworn members of the Delaware State
Police under the direction of Lt. Robert Moses. In 2009,
there were 357 calls for service for the High Technology
Crimes Unit. These 357 cases were comprised of a wide
variety of criminal offenses, including aggravated menacing,
attempted kidnapping, Internet fraud, child pornography, and
sexual exploitation of minors.
In September 2007, the Delaware Department of Justice,
United States Department of Justice for the District of
Delaware, Delaware State Police and 40 state, county and
local Delaware law enforcement agencies have joined in a
multi-agency work group, the Delaware Child Predator Task
Force to conduct investigations regarding allegations of
child sexual exploitation including: child sexual
solicitation, possession and distribution of child
pornography, and all related criminal conduct. The Delaware
State Police Criminal Intelligence Section has two troopers
assigned to this taskforce.
The Delaware ICAC’s goals are to increase the effectiveness
and efficiency of investigations and prosecutions of
Internet Crimes Against Children and to increase public
awareness and prevention of ICAC offenses. DEICAC’s
objectives are to:
1. Increase the investigative capabilities of law
enforcement officers in the detection, investigation, and
apprehension of ICAC offenses;
2. Conduct proactive and reactive ICAC investigations;
3. Increase the number of ICAC offenses being prosecuted in
both the federal and state courts;
4. Create a multi-agency task force response to ICAC
offenses in Delaware;
5. Enhance the nationwide response to ICAC offenses;
6. Develop and deliver ICAC public awareness and prevention
programs.
Delaware Information and Analysis Center
The Delaware Information and Analysis Center (DIAC),
Delaware’s Fusion Center serves as a critical component of
Delaware’s Homeland Security as well as Criminal
Intelligence, Critical Infrastructure Protection and
Statewide Law Enforcement investigative support. The DIAC
adheres to an All Crimes All Hazards approach to Homeland
Security at the state level. This approach necessitates that
DIAC provide real time information and intelligence to those
decision makers with a need and right to know in the Law
Enforcement sector.
The DIAC has numerous full time components embedded within,
that include a six person analytical section, a Critical
Infrastructure Protection Unit, and a statewide WMD
coordinator. The DIAC’s analytic section is composed of four
full time civilian intelligence analysts and two Delaware
National Guard analysts, as well as a Department of Homeland
Security representative. In addition the Department of
Public Health provided a representative who works part time
at the DIAC. The Critical Infrastructure Unit is composed of
two sworn troopers and a civilian critical infrastructure
planner. These full time members of DIAC work in conjunction
with each other to identify, prevent, secure and inform
Delaware’s Law Enforcement, private sector and public
leaders of any and all threats to the security of Delaware.
In addition to the above full time partners DIAC works daily
with Delaware’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, the FBI, ATF,
ICE, The Delaware National Guard, United States Coast Guard,
Dover Air Force Base, the US Attorneys Office, and The
Department of Homeland Security to ensure that information
is shared and exchanged regularly to better protect our
state.
In 2009 DIAC played a critical role in several events here
in Delaware. The DIAC once again served as the intelligence
lead in both NASCAR races held at Dover Downs providing a
comprehensive threat assessment of the event. DIAC also
served as an intelligence and information hub for President
Obama’s Whistle Stop Tour and Inauguration events held here
in Delaware. DIAC also played a key role in the successful
Returns Day event attended by Vice President Joe Biden in
Georgetown in January. DIAC analysts also assisted in
numerous successful criminal arrests and prosecutions.
Several were the result of detailed analysis and suspect
workups done by the analysts. Others were the direct result
of DIAC’s Daily Roll Call bulletins that allowed officers to
identify suspects in numerous unsolved incidents.
- Information obtained from 2009 DSP
Annual Report -
