City council and national security: oversight of local counterterrorism and security intelligence

ABSTRACT

Following 11 September 2001, the New York City Police Department (NYPD) established and expanded counterterrorism and security intelligence capacities to an extent unprecedented for an American local government. These powers necessitated new legislative oversight responsibilities. While the NYPD’s efforts to address terrorism have received scholarly attention, City Council oversight of those efforts has not. This study helps fill that gap by examining the amount and nature of City Council – specifically the Committee on Public Safety – oversight hearings pertaining to terrorism and its mitigation. It also discusses additional City Council oversight options and needed research directions.

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to express their sincere appreciation to the anonymous reviewers who helped us improve the article both conceptually and practically.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. Dahl, “Local Approaches to Counterterrorism”; and Nussbaum, “From Brescia to Bin Laden.”

2. Dahl, “Local Approaches to Counterterrorism.”

3. Apuzzo and Goldman, Enemies Within.

4. Apuzzo and Goldman, Enemies Within; and Dahl, “Local Approaches to Counterterrorism.”

5. Apuzzo and Goldman, Enemies Within; Mishkin, “Filling the Oversight Gap”; and Patel and Price, Unchecked NYPD Operations in Need of Oversight.

6. Cheh, “Legislative Oversight of Police,” 20.

7. Fine and Caras, “Twenty-Five Years of the Council-Mayor Governance of New York City.”

8. Nussbaum, “From Brescia to Bin Laden.”

9. Price, National Security and Local Police.

10. Mishkin, “Filling the Oversight Gap.”

11. Nussbaum, “From Brescia to Bin Laden”; and Dahl, “Local Approaches to Counterterrorism.”

12. See note 8 above.

13. Dahl, “Local Approaches to Counterterrorism”; Johnson and Hunter, “Changes in Homeland Security Activities since 9/11”; and Waxman, “Police and National Security.”

14. Nussbaum, “Protecting Global Cities.”

15. Cherney, “Community Engagement and Outreach in a Counterterrorism Context.”

16. Waxman, “Police and National Security.”

17. Rascoff, “The Law of Homegrown (Counter) Terrorism.”

18. Dahl, “The Localization of Intelligence.”

19. Ibid.

20. Quinn, “A History of Violence.”

21. See note 2 above.

22. Ibid.

23. Ibid.

24. Ibid.

25. Apuzzo and Goldman, Enemies Within; and Elliott, “Fact-Check.”

26. Dahl, “The Plots that Failed.”

27. Nussbaum, “From Brescia to Bin Laden”; and Rose, Interview with Police Commissioner Ray Kelly.

28. New York City Police Department, Improving Intelligence and Counterterrorism Capabilities.

29. Ibid.

30. See note 8 above.

31. See note 2 above.

32. Dickey, Securing the City.

33. See note 3 above.

34. Apuzzo and Goldman, Enemies Within; and Comiskey, “Effective State, Local, and Tribal Police Intelligence.”

35. See note 3 above.

36. Hauslohner, “NYPD Settles Third Lawsuit over Surveillance of Muslims.”

37. New York Civil Liberties Union, “Second and Final Judge Approves Settlement on NYPD Muslim Surveillance.”

38. Ibid.

39. Ibid.

40. See note 3 above.

41. See note 8 above.

42. Dwyer, “City Police Spied Broadly before G.O.P. Convention”; and New York Civil Liberties Union, “Policing Protest: the NYPD’s Republican National Convention Documents.”

43. See note 3 above.

44. The Pulitzer Prizes, “The 2012 Pulitzer Prize Winner in Investigative Reporting”; and Apuzzo and Goldman, Enemies Within.

45. Ibid.

46. Ibid.

47. Ibid., 87.

48. Apuzzo and Goldman, Enemies Within; and Brennan Center for Justice, “NYPD Announces End of Muslim Demographics Unit.”

49. Francescani, “New York City Mayor Opposes New Oversight of Police”; and Patel and Sullivan, A Proposal for an NYPD Inspector General.

50. Brennan Center for Justice, “Brennan Center Applauds City Council for Overriding Mayor’s Veto on NYPD Inspector General Bill.”

51. Goodman, “City Council Votes to Increase Oversight of New York Police.”

52. See note 10 above.

53. See note 9 above.

54. See note 5 above.

55. Opsal, “City Council Members, Civil Rights Advocates Press Conference puts Spotlight on NYPD Operations.”

56. Patel and Price, Unchecked NYPD Operations in Need of Oversight, 2.

57. Attard, “Oversight of Law Enforcement is Beneficial and Needed.”

58. See note 10 above.

59. See note 9 above.

60. Ibid.

61. Cheh, “Legislative Oversight of Police.”

62. Waxman, “Police and National Security,” 391.

63. See note 17 above.

64. See note 10 above.

65. Cayford, Pieters and Hijzen, “Plots, Murder, and Money.”

66. Zegart and Quinn, “Congressional Intelligence Oversight.”

67. Balla and Deering, “Police Patrols and Fire Alarms.”

68. Ibid., 30.

69. See note 66 above.

70. Cordero, Reforming the Department of Homeland Security through Enhanced Oversight & Accountability.

71. Clinton, Lewis and Selin, “Influencing the Bureaucracy.”

72. Zegart and Quinn, “Congressional Intelligence Oversight,” 754.

73. Aberbach, “What’s Happened to the Watchful Eye?”; Balla and Deering, “Police Patrols and Fire Alarms”; and Zegart and Quinn, “Congressional Intelligence Oversight.”

74. Aberbach, “What’s Happened to the Watchful Eye?”

75. See note 67 above.

76. See note 66 above.

77. See note 28 above.

78. Office of the Inspector General for the NYPD, An Investigation of NYPD’s Compliance with Rules Governing Investigations of Political Activity.

79. McDonough, “Facial Recognition Controversy Spurs Push for Stalled NYPD Transparency Bill.”

80. Diaz, “A Bill to Oversee 21st Century Police Surveillance”; and McDonough, “Facial Recognition Controversy Spurs Push for Stalled NYPD Transparency Bill.”

81. Satter, “New York City Council Passes Police Surveillance Oversight Bill.”

82. Patel and Sullivan, A Proposal for an NYPD Inspector General.

83. See note 61 above.

84. Chicago Police Department, “CPD Announces New Organization for Command Plan”; and Los Angeles Police Department, “Counter-Terrorism and Special Operations Bureau.”

85. See note 18 above.

86. Ibid.

87. Dansky, “Local Democratic Oversight of Police Militarization.”

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jeffrey Milliman

Jeffrey Milliman is a Master’s student at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver. He completed a graduate certificate in National Security Intelligence at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs and has research interests in national security, intelligence studies, and public policy.

Michael Landon-Murray

Michael Landon-Murray is an Assistant Professor at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs. His research focuses on intelligence analysis, education and oversight and he is co-editor of Researching National Security Intelligence, from Georgetown University Press.