Political Differences in COINTELPRO Operations: Potential Literature Review Sources

Source 1 -  Understanding state responses to Left-versus Right-Wing threats the FBI’s repression of the New Left and the Ku Klux Klan

David Cunningham

I'm not sure which university Cunningham was associated with while conducting this study.

Social Science History is an academic journal published by Duke University Press from 2000 to 2013.  Their website is at http://ssh.dukejournals.org/

Cunningham presents typologies for specific COINTELPRO operations conducted against the Ku Klux Klan and the New Left.  This makes a base of comparison between the operations possible on several terms including number of operations and time span of operations.

Source 2 -  The Bureau: my thirty years in Hoover’s FBI

William Sullivan

Sullivan was an Assistant Director of the FBI under Hoover, and responsible for several COINTELPRO operations.  However, this book was written after his retirement from the FBI.

This is primarily an autobiography focused on Sullivan's time in the FBI overall.

Sullivan does discuss COINTELPRO operations against both the Klan and the New Left.  His perspective adds a phenomenological approach to the study.

Source 3 - The liberals and J. Edgar Hoover: rise and fall of a domestic intelligence state.

William Keller

I don't know if Keller associated with any organization while writing this book.

The book was published by the Princeton University Press.

Keller introduces the Liberal Theory of Internal Security. He further discusses this theory in terms of Hoover's domestic intelligence decisions.  I may be using this theory in my assessment of COINTELPRO programs;  I have not decided yet as I have yet to analyze Sajó's "militant democracy" model.

Source 4 -  The FBI & American democracy: a brief critical history

Athan Theoharis

Theoharis was a professor of History at Marquette University at the time of  writing this book.

The book was published by the University Press of Kansas.

Theoharis holds a hostile view of COINTELPRO operations in general, contending their scope limited freedom and that specific actions were indeed illegal.

Source 5 - The reform of FBI intelligence operations.

John Elliff

The book was sponsored by the Police Foundation

This book discusses the reforms that took place as a result of domestic intelligence operations; this can be used in analysis of whether political factors affected the way the operations were conducted post facto in comparison to the time in which they were initiated.

Source 6 - Secrecy and power: the life of J. Edgar Hoover.

Richard Gid Powers

I'm not sure which university Powers was associated with while writing this book.

The book is a nonfiction study.

The focus of this book is on Hoover's decision making and political infighting capabilities.  It can help in explaining COINTELPRO operations in terms of the bureaucratic politics (or growth complex) model.  It also helps explaining COINTELPRO operations in the terms of a political factor, the politics of the personal.

Source 7 -  Security vs. liberty: how to measure privacy costs in domestic surveillance programs

Lt. Samuel Morgan

Lt. Morgan wrote the thesis for the Naval Postgraduate School

This is an academic thesis

The study provides insight into the balance between civil liberty and domestic security; this is a critical foundation in understanding if security operations are to be considered justified.

Source 8 - American extremists: militias, supremacists, klansmen, communists & others.

John George

The Wilcox Collection of Contemporary Political Movements

This is a book.

This book discusses the ideological impulses and violent activities of the groups that the FBI targeted.  There would be a significant difference in these operations if they were justified against one group, but not the other,

References

Cunningham, D. (2003). Understanding state responses to Left-versus Right-Wing threats the            FBI’s repression of the New Left and the Ku Klux Klan. Social Science History, 27(3), 327–370.

Elliff, J. (1979). The reform of FBI intelligence operations. Princeton: Princeton University         Press.

George, J. (1996). American extremists: militias, supremacists, klansmen, communists & others.        Amherst, N.Y: Prometheus Books.

Keller, W. W. (1989). The liberals and J. Edgar Hoover: Rise and fall of a domestic intelligence            state. Princeton, N.J: Princeton University Press.

Morgan, S. A. (2014, March). Security vs. liberty: How to measure privacy costs in domestic     surveillance programs (Thesis). Monterrey, California. Naval Postgraduate School.             Retrieved October 17, 2014 from https://calhoun.nps.edu/handle/10945/41421

Powers, R. G. (1987). Secrecy and power: the life of J. Edgar Hoover. New York; London: Free      Press ; Collier Macmillan.

Sullivan, W. C. (1979). The Bureau: My thirty years in Hoover’s FBI (1st ed). New York:         Norton.

Theoharis, A. G. (2004). The FBI & American democracy: a brief critical history. Lawrence:        University Press of Kansas.

Model Study and Potential Issues in Study

Part I

I will use the following study  as a model:

Morgan, S. A. (2014, March). Security vs. liberty: How to measure privacy costs in domestic surveillance programs (Thesis). Monterrey, California. Naval Postgraduate School. Retrieved October 17, 2014 from https://calhoun.nps.edu/handle/10945/41421

Part II

Potential Issues in Study   

         

          The covert nature of program.  A primary issue is due to this secret nature of the program.  Although some material has been made publicly available through the Freedom of Information Act, it is likely that there is material that needs to be uncovered to fully explore the nature of the program.  Theoharis contends that "FOIA requestors have oftentimes found released FBI documents to have been massively redacted and of limited research value" (1990, p. 222).

          Lost material due to time and destruction. There is an issue based on the passage of time.  The Archives note that the material on hand is from the national FBI offices, and that most of the operational notes were kept at the field offices.  It is likely that most of this material is now lost.  In addition, the FBI intentionally destroyed over 700,000 cubic feet of records between 1976 and 1978 (Steinwall, 1986, p. 56) , although this material has not been specified to include documentation on COINTELPRO operations.

          There may difficulty in assigning qualitative characteristics when comparing New Left operations against Leftist groups as a whole. SDS, for example, evolved from the Student League for Industrial Democracy (SLID), a socialist front group, approximately around 1962.

          Political bias.  Most discussion of the COINTELPRO program is based on the contention that it was somehow “immoral” to investigate and harass violent groups that had the goal of breaking American law; in addition, the vast majority of this discussion has been conducted by leftists that focused on leftist groups as “victims” of this program, and ignored completely COINTELPRO operations against the Klan (not to mention the violent nature of the crimes committed by these Leftist groups). The majority of the remainder often brushed off efforts against the Klan as an FBI front for public relations...in a secret program. There is also the question of my own personal bias.    

          Personal bias  While it would be nice that research was fundamentally unbiased, “Qualitative researchers contend that bias is inherent, yet can be described clearly enough to allow the reader to judge if bias has inappropriately influenced the research” (Sampson, 2012, p. 8).   In my own case, I will be upfront about my hostility towards Leftist ideals,  the reality in results from Leftist programs, the political methods that Leftists employ, the contempt of Leftists for liberty, and the lack of honesty in which Leftists engage in public discourse.   This bias also affected my initial assumptions regarding this study: my initial assumption for this study was that the FBI was allowed to attack the Klan, but then was prevented from conducting operations against the New Left.  Although there were differences in how operations were conducted based upon political factors, my assumption was incorrect.

Mitigating Research Efforts

          The main effort I will need to make is in identifying bias in interpretation, especially my own bias.  The loss of source records has a lesser impact on my research, as I am basing my study on secondary sources.

References

Sampson, J. (2012). A guide to quantitative and qualitative dissertation research. Florida State University: Educational Psychology and Learning Systems Faculty Publications.

Steinwall, S. (1986). Appraisal and the FBI Files Case: For Whom Do Archivists Retain Records? American Archivist, 49(1), 52–63.

Theoharis, A. G. (1990). Research note: The FBI and the politics of surveillance, 1908-1985. Criminal Justice Review (Georgia State University), 15(2).

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Yes, that is a potential barrier for domestic intelligence work in America, if not for my study. Brig. Gen Wilson described the fusion centers he has worked with as ineffective due to interorganizational conflict (2015).

There are several other hindrances to effective domestic security operations currently. Lesser issues include the "wikipedia-ization" of intelligence, as opposed to the effective "need to know" model; it is in this "wiki" environment that Manning and Snowden were able not only to access intel they had no need of and were able to publicize secrets. Another issue is the irresponsibility of government leaders that place unqualified people into positions of security responsibility, and then have no accountability when things go wrong. We can look to the recent hacking of our databases, in which Chinese government hacked the information about those holding security clearances (Nakashima, 2015, para. 1). The final "lesser" issue is the mass collection approach to intelligence, which is not only ineffective, but illegal. The NSA spying on citizens en masse, leads to the most important issue.

The major issue is the necessity that security agencies operate with the understanding that national security must be balanced with citizen liberty. Jim Sensenbrenner,the author of the PATRIOT Act , had this to say how the Act has been implemented, “I stand by the Patriot Act and support the specific targeting of terrorists by our government, but the proper balance has not been struck between civil rights and American security” (Kravets, 2013, para. 3).

This is an issue that confronts the security community at every level of responsibility (the intelligence community, law enforcement, the military).  Horwitz argues that the Constitution is a "meta-rule of construction" dedicated to "national self-preservation", he stresses the importance of the Presidential Oath as dedicated to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution (2009, pp. 1069-1070). In America this oath is adhered to at the line level throughout the nation; DeShon contends that a “police officer's oath originates within the United States Constitution” (2000, p. 6) and Amerson et al reiterate this at the level of sheriff; “ a sheriff should always perform his or her duties in accordance with the Constitution of the United States” (n.d., p.2). They key to the oath is "national self-preservation". To protect the citizens of this country, security personnel must be aware of political interference, and be prepared to counter it. National security should not be allowed to be suborned by political pandering. Note that the oath is to the Constitution,  not to a grandstanding politician, not to any given law that is unconstitutional, and especially not to any law that threatens national security.


References

DeShon, R. W. (2000). Police officers oath of office and code of ethics a question of knowledge. Eastern Michigan University School of Police Staff and Command Retrieved May 12, 2015 from http://www.dejurerepublicformichigan.org/files/OATH_ETHICS.pdf

Horwitz, P. (2009). Honor’s constitutional moment: The oath and presidential transitions. Northwestern University Law Review, 103(2), 1067–1080. Retrieved May 12, 2015 from http://search.proquest.com.southuniversity.libproxy.edmc.edu/docview/233344356?pq-origsite=summon

Kravets, D. (2013, September 5). Patriot Act author says NSA is abusing spy law. Wired Magazine. Retrieved May 11, 2015 from http://www.wired.com/2013/09/nsa-abusing-patriot-act/

Nakashima, E. (2015, June 12).  Chinese hack of federal personnel files included security-clearance database.  The Washington Post.  Retrieved July 8, 2015 from
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/chinese-hack-of-government-network-compromises-security-clearance-files/2015/06/12/9f91f146-1135-11e5-9726-49d6fa26a8c6_story.html

Wilson, C. (2015, March). Broadening focus on terrorism: The role of finance, economics, and organized crime. Panel discussion at the 2015 52nd Annual Meeting of the Academy of Criminal Justice Scientists.

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I added the IACP study to my library; thank  you for the link.  Unfortunately, the study of use of force can be subject to political pressures.  You may want to check out http://www.aele.org/ (Americans for Effective Law Enforcement) for more information regarding use of force and legal standards.  Look at their Monthly Law Journal archives. As for time to research, I hope the following article can help you: http://michaelnielsen.org/blog/principles-of-effective-research/

For the theoretical base of your study, the bureaucratic politics model, in which organizations (and the people within them) seek to protect the institution rather than the mission the institution is tasked with may apply,  The theory is a variation of, and also known as growth complex theory and/or Pournelle's Iron Law of Bureaucracy.

If there is one thing this degree plan has taught me, it's the spelling of bureaucracy.  I had been very content to spell it as "burro-cracy" previously.

Community Policing: Varied and Diffused Methods of Effectiveness

Community Policing: Varied and Diffused Methods of Effectiveness

Making any definitive claims regarding the success of the community policing concept as a whole is an impossible task. We can see that community policing is a philosophy, not a methodology or a set of defined tools. Docobo discusses the community policing model is basically a philosophical approach with three key components; “creation of and reliance on effective partnerships with the community and other public/private-sector resources”, “application of problem-solving strategies”, and “transformation of police organization and culture to support this philosophical shift.”(2005, p.1). We can also see that community policing is an inchoate concept, and that different agencies take different approaches to how it is applied. Further, we can see that community policing approaches are attempts to resolve dilemmas that have faced police departments since their inceptions. Measuring success as a whole, in this case, is akin to adding apples to oranges and expecting a final tally of bananas.

However, this is a strong argument for community policing; because it's successful implementation in any jurisdiction requires a specific application to that community. The needs of the community will differ from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. The use of p problem-solving strategies leads to experimentation to see what works. Carter discusses this approach in the context of the Kansas City Preventative Patrol experiment

First we learned that police officers and researchers produced a creative team approach in developing and testing concepts that were non-traditional. This, it should be noted, was not the conventional wisdom of the early 1970s. Second, we learned that experimental research could be effectively performed in a police agency without posing undue threats to public safety and at the same time maintaining the integrity of the research design (1995, p. 3).

There are a multitude of concepts that have been spawned by the concept of problem solving focus; problem-solving policing (POP), intelligence led policing (ILP), broken windows, hot spot policing, etc. Treverton et al point out that “All of these approaches—OMP, deterrence through presence, and directed patrol—are improved by the community era’s focus on problem-solving. Herman Goldstein’s theory of problem-oriented policing (POP), a concept usually discussed in conjunction with community-based policing, calls for 'analysis, study, and evaluation' as a necessary precursor to successful law enforcement” (2011, p. 31). Treverton et al further explain that the foundations of broken windows can combine with other law enforcement techniques to further community policing principles:

Because both aggressive OMP and computer statistics (CompStat) are associated with William Bratton’s time as police commissioner in New York City, the two are often linked. But CompStat can be seen as the transition from community policing to intelligence-led policing (ILP)(2011, p. 27)

The transition to ILP demonstrates two of the ways that law enforcement agencies can maximize their efficiency, in the use of technology, and the use of studying local issues (as presented by Carter above). A study by the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) “suggest(s) there will be considerable growth in the practice of two strategies: predictive policing and intelligence-led policing” (2104, p. 2). The PERF study uses the model used by the LAPD, a predictive policing model, as an example; while not conclusive, PERF found initial results of the program to be “promising” (2014, p. 6). The PERF study also found integration of technology to make policing more effective, pointing out that LAPD used social media to help guide departmental activities in policing large scale events such as

NBA All Star Game and the Stanley Cup (2014, p. 27).

The third method that police can use in more effective operation is to find ways to increase positive norms. This is line with the community policing philosophy of “creation of and reliance on effective partnerships with the community”. A 2004 PERF study found in crime ridden communities, “the law-abiding majority has effectively been silenced. Dr. Carl S. Taylor of Michigan State University calls this the dangerous and increasing normalization of ignorance and violence” (p. 76).

References

Carter, D. L. (1995). Reflections on the move to community policing. Regional Community Policing Institute. Retrieved August 10, 2014 from http://webs.wichita.edu/depttools/depttoolsmemberfiles/rcpi/Policy%20Papers/Reflections %20on%20Comm%20Pol.pdf

Docobo, J. (2005). Community policing as the primary prevention strategy for homeland security at  the local law enforcement level. Homeland Security Affairs, 1(1)

Police Executive Research Forum (PERF). (2004). Community policing: The past, present and future. Retrieved May 25, 2015 from http://www.policeforum.org/assets/docs/ Free_Online_Documents/Community_Policing/community%20policing%20-%20the %20past%20present%20and%20future%202004.pdf

Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) (2014). Future trends in policing Retrieved May 25, 2015 from http://www.policeforum.org/assets/docs/Free_Online_Documents/Leadership/future %20trends%20in%20policing%202014.pdf

Treverton,G., Wollman, M., Wilke, E., and Lai, D. (2011). Moving toward the future of policing. Santa Monica, Ca. The RAND Corporation. Retrieved May 25, 2015 from http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/monographs/2011/RAND_MG1102.pdf