DELAWARE STATE POLICE INTELLIGENCE UNIT
Captain William T. Harris
The Delaware State Police Criminal Intelligence Section is made up of several units. Each of these 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 an “all-hazards, all-crimes” approach.
The following is a breakdown of the highlights of each unit’s activity in 2008:
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 section are very confidential in nature. The duties of this small element within the Intelligence Section are many. They assist with all gun traces, provide material for the weekly intelligence bulletins and manage the use of confidential informants. Additionally, they routinely attend monthly meetings hosted by the Maryland State Police dealing with Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs, New Castle County Police Intelligence sharing meetings, the Delaware Department of Corrections Threat Groups Meeting and The Anti-Terrorism Advisory Council.
Electronic Surveillance Unit
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 may be 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.
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.
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 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.
In May 2008 Det. Ronald Garland of HTCU was one of fifteen law enforcement officers throughout the United States who was recognized by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children for his efforts in the arrest of Paul Thielemann who was the leader of a child pornography ring. The investigation resulted in 10 defendants arrested and convicted on various child pornography charges.
Further, the Divisional “Exceptional Performance” award was earned by HTCU members Det. Ronald Garland and Det. Daniel Willey for there investigative effort in the Thielemann investigation.
As computers and electronic communication devices flourish in our society, so does the use of those devices in conducting criminal activities. The HTCU officers must possess knowledge and equipment to effectively investigate today’s cyber criminal. HTCU will continue the task of identifying, investigating and prosecuting individuals and organizations that use these and other emerging technologies to support their criminal operations and to victimize our citizens.
Delaware Information and Analysis Center
The Delaware Information and Analysis Center (DIAC)
completed a very successful and eventful year in 2008. The
DIAC continues to serve as Delaware’s State Designated
Fusion Center. The DIAC has become an integral part of
Delaware’s Homeland Security, criminal intelligence,
criminal investigation and Information sharing mission. The
DIAC ascribes to an all crimes all hazards concept bringing
together information from law enforcement, other public and
governmental entities and the private sector fusing the
information and putting it back out as useful intelligence
to the various decision makers and leaders in Delaware who
possess both a need and right to know. Armed with credible
intelligence and information provided by the DIAC,
Delaware’s leaders in Government, Law Enforcement, Emergency
Services and the Private Sector are better able cooperate
and protect the citizens, property and business interests of
all Delawareans.
The heart of DIAC continues to be the analytical staff. The DIAC is staffed currently by four full time analysts. In addition the Delaware National Guard continues to be a key partner by providing two National Guard Analysts to the center on a full time basis. In the spirit of truly moving to an All Crimes All Hazards methodology the DIAC was fortunate to gain a part time Public Health Expert from the Department of Public Health in 2007. This partnership has already proven valuable with the added expertise and knowledge of the Public Health expert contributing to weekly bulletins and sitreps in the area of Public Health.
The DIAC also is home to the Critical Infrastructure Protection Unit. This unit is staffed by two sworn and one civilian employee and is responsible for protecting Delaware’s Critical Infrastructure and keeping the trusted partners and decision makers in the various Public and Private Sector informed through a variety of mechanisms to include a Silent Partner Alert system as well as the Regional Information Sharing System - Automated Trusted Information Exchange (RISS - ATIX).
- Information obtained from 2008 DSP
Annual Report -
