The Police Chief: Terry Vrabec
It's not likely that Fairbanks will witness terrorism firsthand, says Terry Vrabec, at least not in its most visible form, violence. According to Vrabec, who is serving in his eighth year as chief of police for the University of Alaska Fairbanks, it's the small, inconspicuous threats that local law enforcement will have to watch for.
He gives an example from the Midwest: An officer looked into a few cigarette sales that seemed, suspiciously, to involve a little too much cash. An individual was purchasing tobacco products in some southern states for cheap prices, avoiding taxes, and then selling them at higher rates in the North. The extra cash was pocketed and sent to terrorist cells, Vrabec says.
"It wasn't like someone was with a bomb and making threats and stuff," he says. "It was a simple situation. What that is teaching us is that we need to be aware on the most local level and realize that something could occur anywhere."
Alaska's second largest city hasn't seen any serious indications of terrorism, says Vrabec, but there have been a few concerns. A little over a month ago, he says, the FBI, the Immigration and Naturalization Service and the U.S. Secret Service were all on campus investigating a possible counter-intelligence situation. It turned out to be nothing, but the cooperation between agencies was key in determining the potential for danger, according to Vrabec.
As part of a cooperative group training session of state and local law enforcement agencies overseen by the U.S. District Attorney's office, Vrabec and a few of his officers were given scenarios similar to the Midwest cash laundering system.
"It's made us more aware about what we need to do to make sure our area is a better place to live and not have another incident like we did in New York and D.C.," says Vrabec.
And whereas some people see counter-terrorism legislation like the Patriot Act or the proposed Domestic Security Enhancement Act as tools to heighten government control over information and curb civil rights, Vrabec sees it a door opened, prompting law enforcement agencies to share more information than ever before.
"It has opened up the networking between a lot of agencies," he says. "And I don't think that's bad at all for any of us. It's just us working together better. I don't see that as a Big Brother issue."
Critics of the legislation have pointed to portions of the Patriot Act that potentially expand information-sharing between local, state and federal agencies, claiming that the legislation creates a wide loophole for law enforcement in tracking down suspects. Sections under Title II of the act do in fact permit information sharing between federal enforcement agents and federal intelligence agents, a collaboration previously not permitted. The act also expands limitations on investigations under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 to include ordering people like landlords, custodians to provide assistance and information in investigators.
If passed, the Domestic Security Enhancement Act of 2003, also known as Patriot II, will broaden those powers to include a higher scrutiny of U.S. as well as foreign citizens, nationwide warrants (potentially, a warrant from FISA judge in New York can be valid for an Alaskan's arrest) and permits agents to search computer hard drives without notifying owners.
Vrabec says that the public perception of these increased powers is far too extreme.
"Contrary to people's belief, if you knew really what went into getting a warrant or a tap for a phone--it's huge," he says. "We get accused of that in law enforcement, saying, 'Well you just going in there and you're searching illegal, you're spying.' I have to have serious probable cause to get that and justify it."
The notion of probable cause is an important factor Vrabec's investigations. He can't employ the Patriot Act's powers just because he thinks someone is suspicious.
"I still have to have purpose and reasoning before I do anything," he says. "I just can't pick a name out of the air and say, 'Well I'm going to do this against this person.' So honestly, from our end, I still have a lot of hoops and hurdles--an incredible amount--that I have to justify before I can take any type of action."
With the lines of communication between law enforcement agencies on all levels open, Vrabec gets both international and national updates on developments to watch for.
"Last week we were looking at domestic terrorism issues," Vrabec says. "We had some extremist groups like ALF and ELF that were causing some problems in some different areas of the country."
The Animal Liberation Front and the Earth Liberation Front are two left-wing groups that verge on the extreme, and are on a number of law enforcement watch-lists, Vrabec says.
"There were a couple of incidents where they were kind of becoming very strong and it was almost an anti-war issue, it sounded like, that they were using their cause for," he adds.
Does that mean that those in the anti-war mindset are being watched eyed by law enforcement? Vrabec is quick to say no. He points out that he wouldn't even make that correlation until protestors take the next step from demonstration to violence in proving their point.
While Alaska law enforcement agencies may benefit from open communication and expanded powers under the Patriot Act, some state and local lawmakers may attempt to stop it. In December 2002, the Fairbanks City Council passed a resolution opposing the Patriot Act on grounds that it may infringe on civil rights. Similar bills are circulating in both the State House and Senate, noting that while state lawmakers both recognize the need for national security and respect the intentions the of the President and U.S. Attorney General, Patriot may be going a little too far.
In the event these resolutions pass, Vrabec says he'll respect the state's decision, being an enforcer of state laws. But sometimes what looks good on paper isn't necessarily going to work in reality, he says.
"If we're allowed to work together on certain things to try and help resolve cases or solve bad incidents from occurring, looking for bad guys, whatever the case maybe," he says, "and all of the sudden a city ordinance or a state law comes down saying, 'You've got info that info, it needs to be shared, but you can't, I think that would be a shame because now we're inhibiting the agency from resolving whatever the situation may be."
Resolutions aside, Vrabec isn't convinced that Patriot is unconstitutional.
"I still haven't seen where the violations of the civil rights issues have come up in it," he says. "I haven't seen it. We are not violating civil rights under any of these acts."
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