Canada Free Press -- ARCHIVES

Because without America, there is no free world.

Return to Canada Free Press

Special

The NYPD in Canada

by Marinka Peschmann, Special to Canada Free Press
Friday, July 22, 2005

The New York Police Department has taken the fight against terrorism into Canada. It's part of a NYPD plan to improve intelligence gathering and Intel sharing around the world. Currently there are NYPD detectives based in Toronto and Montreal in a counter terrorism cooperative effort.

NYPD Police Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne told Canada Free Press, "Toronto and Montreal were obvious candidates because they have very good law enforcement and a nexus to Islamic terrorism."

The program was put into place after September 11, 2001, shortly after New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg was sworn into office. Top cop, Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly, appointed by Mayor Bloomberg, created the liaison program. Commissioner Kelly is accredited for transforming the existing New York intelligence division whose prior primary mission focused on coordinating security for visiting dignitaries and diplomats into a division dedicated to intelligence gathering and analysis with a global reach in the fight against terrorism.

Taking an untraditional route Commissioner Kelly persuaded and recruited former CIa Director of Operations, David Cohen, out of public life and charged him with task of heading up the massive restructuring of the New York City intelligence department.  Cohen, now New York's Deputy Director of Intelligence, garnered thirty-one years of experience at the CIa specializing in analysis and intelligence.

Since it's inception almost four years ago the program has grown. In addition to detectives based in Canada there are NYPD liaisons assigned in London working with Scotland Yard, in Lyons working out of Interpol headquarters, Singapore and Tel aviv with hopes to increase their presence in the Middle East. Canada Free Press has learned that an expected agreement with Jordan is due to be announced in the near future.

after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, killing nearly 3000 people including 26 Canadians, the NYPD "felt we needed to have our own people in key places around the world to help us better learn what potentially could come at us," Deputy Commissioner Browne told this reporter. Since September 11, 2001, NYPD detectives have traveled to afghanistan, Egypt, Yemen, Pakistan, Russian, Bali and conducted interrogations at Guantánamo Bay in Cuba. There are over 37,000 NYPD cops compared to 11,000 FBI agents in the United States. Currently 140 NYPD detectives are assigned to the FBI's joint-terrorist task force.

In the unpredictable world of terrorism, threats can emerge at a moments notice and swift information can save lives. When a terrorist attack occurs, having a NYPD liaison nearby has proven to be a critical asset in the fight against terror for New Yorkers. In Madrid Spain, on March 11, 2004, after ten lethal explosions on commuter trains killed 191 people and wounded over 1,400 during the morning rush hour, the NYPD Detective posted at Interpol landed in Madrid shortly after the attack. The real-time intelligence gathering obtained by the NYPD liaison at the deadly scene was shared with New York authorities and immediately altered the manner in which the New York Subway systems were patrolled.

an NYPD liaison was on the ground gathering evidence again at the recent July 7, London bombings, where the latest death toll has reached 56. as reported in this month's New Yorker Magazine, "Detective Ira Greenberg, the NYPD’s man in Scotland Yard, was on the Tube, on his way to work when the London bombs went off. as soon as he could reach the street, he started phoning in reports to the [New York] intelligence division."  In a statement, issued on July 7, Commissioner Kelly, in response to the London bombings, said, "a team of detectives from the counter terrorism bureau and intelligence division was dispatched to London [that] morning to supplement the NYPD liaison already stationed there. Our liaison there, and in other cities around the world have been supplying us with a steady flow of information to help the department shape our response in New York City."

Plus help shape responses to terror all over the world including in Canada.

Marinka Peschmann is a freelance writer whose first book collaboration, the best-selling The Kid Stays In The Picture; was made into a documentary. She's contributed to several books and stories ranging from showbiz and celebrities to true crime and politics.



Pursuant to Title 17 U.S.C. 107, other copyrighted work is provided for educational purposes, research, critical comment, or debate without profit or payment. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for your own purposes beyond the 'fair use' exception, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. Views are those of authors and not necessarily those of Canada Free Press. Content is Copyright 1997-2018 the individual authors. Site Copyright 1997-2018 Canada Free Press.Com Privacy Statement