Posted on 01/08/2009 12:55:39 PM PST by BGHater
The New York Police Department is looking for ways to disrupt cell phone calls and other forms of electronic communication among terrorists in the event of another terror attack in New York, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly says.
The need to disrupt communications is one of several conclusions that the NYPD has drawn from studying the November attack in Mumbai, India, a three-day rampage by machine gun and grenade-wielding Islamic militants in which at least 165 people were killed and 304 were wounded.
Kelly is scheduled to discuss this and other "lessons learned" in testimony Thursday before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. A draft copy of his statement was shared with FOX News in advance of his appearance.
Kelly stressed the need for law enforcement to be able to disrupt cell phone calls and other communications during an attack, pointing to threats posed by the media when they disclose law enforcement tactics during live coverage that can get passed back to the attackers.
Kelly says that in the Mumbai attack, the terrorists' handlers used cell phones and other portable communications devices to order the killing of hostages and to adjust other tactics while the attacks were underway.
It's not clear from his testimony whether the NYPD has the means to disrupt electronic communications for a small group of terrorists without shutting down cell phone service to a large part of Manhattan.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
I strongly suspect the Law of Unintended Consequences will rear its large head, and bare its teeth fully if this is attempted.
Mark my words.
Oh yea, the geniuses in law enforcement want to hamper any type of potential beneficial information during the times of a terrorist attack. LEO’s get more stupid every day.
I agree with you.
Yeah, the police will be blinded ...
Nothing like taking away the means citizens may use to warn others because there was an incident where terrorists used modern technology to communicate.
Next they will figure out anybody can buy a marine two-way at the local ships store. And then the Ham Radios, and then ...
Such brilliance.
It kinda of reminds me of California. When a big earthquake occurs they shut down phone communications so that only emergency calls can get through. Not how stupid is that? how do they know which calls are emergencies and which are just frivolous (such as someone checking to see if a family member is still alive)?
Oh nice. Give panicked people a communications break down on top of the terrorist attack. Yea that will work swell.
LA City has some van that cost like 250,000 that hit the road last year that has more spy stuff in it then you can imagine.
It tracks cell phones, car engines, trucks transponders, you name it.
They say these folks know where everyone in LA is at any given time.
This has been SOP for years now, since the Madrid train attacks. In metro areas, when something happens, the cell network is taken down immediately. (The Madrid bombings were triggered by cell phone.)
This is hardly news. It’s rather puzzling, in fact. Why talk about this now?
There is no way to disprupt the comms of the bad guys without affecting their own comms using a "jamming" type device.
Now, I can envision them switching to certain restricted frequencies in the GMRS band during an incident and then jamming all cell frequencies within, say, a ten block radius.
The point is, they need an alternate and easily accessible means of comms before doing anything of this sort.
This seems like a really bad idea to me.
They should read “Rainbow Six” — this idea has been around for quite a while.
Never mind that it’s against federal law...
I’ll take “Worst Idea Ever” for $1000, Alex.
Thats a big part of the problem, to be sure.
They’d do better allowing concealed and carry, and supporting THAT fully.
During the Mumbai attacks, hotel guests were calling police letting them know where they were, and more importantly where the bad guys were.
You wanna shut down those communications, too?
Tracks car engines?
They can disable individual phones. What they are talking about is "jamming", that is, preventing cell phone communications on a given frequency in a given radius for everyone.
Real smart. After all, no one in NYC is anticipating being buried under a pile of debris with a cell phone on his belt.
Its how they keep track of Britney when she’s on a bender with Paris Hilton....
“Thursday before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs”
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