Anonymous Comrade writes:

"The Law Enforcement Intelligience Unit is holding their annual meeting in Seattle to discuss such topics as left-wing terrorism. this is homeland security and both patriot acts PUT INTO EFFECT!! they target and monitor individuals and groups posing any threat whatsoever. Even Starbuck's and 7-11 put up cameras nationwide for these guys!


What is the LEIU?

The LEIU is a loosely-associated group of law enforcement and intelligence officers, whose private network of affiliations allows information to be shared between agencies. It was created in 1956 by the California Department of Justice. It first included 26 law enforcement agencies from seven western states but now includes more than 250 agencies from the US, Canada, Australia, South Africa, Mexico, and Britain. What is the purpose of the LEIU? The [official] purpose of this organization, which is a voluntary confederation of police agencies, is to exchange information on organized crime and certain criminals. (1) The unofficial purpose was to establish a national criminal intelligence network independent of the FBI, whose agents frequently refused to share information with local law enforcement officers. (2)



The original format of LEIU information was hundreds of 5 x 8 cards. Each card listed, among other data, a subject's name, alias, occupation, family members, vehicles, associates, arrests, and physical traits. A subject may be a person suspected of committing a crime; a person suspected of aiding those involved in a crime; or a person associated with a principal subject. Associates might include family members, business associates, or attorneys of the principal subject. (3) This data has since been computerized, using federal funds. (4)



Why should I be concerned?

The information is frequently wrong. The federal General Accounting Office found that only a small percent of the information on the LEIU cards could be completely documented. Auditors expressed concern that "the grantee has not yet effected either its promised verification of index information or its promised elimination of outdated and inaccurate data." (4)

They don't just monitor organized crime. Topics at the 1962 training meeting in San Francisco included "police intelligence units' role in securing information concerning protest groups, demonstrations, and mob violence" (FBI summary). Representatives from the INS, the US Department of Labor, the Pacific Gas and Electric Company, and several military investigative units were present. (2)

A 1974 suit filed against the Chicago Police Department by the Alliance to End Repression revealed that LEIU files were kept "on a University of Washington professor; a teacher of the Republican of New Africa, a southern black separate movement; a member of the Black Panther party; a member of the Communist Party; and members of the American Indian Movement." (5)

A 1979 investigation by the Detroit Board of Police Commissioners found that many LEIU subject cards had information on people "not apparently related to criminal activities." (2) "Among the subjects catalogued in LEIU files have been minority, labor and community organizers, many with no criminal records." (6)

In 1991, investigative author Frank Donner's book, Protectors of Privilege: Red Squads and Police Repression in Urban America, documented political repression practiced by urban police. Donner described the LEIU as a private organization which served as a conduit for information and technology and may also have helped local departments evade restrictions on their intelligence gathering. (7)

A May 10, 1993 San Francisco Chronicle article revealed how local police secretly use the LEIU to preserve intelligence files that are supposed to be destroyed. (8)



Isn't that illegal?

Yes. There are local (Seattle Ordinance 108333), state, and federal laws that restrict when and how law enforcement officials can gather and disseminate intelligence on political activists, organizers, and protesters. However, the LEIU is seen as a private organization, even though member agencies use tax dollars to pay LEIU dues and fees. Therefore, the LEIU is not subject to governmental oversight or the Freedom of Information Act.

The ACLU Foundation of Northern California sued the California Department of Justice in 1982. Under the California Public Records Act, modeled after the Freedom of Information Act, the ACLU sued to gain access to the DOJ's LEIU index cards. The trial court found in favor of the ACLU. But the California Supreme Court found that the burden of separating non-exempt information from exempt information before handing the cards over to the ACLU was too great, and ruled in favor of the State (3).



Is the Seattle Police Department (SPD) involved with the LEIU?

Yes. Seattle Municipal Code Chapter 14.12 sets out regulations outlining the circumstances under which the SPD can gather and disseminate information on individuals and groups. (SMC 14.12.010 Statement of purpose) (9) Subsection 14.12.020 states, "No person shall become the subject of the collection of information on account of a lawful exercise of a constitutional right or civil liberty; no information shall be collected upon a person who is active in politics or community affairs, unless under the same or similar circumstances the information would be collected upon another person who did not participate actively in politics or community affairs." (Subsection A)

The ordinance also provides for "in-place audit of Department files and records at unscheduled intervals not to exceed one hundred eighty (180) days since the last audit." (SMC 14.12.330) Unfortunately, this audit does not include the LEIU files received by the SPD. (Section 14.12.320) The LEIU files are audited by the Chief of the SPD and are maintained separately from other SPD files (subsection C3).



The Chief submits a report to the City, which includes a description of the documents audited, (without revealing their contents), the number of documents audited, and the number of documents received from LEIU. It also includes a current set of bylaws for LEIU. (Subsection D) The most recent report, for the audit completed July 25, 2002, states that the SPD has 10,977 LEIU subject entries, which are those dealing with the identification of criminal subjects and associates (Clerk File No. 305363). The Seattle City Council is aware of the interaction between the SPD and LEIU because they approve the SPD Chief's report each year. This has been happening since at least 1983. (10)