In the years after the 9/11 attacks, Los Angeles Police Department trained officers to keep a better watch for activity that could be terrorism-related.

Now, they are working to get the whole city involved.

For months the LAPD has been rolling out the community-involvement phase of its counter-terrorism efforts. Named iWatch, it offers a crash course in identifying the types of activity the
department deems suspicious and allows people to report questionable
incidents to police.

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, LAPD Chief Charlie Beck and community leaders are scheduled to hold a news conference at Los Angeles International Airport on Thursday to announce the expansion of the campaign into the airport with fliers and posters alerting travelers to the program.

“Everyone has a part to play when it comes to keeping this city safe,” said Deputy Chief Michael Downing, who manages the LAPD’s counter-terrorism efforts. “We felt people really needed to understand
the nature of this threat and that they have a significant role.”

The iWatch program stems from an earlier revamping by the LAPD of the way its officer report suspicious activity. The department was one of the first in the country to formalize a list of red-flag
activities -- such as bulk purchases of fertilizer that could be used
in explosives, vehicles left unattended in loading zones at
high-profile buildings -- and require officers to fill out forms that
describe in detail any potential terrorist-related activity,
whether or not a crime was committed. Counter-terrorism analysts in the
department put the information into a database to find patterns and trends.

The LAPD has taken the message public through a sleek, Hollywood-style public service announcement and a short video
in which police are able to connect the dots that lead them to disrupt
a terrorist cell after a neighbor and others report the group’s odd
behavior.

Information is relayed to the department’s counter-terrorism analysts through an online portal
in which people are asked to provide detailed descriptions, including
video or photographs if they have them, of what they saw and
descriptions of the people involved. If LAPD analysts determine the
reported activity has a possible link to terrorism, it is forwarded to
a multi-agency regional task force charged with investigating
suspected terrorism.

Police are requiring tipsters to give their names and contact information, Downing said, because “we want solid, verifiable information to come in to the system.” A
separate, toll-free hotline allows people to call in anonymously.

Only a handful of reports have been filed through the iWatch system’s website since its launch in October, Downing said. He added that a few have been “substantial,” but declined to provide
details.

In putting together the iWatch program and earlier officer-training component, the department reached out to Muslim groups and civil liberties organizations. Salam
Al-Marayati, executive director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council,
said the LAPD has been mostly receptive to concerns the groups have
raised, including a request to refine the list of suspicious activities
and to include a Muslim on the public service video. He added
that the council is still assessing whether the safeguards built into
the system, such as outside audits and measures meant to prevent people from being falsely accused, are strong enough. “It is a
work in progress,” he said.

Downing echoed Al-Marayati, saying the department understands “this will be a much better, stronger program if [the advocacy groups] are working with us than if they’re not.”

From the outset, police have been careful to address concerns that the program could open the door to people ethnic or religious profiling. “This has nothing to do with the color of someone’s skin or their religious
beliefs; this has everything to do with people’s behavior,” Downing
said.

-- Joel Rubin