PRESS RELEASE

Border Security and Intelligence To Be Tightened: Constructive Police Reform To Be Implemented

The recent brutal attack on Israel conducted by the notorious terrorist group Hamas should serve as a wakeup call for US Homeland security. Twenty years have passed since the horrendous attack by forces of Al Qaeda on September 11, 2001, which claimed the lives of more than three thousand innocent people. Since that time, many of the lessons from that tragedy have faded. Perhaps the most significant areas of refocus involve the necessity for adequately trained first responders and the active interdiction of terrorist threats.

The Massachusetts Association for Professional Law Enforcement expresses its deepest condolences to the families of the victims of the October 7, 2023 terrorist attack by Hamas. We support the extension of all appropriate assistance to the people of Israel in their effort to secure their homeland from further attack. We also urge, in the strongest terms, that US Homeland Security and the Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security (EOPPS) adopt the highest possible level of alert; that the United States government end its’ defacto policy of open borders; intensify surveillance of individuals, both domestically and internationally, with links to Al Qaeda, ISIS, Hezbollah and Hamas, and that our nation’s police once again begin to emphasize in their training, incident command and ALICE response ( Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate) for our schools and other public buildings. We urge both the federal and state governments to make funds available to support this training. Additionally, we call for a reinvigorated “See Something, Say Something” program in cooperation with the state’s fusion center.

            We wish to express our concern that American policing has faced withering attacks from many sectors of society, which has led to the defunding and demoralization of many departments and precipitated the loss of many experienced officers.  Additionally, recruitment has become a significant problem.  Our society must make a clear distinction between police reform and hostile police degradation. Given the global security situation, it is imperative that our nation’s policy makers affirm the one and reject the other.  The plain fact is that our nation’s police officers are our first line of defense against domestic terror and this critical role must be reflected in public policy or there will be serious consequences to pay for all Americans.

 ( Note: This press release was approve by the MAPLE Board of Directors at its October 19, 2023 board meeting)

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