Sheriff to Study Pakistan’s Anti-Terror Tactics

Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca and two other high-ranking sheriff’s officials are planning to travel to Pakistan later this month to study that country’s anti-terrorism program.

The sheriff’s delegation -- including Baca, sheriff’s Homeland Security Chief Sandy Hutchins and Mike Grossman, head of the Terrorism Early Warning Group -- will travel to Pakistan for a week to meet high-ranking security, police and government officials, department officials said.

“The more you know the better you can protect against terrorist incidents,” said Steve Whitmore, Baca’s senior media advisor. “The important thing is to try and prevent an attack before it ever occurs, rather than wait and explain why it happened. These trips give useful on-the-job information that can translate to our prevention efforts in L.A. County.”

Citing security concerns, sheriff’s officials refused to give specific dates or the trip itinerary.

The cost of the fact-finding mission is estimated to be between $5,000 and $10,000, Whitmore said.

Baca will pay for his portion of the trip out of his own pocket, and travel costs for the other sheriff’s officials will be picked up by the county, Whitmore said.

This is not the first time Baca has gone abroad for security and anti-terrorism briefings. Last year, Baca met with Israeli government officials and military leaders to discuss how they prepared for and investigated suicide bombings.

John Miller, who heads anti-terrorism efforts for the Los Angeles Police Department but is not able to make the trip, said fact-finding tours are important for local police officials in the post-9/11 era.

“These are all places where they have faced a daunting state of ongoing terrorist attacks,” Miller said. “And the ability to travel to places where they have dealing with it longer and dealing with it up close are all important lessons to bring back.”