Prevention

Your assistance is critical to aiding law enforcement and public safety officials who are working to keep Illinios, your local community and our whole country safe.

The following are items that will be useful to Fusion Center investigators when you call or e-mail to report suspicious activity.

Always remember that your safety comes first. Never attempt to make contact with, pursue or in any other way interfere with an individual or group of individuals whom you think are acting suspiciously. Call 9-1-1 immediately to report suspicious activity in progress.

When observing suspicious activity, please try to note the following information and make that information available to the 9-1-1 operator or Fusion Center representative taking the report:

• Whether a single individual or a group of individuals is engaged in the activity. If a group, then how many individuals are in the group; is the individual or group in a vehicle or standing in the open?

Description of Suspicious Activities:

• Surveillance - Recording or monitoring activities. May include the use of cameras, note-taking, drawing diagrams or maps.
• Tests of Security - Attempts to measure reaction times to security, penetrate physical security barriers, monitor procedures, assess security.
• Supply Acquisition - Purchasing or stealing explosives, weapons, ammo, etc. May include acquiring uniforms, decals, flight manuals, passes, badges.
• Elicitation - Attempting to gain information about operations, infrastructure, or people by mail, email, phone, or in person.
• Rehearsal - Putting people in position and moving them around according to their plan without actually committing the terrorist act.
• Deployment - People and supplies getting into position to commit the act. This is the person's last chance to alert authorities before the terrorist act occurs.
• Suspicious Person Out of Place - People who don't seem to belong in the workplace, neighborhood, or in a particular building or area.
• Funding - Suspicious transactions involving large cash payments, deposits, or withdrawals are common signs of terrorist funding.
• Breach/Attempted Intrusion - Unauthorized personnel attempting to enter or actually entering a restricted area or protected site. Impersonation of authorized personnel (e.g. police, security, janitor).
• Misrepresentation - Presenting false or misusing insignia, documents, and/or identification to misrepresent one's affiliation to cover possible illicit activity.
• Theft/Loss/Diversion - Stealing or diverting something associated with a facility/infrastructure (e.g. badges, uniforms, identification, emergency vehicles, technology, or documents which are proprietary to the facility).
• Sabotage/Tampering/Vandalism - Damaging, manipulating, or defacing part of a facility/infrastructure or protected site.
• Cyberattack - Compromising or attempting to compromise or disrupt an organization's information technology infrastructure.
• Expressed or Implied Threat - Communicating a spoken or written threat to damage or compromise a facility/infrastructure.
• Aviation Activity - Operation of an aircraft in a manner that reasonably may be interpreted as suspicious or posing a threat to people or property. May or may not be in violation on Federal Aviation Regulations.

1. Surveillance
   Someone recording or monitoring activities. This may include the use of cameras (either still or video), note taking, drawing diagrams, annotating on maps, or using binoculars or other vision-enhancing devices.
   
2. Elicitation
   People or organizations attempting to gain information about military operations, capabilities, or people. Elicitation attempts may be made by mail, fax, telephone, or in person.
   
3. Tests of Security
   Any attempts to measure reaction times to security breaches or to penetrate physical security barriers or procedures in order to assess strengths and weaknesses.
   
4. Acquiring Supplies
   Purchasing or stealing explosives, weapons, ammunition, etc. Also includes acquiring military uniforms, decals, flight manuals, passes or badges (or the equipment to manufacture such items) or any other controlled items.
   
5. Suspicious Persons Out of Place
   People who don't seem to belong in the workplace, neighborhood, business establishment, or anywhere else. Includes suspicious border crossings and stowaways aboard ship or people jumping ship into port.
   
6. Dry Run/Trial Run
   Putting people into position and moving them according to their plan without actually committing the terrorist act. This is especially true when planning a kidnapping, but it can also pertain to bombings. An element of this activity could also include mapping out routes and determining the timing of traffic lights and flow.
   
7. Deploying Assets
   People and supplies getting into position to commit the act. This is a person's last chance to alert authorities before the terrorist act occurs.
   
8. Funding
   Suspicious transactions involving large payments, deposits or withdrawals are common signs of terrorist funding. Collections for donations, the solicitation for money and criminal activity are also warning signs.
   

If you see suspicious activity, call the Illinois Intelligence Operations Center at 877-ILL-STIC (877-455-7842) at any time.

The ISP Intelligence Command was established in 2009 to support ISP’s commitment to public safety through information sharing and intelligence-led policing. The Intelligence Command is comprised of the Statewide Terrorism and Intelligence Center (STIC), the Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF), the Intelligence Support Unit (ISU), and the Digital Crimes Unit (DCU).

The STIC seeks to improve information sharing with and between public safety officials. As a member of the National Network of Fusion centers, STIC personnel have the ability to quickly obtain and share information with partners regarding national trends and critical incidents. The Center’s all-crimes and all-hazards approach has led to the development of public safety outreach programs, benefitting the lives of the citizens of Illinois.

The JTTF is a statewide unit within the Intelligence Command, within which ISP attaches Special Agents to FBI Chicago and Springfield offices. Members of the JTTF partner with the FBI, as well as local, state, and other federal law enforcement personnel, to investigate both international and domestic terrorism incidents and individuals.

• Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships
• Evidence Based Research
• Grant Funding Opportunities
• IEMA-OHS Strategic Plan
• Illinois State Police - Statewide Terrorism and Intelligence Center (STIC)
• Information Sharing Platforms
• See Something. Say Something campaign
• Training Opportunities