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Countering transnational crime: Unmanned aerial systems collection casey cota

Dissertation Chair: Dr. David lowery

Subject Matter Expert: dr. Shanon farmer

Academic reader: DR. Sharon kimmel

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Introduction

Integration of unmanned aerial platforms into the Homeland Security Enterprise (HSE)

Combating Mexico based transnational criminal organizations (DEA, 2018)

Risks to U.S. Citizens:

Privacy

Flight Safety

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UAS: economical option for extended options – minimize human footprint, extended hours, cover long distances

HSE is made up of many different agencies from Fed to local/tribal level

Expanded use of UAS comes with risks: privacy, flight safety, potential for misuse

MX based TCOs are becoming even more dangerous; illicit drugs brought into US is effecting millions across the nation

UAS can provide locational info on targets, comms info, FMV

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Problem Statement

The problem addressed in this study is the evolution of UASs, which historically were an asset primarily used by the U.S. Air Force and other national Intelligence Community agencies to a system that is now being used by civilian law enforcement agencies

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Problem addressed is the integration of UAS, which historically have been used to meet military objectives, to now, a system being used by LEA

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Purpose Statement

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the use of UAS platforms and their associated sensors in the U.S. NAS to detect, track, and intercept illicit fentanyl trafficking coming into the United States from Mexico

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The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the use of UAS platforms and their associated sensors in the U.S. NAS to detect, track, and intercept illicit fentanyl trafficking coming into the United States from Mexico

This researcher sought to determine if DHS and DoD policies protect U.S. citizens’ privacy rights that have been jeopardized because technology capabilities have surpassed U.S. legislation

Additionally, identified avenues from which UASs may increase the DHS's ability to reduce the amount of fentanyl illegally brought into the United States

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Theoretical/Conceptual Framework

Regulations, sensor capabilities, and stakeholders

The Art Lykke Strategic Model

Servant leadership and Maslow’s Motivational Needs Theory

Theory of Behavior

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The framework selected for this research considered four of the major topics: regulations, sensor capabilities, stakeholders, and HSE leadership in a view that evaluates their role by addressing the phenomena created from the expansion of UAS technology as a part of the ISR paradigm within the HSE and NAS. T

The research encompassed multiple models to cover each major topic to provide a single story on how to incorporate a powerful capability to the entire HSE by empowering and guiding employees and operations to address a growing information gap.

The Art Lykke Strategic Model (2018) provides a strategic concept which states strategy equals objectives toward which one strives, including courses of action and instruments by which an end can be achieved

Servant leadership in conjunction with Maslow’s Motivational Needs Theory (1943) and the Theory of Behavior construct provided a path for connecting a leadership approach to meeting individual needs, and how acquiring those needs can tailor an individual’s behavior.

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Nature of the Study

Qualitative exploratory case study of the use of UAS platforms in the U.S. NAS

Exploratory case study ideal for researching public administration (McNabb 2008)

Data Collection: interviews, field notes from direct observation, and documents

Data Analysis: familiarization, thematic framework, mapping, and interpretation.

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effort was a qualitative exploratory case study that provides a detailed description of the use of UAS platforms and their associated sensors in the U.S. NAS

Exploratory case studies are one of the ideal methods in researching public administration because this approach can garner information with high validity while organizing and interpreting the data in a broader context. McNabb (2008) stated the most common approach when conducting a case study that focuses on public administration includes personal interviews with key leaders, participant observation, and analysis of internal and external documents related to the issue being studied

Data analysis focused on text-based material from the interviews, field notes from direct observation, documents, and archived records to provide a holistic picture of the entire case. The analytical process looked to detect, define, categorize, and explore the information focused on developing a new strategy in UAS utilization.

There are five stages involved in analyzing the data: familiarization, identifying a thematic framework, indexing, charting, and mapping, and interpretation.

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Research Questions

Q1. In what manner are DHS and DoD ethical policies incorporated into the utilization of UASs within the U.S. NAS during peacetime CD/CTOC missions to protect U.S. citizens’ privacy rights?

Q2. How are legal oversight mechanisms integrated into CTOC UAS mission planning and operations that are conducted along the United States and Mexico Border to protect manned aircraft?

Q3. To what extent do UASs effect the DHS's ability to counter illicit fentanyl trafficking across the southern border from Mexico into the United States?

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HSE >- Border Security >- TCOs >- Synthetic Illicit Drugs

UAVs >- Risk: Flight safety; Privacy vs. Value

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Contemporary issues regarding border security:

Synthetic drug trafficking

Communication technology

Assumed privacy rights

Regulation of UASs

Risks introduced due to UAS use

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SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

This research effort was significant as it addresses several contemporary issues regarding border security, synthetic drug trafficking, communication technology, assumed privacy rights, and the gap in legislation regulating the use of UASs and the potential risk increase to manned aircraft operating in the NAS and to assumed privacy by U.S. citizens.

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Definition of Terms

Analytic Production Steward

Discovery

Homeland Security Enterprise

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Analytic Production Steward. An appropriately cleared employee of an IC element, who is a senior official, designated by the head of that IC element to represent the analytic activity that the IC element is authorized by law or executive order to conduct, and to make determinations regarding the dissemination to or the retrieval by authorized IC personnel of analysis produced by that activity (ICD 501, 2009).

Discovery. The act of obtaining knowledge of the existence, but not necessarily the content, of information collected or analysis produced by any IC element. Discovery is not defined or intended to be interpreted as discovery under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, or other individual state discovery rules regarding a non-privileged matter that is relevant to any party’s claim or defense (ICD 501, 2009).

Homeland Security Enterprise. The HSE encompasses entities from federal, state, local, tribal, territorial, nongovernment organizations, and the private sector (Kahan, 2015), which collectively are responsible for homeland defense.

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Review of the Literature

Advanced airborne collection technology

Risks

Border security

National emergency: TCOs operating in Mexico

Servant leadership framework

Homeland Security

Over thirty theories connected

Potential for grand theory

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Review provided a comprehensive look at available works addressing the use of advanced airborne collection technology as it applies to the homeland security field and the effect of this technology on the privacy rights of U.S. citizens.

The HSE use of UASs for domestic border security encompasses several major topic areas relating to border security: mission stakeholders and leaders, UASs, radiofrequency collection, and communication behavior. This review starts with a significant border security-related issue that many security professionals have deemed is a national emergency: TCOs operating in Mexico that is responsible for much of the illicit synthetic drugs that are smuggled into the United States.

This literature review extensively covered scholarly work within the Homeland Security arena with a specific focus on essential topics that link UAS collection capabilities to America’s domestic security operations. The examined works reveal several prevalent themes and arguments ranging from access to and the employment of advanced technology by LEAs across all levels of government, grey areas in governmental regulations, contemporary legislation of these technologies, growing TCO threat to the United States, and societal changes in communication behavior

This research effort considered how a servant leadership framework as a means of mitigating employee concerns and boosting employee confidence that information provided by UAS sensors is done so in a legal and secure manner

The Homeland Security Academic Field of Study has not grown to a point where individual theories specific to the discipline are ideal than those of the disciplines that already exist covering relevant issues. More than thirty distinct theories are connected to the Homeland Security domain from other professions. Considerable debate on if the field should have a grand theory or be broken into a collection of connecting theories. Some argue if a theory is even necessary (Bellavita, 2012). How American’s perceive Homeland Security is still developing. President Trump’s approach to Homeland Security has also introduced new factors to consider in the security paradigm. The President has initiated a multi-billion-dollar wall that challenges the deterrence theory.

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Research Methodology and Design

Qualitative exploratory case study: use of UAS in the U.S. NAS

Case study approach provides context of the problem (Yin, 2009)

The qualitative research offers a social reality

Qualitative research studies a phenomenon (Castellan, 2010)

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The research method used for this effort is a qualitative exploratory case study that provided a detailed description of the use of UAS platforms and their associated sensors in the U.S. NAS when their use has surpassed the scope of U.S. regulations. This research method was selected because it is ideal in discovering how individuals implement UASs into the HSE. This method is also well suited to address the challenges DHS intelligence analysts, and mission planners must contend with by using UAS technology and their perceptions of this growing capability (McNamara, 1998). Yin (2009) proposed the use of a case study approach to address the research questions would provide a means of understanding the context of the problem, a means of understanding and addressing it. Using a case study as the research design is ideal for several reasons.

The qualitative research is a comprehensive method that offers a social reality that can be constructed in a localized situation and the individual perspective of that reality. Qualitative research studies a phenomenon to understand the issue by conducting a case study fully. The phenomena being researched are grounded in human behavior and government policy. The qualitative approach provides a better mechanism for understanding human behavior by constructing meaning and describing the meaning (Castellan, 2010). The research method employed focused on addressing a specific case.

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Population and Sample

Phase I: general HSE population

Phase II: Border Security

West Texas/New Mexico Corridor

UAS mission planners and analysts

Agents

Inspectors

Purposive sample

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The population of interest for this study were individuals who are members of the HSE. The first phase of the research focused on the general HSE population that lives in or are assigned in one of the southern states: California, Arizonian, New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Each of these states has a specific investment in border security between the United States and Mexico, be it maritime or land environment. These areas are also the most likely to be affected by UAS special collection capabilities for CTOC operations. The HSE population includes 22 different federal agencies as well as all levels of State and local LEAs and several tribal LEAs. The second phase of research drilled down deeper in the targeted population to gain information from certain professions and expertise within the HSE community that deal with border security.

An example of this population segment is personnel assigned to JTF-N within the Intelligence Directorate, CBP personnel, DEA agents assigned as liaisons to JTF-N for mission integration and information sharing, etc. This targeted element of the population consists of UAS mission planners, intelligence analysts, agents, and inspectors who work within one of the five corridors either along the southwestern border, the U.S. Virgin Islands, or Puerto Rico.

The participants were selected on a volunteer basis as well as on their professional expertise and position responsibilities. Specifically, those that are involved in tasking UAS sensors in the NAS, personnel in the field, or those involved in analyzing, utilizing, or reporting on the collected data from the UAS platform.

A purposive sample procedure was used because purposive sampling allows selection bias, which is needed to gain access to the experts as well, ensuring they fall into the parameters of the population. The IC and DHS employ thousands of analysts, but there is relatively few that deal with the specifications of the case study. To gain valuable results, the researcher interviewed specific IC analysts employed by JTF-N that focus on CTOC, UASs, and are responsible for security along the southwest border. The interview questions fall under intelligence oversight compliance, an annual certification program that members of the IC must pass in order to access classified government computer systems. Yin (2014) identified six sources of data collection, and that a minimum of at least two must be utilized in a case study design: (a) interviews, (b) documents, (c) archival records, (d) direct observations, (e) participant-observation, and (f) physical artifacts.

The proposed purposive sample was used for the second phase of the study to collect data from 25 to 30 intelligence personnel or border security experts who are employed by JTF-N, HSI intelligence personnel, CBP, or BP and located at JTF-N Headquarters or EPIC located on Fort Bliss, or CBP headquarters in El Paso, Texas.

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Material/Instrumentation

Researcher is the primary instrument (Maxwell, 2013; Van Manen, 2014)

JTF-N J2 Director& EPIC Director to distribute solicitation letter via email

Inclusion questionnaire criteria:

(1) West Texas/New Mexico Sector

(2) employed by DoD, HSI, or DEA

(3) information operations

(4) data collection

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Qualitative study, the researcher is the primary instrument supports the use of tools to collect data (Maxwell, 2013; Van Manen, 2014). Following approval by the Northcentral University, Institutional Review Board (IRB), the researcher contacted the JTF-N J2 Director and requested him to distribute an approved solicitation letter via email to all active members of JTF-N’s Joint Intelligence Support Element (JISE). To assure potential participants met the stated criteria for inclusion, the researcher requested each respondent to the solicitation letter complete a Northcentral University IRB approved informed consent form and am inclusion questionnaire that had the four inclusion criteria: (1) assigned West Texas/New Mexico Sector, (2) employed by JTF-N or HSI or one of its predecessor agencies, (3) has received some form of information operations training and certification, and (4) familiar with the current utilization of UAS platforms within their sector. The researcher had the selected participants who meet the purposive selection criteria sign and return the informed consent and completed the inclusion questionnaire.

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Study Procedures

Approval from the Northcentral University IRB

Research effort did not use nor study human subjects.

Physical and electronic data secured (Northcentral University, 2015)

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The proposed study research did not begin until approval from the Northcentral University IRB was received. The research effort did not use nor study human subjects. While there was be human participants supporting the study, they do not fall under the definition provided by the Department of Health and Human Safety and Food and Drug Administration. To meet IRB requirements, physical and electronic data will be secured to protect the identity information of individuals collected in the datasets (Northcentral University, 2015). To mitigate the risk of any confidentiality compromise, all research materials were stored in an encrypted drive, and printed documents will be stored in a sensitive compartmented information facility for no longer than twenty-four months following the completion of the research.

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Data Collection and Analysis

Data sources: (a) interviews, (b) documents, (c) archival records, (d) direct observations (Yin, 2009)

The population work within DHS West Texas and New Mexico Sector.

Interviewed 28 individuals that have experienced the phenomenon (Creswell, 2018)

tasked to prevent drug trafficking

Coding process for analysis

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There are several means of collecting qualitative data. Yin (2009) identified six sources of evidence, of which at least two must be utilized in a case study design: (a) interviews, (b) documents, (c) archival records, (d) direct observations, (e) participant-observation, and (f) physical artifacts. This study used a blend of the interview, DHS documents and archival records, and direct observations if allowed. This research was achieved by reviewing HSE documents, conducting interviews with individuals located either at Joint Task Force-North Fort Bliss, Texas, DHS HSI West Texas/New Mexico Region, or Customs and Border Protection OFO Sector El Paso. The population of the study is made up of intelligence analysts who work within or support the EPIC, who is responsible for the DHS West Texas and New Mexico Sector. The EPIC specializes in border security, CTOC, and counterterrorism and includes analysts and agents from DHS, DOJ, DoD, and multiple states and local LEAs. A purposeful sampling method was used to solicit volunteers from the defined population.

The ideal amount to be interviewed is approximately 25 or more individuals that have experienced the phenomenon to gain an accurate representation of the issue (Creswell, 2018). The phenomenon of study are individuals tasked to prevent drug trafficking from Mexico and have access to UAS derived information. Phase one of data collection started with an e-survey to be distributed to members in the HSE community that reside in the aforementioned region to gain insight into the population’s knowledge of current UAS operations, activities, feelings on the use of UASs as a part of U.S. border security as well as feedback on what is going right or wrong with their utilization. The data collected focused on which element of the population would be appropriate to conduct interviews. The initial version of questions is derived from JTF-N’s Information Operations site survey questions that relate to DoD handling, dissemination, and storage of USPER data. Analysis of data from phase one of the research tailored additional interview questions that address privacy, department ethical expectations, and UAS ISR missions.

Tesch introduces eight steps in the coding process.1) Get a sense of the holistic situation, read all information in detail, and track ideas as they emerge.2) Select the most interesting document and conduct an extensive analysis of it by asking a series of questions to determine the entire purpose of the work. 3) Next, create a list of topics to serve as codes while linking similar topics together. Form these topics into separate columns. 4) Use the list to organize the collected data. Develop codes for the columns, and use those codes to mark important information from the data, developing a scheme to see if additional categories emerge. 5) Describe the topics in detail and turn them into distinct categories and show interrelationships. 6) Finalize the abbreviations for each category and alphabetize them.7) Assemble the information belonging into each category and start an initial analysis of the data.8) Recode information as necessary (Creswell, 2018).

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Assumptions, Limitations, and Delimitations

Assumptions

personnel qualified and willing

interested in protecting citizens and CTOC

environment for honesty and openness (Barnham, 2015)

purposive sampling represented population (Sue & Ritter, 2012)

Limitations

Accessing experts required access

Sensitive and/or classified information

Delimitations

Selected HSE professionals within two southwest-border states

purposely selecting 25 to 30 key HSE personnel to participate

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The first assumption was that the JTF-N and HSI intelligence personnel have the necessary qualifications, chain of command approval, and a wiliness to speak to the specific research topics being sought. Gerring (2007) stated that the population sample needed to specific and justified. Thus, the expertise and qualifications of the participants were considered prior to the data collection process to ensure their familiarity aligns with the subject matter of the case study. The second assumption was that the interview participants are equally interested in protecting the rights of U.S. citizens and CTOC. A third assumption was by using questions in an online asynchronous survey format and adhering to the Institutional Review Board’s guidance on confidentiality and anonymity provided an environment for honesty and openness (Barnham, 2015; Dietrich & Ehrlenspiel, 2010). The final assumption in this study was that by utilizing purposive sampling to select participants, an adequate representation of the population would be met (Sue & Ritter, 2012; Yin, 2009).

Accessing the required experts depended on the willingness of the DHS, and DoD to grant access to their personnel. Also, the topic could fall into the realm of sensitive and/or classified information, limiting the information that can be shared and available documents. There are several means of addressing these two limitations. Researcher reached out directly to site chiefs at DHS fusion centers to see if they were willing to support the research effort. I have the necessary clearances to gain access to the facilities and provided them the parameters of the research effort and a copy of the interview questions. No classified information was collected nor used at any point. I also consulted a classification advisory official prior to publishing and releasing the information. Access to unclassified unpublished documents can be requested through the freedom of information act (FOIA). The DHS has an FOIA guide to help requesters tailor their submission to ensure that the data they desire is included in the request

The design of the research utilized intentional controls by choosing members of the HSE within two southwest-border states. This control ensured that the response requirements of interviewed personnel fell under a single DHS corridor and dual-state statutory requirements. Another intentional control was purposely selecting 25 to 30 key HSE personnel to participate in the research study. This control assured that the individuals chosen for the research study have a working knowledge of the mission, statutory, and operational requirements of the corridor. Personnel selected from different ranks and positions at JTF-N limited bias in the responses to the qualitative questionnaire. By limiting the number of research participants to 25 to 30 key HSE personnel, the researcher-maintained accountability of the participants throughout the research process.

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Conclusion

Thank you for your attention.

Are there any questions?

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References

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