On August 27, ISP Director Stephen Slick delivered keynote remarks at the Threat Liaison Officer (TLO) Conference organized by the Austin Regional Intelligence Center (ARIC).
The regional TLO network comprises law enforcement officers and private sector security managers in Central Texas who are trained to complete and file Suspicious Activity Reports of prescribed “indicators and behaviors” potentially linked to criminal or terror-related activity. Slick provided an overview of US efforts to combat the threat posed by foreign terror organizations, the recent rise of small-scale attacks by individuals radicalized on social media by the Islamic State, and the need to respect the privacy rights and civil liberties of Americans while seeking to detect and disrupt planned attacks. During a Q&A session, the participating TLOs discussed with the ISP Director the longterm viability of al Qa’ida, cultural and religious influences on terrorism, state-sponsored terror and cyber threats, as well as Iranian nuclear diplomacy.