CAlifORNIA'SHARD CORPSFOR THE HARDEST CASES IN AND OUT OF THE U.S. PRISON SYSTEM.

It Although the COCR(California Department of Corrections andRehabilitation) may be the primary recruiting ground for the'elite SSU (Special Service Unit), its members are neither deten-tion specialists nor parole officers. The SSU is all about investi-

gating and apprehending violent offenders, most of whom are graduatesof the COCR'sinstitutions and/or programs.One of the biggest misconceptions, even among 'law enforcement, is

that SSUis a highly specialized parole unit, which they are not. SSUservesas the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation's investi-gative bureau. They are the police agency within the CoCR.CoCR is one ofthe largest agencies in California and navigating around that huge organi-lion can be rather confusing to the outsider.The SSU was formed at the request of the Governor- of California, toablish a liaison between the COCRand other law enforcement agencies.Ith a large percentage of the crime being committed by repeat offenders,U is the compass and liaison that bridges the gap between the world of

·ons and law enforcement agencies, state and federal.As such, SSUcommonly works hand in hand with traditional law enforce-

ment agencies in criminal cases. These agencies include local police depart-ments, sheriff's offices, and the alphabet soup of Federal agencies such

~:m

EliTE POLICE UNIT

as the FBI, BATFE,DEft., ICE and DHS. SSUis a highly specialized state unit and mostof the cases have a nexus to active parol-ees involved in serious criminal activity. Thecases that SSU investigates range anywherefrom homicide and rape to car-jacking, nar-cotics and firearms-related offenses. SSU'sspecialty, however, is criminal cases involv-ing the well organized and sophisticatedprison gangs such as the Aryan Brother-hood, Nuestra Familia, Black Guerilla Family,Northern Structure, and the Mexican Mafia.Even though SSU serves as the law enforce-ment branch for CDCR, SSU agents are notassigned to prisons, nor are they attachedto the Parole Division.

Onion Field BeginningsIt was in 1964 that the SSU was started

after the "Onion Field" killing. Renownedpolice author Joseph Wambaugh wouldlater make the incident famous with hisbook, The Onion Field. This involved themurder and attempted murder of two LosAngeles Police Department officers by twoparolees. After the Onion Field killing, theunit started with six special agents. Com-pared to most police and LEagencies, SSUis relatively young, and today, the elite SSUcurrently has 30 Special Agents supervised .by six Senior Special Agents throughoutthe state of California.The SSU has five offices, which are

located in San Diego, Rancho Cucamonga,Fresno, Rancho Cordova and the Bay Area,that unit operating out of Richmond. TheBay Area SSU is led by Senior Special AgentCharles D. and he has six Special Agents onhis team. His Bay Area SSU agents coverfrom the Oregon border south to VenturaCounty but can work anywhere in the state.The Bay Area SSU's main hubs include SanFrancisco, Oakland, San Jose, Salinas, Rich-mond and Santa Rosa.

I. !

28 TACTICAL WEAPONS· Jan. 2011

Have Colt, Will TravelTo help them in their mission against

these "ex" felons, the primary firearm forSSU agents is the Colt AR-15 outfrtted witha Trijicon ACOG sight system and SureFirelight system. SSU agents are also issued aRemington 870 slide-action shotgun, alsooutfitted with a SureFire light system. SSUagents carry their choice of .40S&W caliberpistols by SIG, Glock, Springfield Armory,Berretta and HK.SSU agents also carry theirchoice of back-up handguns. Since SSU.agents work with many LE agencies, theystay trained in the current and most-issuedmodels of firearms, as well as entry and tac-tical room clearing procedures.Since the inception of SSU more than

four decades ago, the only article publishedon SSU that most SSU agents knew of wasin Corrections Today, in 2001. Since then,SSU has combined with and is one branchof the Office Of Correctional Safety, merg-ing SSU with Intel, FAT(Fugitive Apprehen-sion Teams) and the Crises Response Teams,which is CDCR's version ofS.WAT.

Gangland ExpertsOne thing that has not changed is that

SSU agents are still the go-to experts ongangs. They continue to collect intelligenceon gang leaders, gangs, and radicals withinthe prison system. SSUisthe facilitatorfortheCalifornia Gang Task Force, which provideslaw enforcement agencies with training anda forum for information sharing throughoutCalifornia. SSU agents continually providetraining about the prison gangs to LEagen-cies to help provide insight to gangs both inand outside the prison system. .

30 TACTICAL WEAPONS • Jan. 2011

ELITE POLICE UNIT

Although SSU agents are' assigned toa particular regional office, one high-pri-ority mission that calls for all 24/7-on-callSSUagents to work anywhere in the state,is the investigation of inmates who haveescaped from institutional settings-and,in the interest of public safety, their imme-diate capture! In 1974, BayArea SSUagentsprovided photographs in the kidnapping ofPatty Hearst, the heiress to the Hearst pub-lishing empire. This subsequently led to theidentification of Soledad escapee DonaldDeFreeze and the behind-the-walls originsofthe SLA (Symbionese Liberation Army).Other areas in which SSUprovides assis-

tance include the service of searchwarrants/parole compliance searches, polygraphexams on inmates and parolees, monitor-ing inmate communication in the form of

"SINCE SSU AIENTS WORKWITH MANY LE AIENCIES,THEY STAY TRAINED IN THECURRENT AND MOST~SSUEDMODELS OF FIREARMS, AS WELlAS ENTRY AND TACTICAL ROOMCLEARINI PROCEDURES. "

incoming and outgoing mail and telephonecalls, assisting prisons with drug interdic-tion, facilitating prison interviews, surveil-lance and confidential informant manage-ment. SSUalso conducts threat assessmentinvestigations in which a CDCR employeemay have been threatened by paroleesand/or prison gangs. In the event of seri-ous threats to life, SSUagents will providesecurity for the CDCRemployee while otheragents investigate the source of the threats.

Elite ExperienceWith missions primarily involving felons

and parolees, SSUmust keep current in fire-arms and tactical doctrine. Special AgentChris, a former CRToperator, ensures SSU'sfirearms skills are atthe leading edge. Priorto SSU,Chris had 15 years CRTexperience.He was an HRT (Hostage Rescue Team)·A~pha Squad" team leader and Leader forthe PVSPteam and then served with theEmergency Operations Unit, CDCR's full-time team based in Sacramento. He subse-quently became the Lieutenant in chargeof all 19 teams in California and was respon-sible for oversight and training of morethan 420 operators. Chris has trained withXE [formally Blackwater] in Moyock, NC, aswell as the .LAPD S.WAT., FBI HRT, LASDSEB (Spc. Enforcement Bureau), and Ger-many's GSG-9.He was the OICat the World

S.W.A.T.Challenge in 2005-07 as well as anUrban Shield tactical evaluator-one of thelargest Department of Homeland Security/S.W.A.T.competitions in the U.S.,hosted bythe Alameda County Sheriff's Office.One exception who did come from out-

side the CDCRsystem is SSUSpecial AgentSteve.He brought some 19years ofLE expe-rience with him, having started as a deputysheriff, and working as a cop for 15 years.He worked on the department's gang unit,undercover narcotics detail, and S.W.A.T.,eventually as Inspector responsible forhomicide and gang investigations. He wascross designated as a Federal Task ForceOfficer when he worked a prison gang/guntrafficking casefor some six months.

In S.WAT. he trained with some of thebest tactical operators in the world, toinclude the US. Navy SEALS,the LA CountySD SEBteam and more. With a degree inBusiness and a Master's degree in CriminalJustice, he is currently the lead gang instruc .;tor for the Alameda County Sheriff's OfficeAcademy, bringing a blend of street cop andprison investigator. His background suitshim as part of a unique intelligence system.

SSU's FutureWith California tumbling out of control

into a financial abyss,the state is also on theverge of a realcrisiswithin the criminal justicesystem.One of the issuesthat will inevitablylead LEagencies to seek SSU'sassistance is

Califomia's controversial plan to reduce itsI prison population by releasing thousands ofinmates over the next few years.Facing a fiscal crises coupled with a court

edict to reduce its prison population, Cali-fomia's plan to relieve prison overcrowdingand to savemillions, is to cut short the sen-tences of thousands of inmates, to reducethe prison population. An "early-release"plan gives CDCRofficials the authority toallow any inmate with 12 months or lessonhis sentence to serve the remaining time onhome detention with electronic monitor-ing. CDCRofficials assessinmates to deter-mine who can be deemed low-risk. Thoselow-risk offenders with achievements suchas completing rehabilitation and educationprograms, substance abuse treatment orvocational training, can earn up to six weeksoff on their sentences. Furthermore, thesefelons would not be subject to parole super-vision upon release.This means that formerprisoners convicted of the least-seriouscrimes would not be subject to parole revo-cation that could return them to prison.There is also an early-release plan for

older inmates, to save money on medi-cal expenses. Inmates over 60 or medicallyincapacitated could get home detention orbe confined in a hospital. California is also

".

The·JSSCMK22 the first rifle to incorporate military-style handUng! it a. odern.' sport--e~t performs equally well on the range or.the gr~at outen s. E ippedwith either a 22-shot or lO-shot magazine and folding or fixed st I" • SRMK22performs flawlessly with all types of 22LRammunition and is e ~S' a cur~t~.The MK22 can be aimed either with it's integral folding sights s: aumng'device can attach to the Picatinny rails that come standard a••~·::3S:.ftlM! barrel..\. www.issc-austria.com. www.facebook:c{JinI1SS~ustriif

Jan. 2011 • TACTICAL.. WEAPONS 31

I '

!I

D~----------------

questioning why the state is saddled withthe expense of providing a place for illegalimmigrants to be incarcerated while waitingdeportation. There isa proposal to commutethe sentences and release illegal immigrantfelons to Federal authorities to deportCOCRofficials say it's a gradual release

of low-level offenders rather than a massexodus. LEofficials understand the releasewill be gradual but are frustrated at offend-ers returning to their communities withoutsupervision. Victims and law enforcementgroups are warning that it will increasecrime and are disappointed that publicsafety has been given this risk. This riskyearly release program comes at the sametime budgets are being slashed and policeofficersare getting laidoff.The Bay Area SSU has a long history.

Their recent campaigns include assisting in.the successful investigation and prosecu-tion using the government's feared ham-mer-the RICOstatutes-in cases againstthe MexicanMafiaand the Nuestra Familia.In addition to the Patty Hearst SLAcase,SSU's older cases included investigationsof Charles Manson, the Hell's Angels Out-law Motorcycle Gang, other major prisongangs, as well as the murders of COCROffi-cers, and the illegal smuggling and traffick-ing of narcotics within the California pris-ons. They have established quite a record.

SSU Never RestsThey face modern challenges in the

global war on terror. The Office of Correc-tional Safety has the ClAU(Criminallntelli-

32 TACTICAl.. WEAPONS' Jan. 2011

gence and AnalysisUnit) to deal with thoseissues, but the SSUwill likely be called toassist as California has the largest prisonand parole system in the United States.The large COCRpenal infrastructure pro-

vides ideal recruitment and training centersfor terrorists and extremist and their radi-calization efforts.The alarming discovery ofAnwar al-Awlakimaterials in Federal Bureauof Prisons penitentiaries serves as a wake-up call.Awlakiisan American-Yemeniclericwho has been dubbed the new Osama BinLaden, and has advocated the killing ofAmericans. He is even more dangerous ashe is one of few English-speaking radicalsable to explain to young Muslims in the U.S.and other Western countries the philoso-phy of violent jihad. The increase of "horne-qrown"jihadists and attempted attacks andplots in the United States have developedto advanced stages mainly because ofthese groups' ability to use operatives thathave access and familiaritywithin the U.s.This may be SSU'snew onion field, but

then again, it may be the same onion fieldjust a different bitter harvest. That is whatthe SSU is all about-violent felons. It israre for SSUagents to come from.the out-side since most have gained their experi-ence within the COCRsystem, but they arenot Correctional Officers or Parole Agents.They are the SpecialAgents of the elite Spe-cialService Unit.They are deservedly proudof their history and the important role theyplay in law enforcement. 8