REGIONAL SECURITY OFFICE - State

1 UNITED states DEPARTMENT OF State . BUREAU OF DIPLOMATIC SECURITY . REGIONAL . SECURITY . OFFICE . INTRODUCTION. The Bureau of Diplomatic SECURITY (DS) Diplomatic SECURITY conducts criminal investigations of passport and visa fraud; protects secretaries of State and is the SECURITY and law enforcement arm official representatives of foreign governments while in the of the Department of State . DS dates United states ; secures information systems; and safeguards back to 1916 with the appointment of a diplomatic facilities throughout the world. single Chief Special Agent who reported Operating from a worldwide platform in more than 175. directly to the Secretary of State countries, Diplomatic SECURITY is a world leader in international on special matters. Today, Diplomatic investigations, threat analysis, cyber SECURITY , dignitary SECURITY is a global force of 40,000 protection, SECURITY technology, counterterrorism, and more.

2 Professionals dedicated to ensuring that the United states can conduct foreign Top: Watch officers monitor information in the DS Command Center at policy safely and securely. DS headquarters in Rosslyn, Virginia, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, providing critical information to leadership and coordinating urgent requests for support from REGIONAL SECURITY Offices abroad. An Assistant REGIONAL SECURITY Officer directs participants during a simulated non-combatant evacuation operation at Embassy Muscat, Oman. The REGIONAL SECURITY OFFICE : tt Protects diplomatic facilities, personnel, and information. tt Serves as the embassy's law enforcement liaison to the host nation. tt Arranges training for foreign police and SECURITY officers to combat terrorism. tt Advises Americans about safety and SECURITY abroad and assists schools and organizations in obtaining SECURITY grants. tt Shares SECURITY information with the 2 3.

3 Private sector through the Overseas SECURITY Advisory Council. Law Enforcement and SECURITY Services Facilities, Personnel, and Diplomatic SECURITY is represented throughout the world Information Protection by Diplomatic SECURITY Service (DSS) special agents and diplomatic facilities overseas can be targets of other SECURITY professionals assigned to REGIONAL SECURITY terrorists and other criminals. To mitigate threats, the Offices in every embassy and in most consulates. REGIONAL SECURITY OFFICE develops, implements, and manages a range of physical, cyber, and personnel The REGIONAL SECURITY OFFICE provides a range of services SECURITY programs. For example, in 2011, during the to citizens, the private sector, domestic law dangerous and unstable conditions of Arab Spring enforcement, and foreign law enforcement organizations. transition events and, in 2013, during the attack on the Each OFFICE is managed by the senior DSS special agent Consulate in Herat, the DSS special agents and who also serves as the Ambassador's principal personnel assigned to the REGIONAL SECURITY OFFICE law enforcement and SECURITY advisor.

4 When assigned to played an integral role in the defense, protection, a REGIONAL SECURITY OFFICE , DSS special agents assume the and where necessary the safe evacuation of title REGIONAL SECURITY Officer (RSO). diplomatic personnel. Diplomatic SECURITY REGIONAL SECURITY OFFICE Marine SECURITY Guards REGIONAL SECURITY Officers direct Marine SECURITY Guards (MSGs) who help to secure most embassies and consulates. Marine SECURITY Guards buttress safety of diplomatic personnel, as well as support the physical protection of classified information. During some crises, they help evacuate Americans living in the region. Local Guards REGIONAL SECURITY Offices also lead and manage more than 35,000 local guards, a worldwide force that serves as the first line of defense and secures the perimeters of diplomatic facilities. Local guards, usually citizens of Visa and Passport Fraud the host nation, patrol the grounds and inspect vehicles, Travel document fraud represents a serious and 4 visitors, and packages.

5 They also respond to alarms and 5. growing threat to the SECURITY of all nations. Criminals requests for assistance. who obtain a fraudulent travel document often use it to commit crimes such as terrorism, financial fraud, Law Enforcement Liaison narcotics trafficking, alien smuggling, and identity theft. As the State Department's primary point of contact with Fugitives often seek to change their identities and travel law enforcement and SECURITY agencies of the host nation, internationally as part of their criminal activities. the REGIONAL SECURITY OFFICE works with foreign police and SECURITY organizations to coordinate law enforcement DS REGIONAL SECURITY OFFICE agents conduct international initiatives, investigations, and, in some cases, training. document fraud investigations. Working with foreign law enforcement agencies, REGIONAL SECURITY Offices In addition to DSS special agents, REGIONAL SECURITY investigate and coordinate hundreds of international Offices are staffed by expert host-nation citizen visa and passport fraud cases each year.

6 Cases include investigators, known as Foreign Service National- allegations of corruption by American and locally Investigators (FSNIs). FSNIs maintain strong relationships employed staff, fraudulent document vendors, bribery, with host nation law enforcement organizations and alien smuggling, and trafficking of visas. provide assistance regarding fugitive apprehensions, counterterrorism, and transnational crime cases. Diplomatic SECURITY REGIONAL SECURITY OFFICE 6 A DSS special agent (right) serves as a field liaison 7. officer during the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Two DSS special agents, one with a night vision device, Major International Events watch from a balcony at the Kenyatta International Conference Center in Nairobi, Kenya, during the 6th Diplomatic SECURITY is the lead law enforcement Global Entrepreneurship Summit. organization working with foreign law enforcement and SECURITY agencies to protect American citizens and interests at major public events overseas, such as international trade expos and sports competitions.

7 For example, Diplomatic SECURITY personnel have worked with their foreign counterparts to coordinate protection at the World Cup, the Pan American Games, the Cricket World Cup, and all overseas Olympic Games since 1984. Diplomatic SECURITY REGIONAL SECURITY OFFICE Training for DS Personnel and International Law Enforcement Partner Nations Academy Many REGIONAL SECURITY OFFICE personnel who live and Each year hundreds of police officers from member work in hostile environments overseas now undergo countries are invited to participate in training at the special training that includes a basic high-threat International Law Enforcement Academies in Bangkok, operations course for DSS special agents. The training Budapest, Gaborone, and San Salvador. includes how to deal with complex attacks against protective details and diplomatic facilities including in These programs offer mid-level civilian police high-stress scenarios at a simulated consulate.

8 Officers courses on management skills and a variety of other specialized classes. Core programs are conducted Diplomatic SECURITY 's Antiterrorism Assistance (ATA) by Diplomatic SECURITY and other federal law program builds the counterterrorist capacity of America's enforcement agencies. partner nations by enhancing the skills and abilities of their civilian law enforcement personnel. ATA programs are tailored to meet the needs of the host country by Members of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police's ATA-trained 8 developing courses and providing training on topics Counterterrorism and Transnational Crime Unit leave the 9. premises of a five-story building in Dhaka, Bangladesh, where such as bomb detection and disposal, crime scene officers killed nine terrorist suspects and captured another in a investigation, VIP protection, and cyber SECURITY . gun battle. (AP/Wide World Photos). Participants in the ATA program have used their new skills to deter and prevent terrorist attacks, rescue hostages, dismantle terrorist cells, and apprehend terrorist operatives and leaders.

9 Since its inception in 1983, the program has trained and assisted more than 140,000 foreign SECURITY and law enforcement personnel from more than 150 countries. Diplomatic SECURITY REGIONAL SECURITY OFFICE Rewards for Justice Program Diplomatic SECURITY administers the Rewards for Justice (RFJ) program, a key weapon in the war on terror. Through this program, the Secretary of State may offer substantial rewards for information that leads to the arrest or conviction of anyone who plans, commits, or attempts international terrorist acts against persons or property;. that prevents such acts from occurring in the first place;. Two DSS special agents escort a fugitive through Los Angeles that leads to the location of a key terrorist leader; or that International Airport upon his return to the United states . disrupts terrorism financing. Since the program began in 1984, the United states has paid more than $125 million to at least 80 persons who Transnational Crimes provided information that put terrorists behind bars or The REGIONAL SECURITY OFFICE works with its law prevented terrorist acts against Americans around the enforcement counterparts abroad to pursue investigative 10 world.

10 11. leads on fugitives wanted for crimes such as homicide, pedophilia, narcotics trafficking, parental Some of the Rewards for Justice program's notable success kidnapping, financial and Internet fraud. stories include the DSS assisted arrest of international terrorist Ramzi Yousef, convicted for the 1993 bombing of The close working relationships between DSS special the World Trade Center, and developing a source who was agents and their foreign counterparts combined with ultimately able to provide the location of Saddam Hussein's the expertise of locally hired investigators have resulted sons, Uday and Qusay Hussein. All were located with in locating fugitives worldwide. These fugitives are information provided by RFJ sources. The identities of RFJ. often found to have continued their criminal activities in sources and the information they provide are kept strictly their newly adopted countries.