Rationale03/20/97
THE EMERGENCE AND
EMPLOYMENT OF STRATEGIC ULTRAVIOLENCE IN THE MANAGEMENT OF
CRIMINAL ENTERPRISE
By: James P.
Denney and Donald Lee
Los Angeles City Fire Department
Following the 1992 Los Angeles Civil Disturbance, we began the development of a manual intended to heighten the awareness of emergency service workers regarding gangs, violence and tactical response. Material for the manual was provided by local and national law enforcement agencies, for which we thank them. We have maintained an interest in these issues since then and have spoken publicly on their impact on emergency service providers. The manual has enjoyed relative success within the framework of the Fire and Emergency Medical Services community.
We have recently noted a disturbing phenomenon that, following analysis, has resulted in the identification of a new threat to emergency service providers within the culture of criminal violence. We have termed the phenomenon "strategic ultra-violence".
Definition: For the purpose of this paper, strategic ultra-violence is defined as the predetermined use of maximum violence in order to achieve criminal goals, regardless of victim cooperation, level of environmental threat to the perpetrator, or the need to evade law enforcement or capture, that results in physical and emotional injury or death to the victim(s).
Rationale
The strategy of ultra-violence is also the rationale for it's use: predatory control of the immediate criminal environment through the creation of chaos and the infliction of terror, trauma and death on presenting targets of opportunity.
It appears that the criminal culture has adopted terrorist tactics as a method of ensuring short term environmental control and a successful outcome to criminal activity.
Strategic ultra-violence is not intended to fit in the socially acceptable definition of rational violence, nor can it be associated with senseless acts of violence. Strategic ultra-violence differs from senseless violence in that it has a specific purpose and is a component of criminal enterprise, whether for political purposes or personal gain, and the purpose may include the achievement of the act itself, or compelled law enforcement assisted suicide.
Strategic ultra-violence is not victim precipitated and may be initiated at the onset of criminal activity, at any point during the activity, or following conclusion of the activity and is inclusive of all targets within range without regard to age, gender or ethnicity.
Incidence
Since 1992, we have noted a steady increase in the use of strategic ultra-violence during the commission of crimes, even though there has been a concurrent drop in the overall violent crime rate according to the Department of Justice. However, today a single violent crime may involve one or several perpetrators and may result in several, if not hundreds of victims.
The most common expression of strategic ultra-violence is the utilization of indiscriminent explosive devices, designed for maximum impact, placed in high volume public areas where broad patterns of injury can be achieved. Other examples include the employment of increased fire power through the utilization of fully automatic, NATO grade, military style weaponry. Recent examples of strategic ultra-violence include:
* The Oklahoma City bombing
* The fragmentation device employed at the 1996 Olympic Games
* Clinic bombings in Atlanta (which were accompanied by secondary
devices that targeted responding public safety agencies)
* The Empire State Building shooting in New York
* The botched bank robbery/shoot-out in Los Angeles
* The bank shootings in Detroit
Public Safety Concerns
The implication is clear, public safety risk managers must reassess current response strategies. Consideration must be given to existing vulnerability and the attendant consequences associated with exposure to acts of strategic ultra-violence. Managers must develop exposure reduction methodologies that include the use of ballistic garments, police escorts during tactical operations and an awareness of potential secondary anti-personnel devices at the scene of bombings and incorporate them into their tactical operation plans.
A separate but equal concern is the significant volume of resources committed to incidents involving strategic ultra-violence that may result in a short term reduction in the level of community protection.
Media Concerns
Consideration must also be given to the impact of a convergent press corps on these incidents, many of whom arrive before adequate public safety resources are on scene. In most cases, critical resources are diverted from public safety duties in order to control access to potentially hazardous environments by the press corps.
In regions of media concentration, such as large metropolitan areas, air space utilization by an airborne press corps may present a risk multiplier to ground resources. Therefore, the application of tactical air space restrictions should be considered as a precautionary measure until the environment is stabilized.
The news media may inadvertently broadcasts tactical and strategic information to the viewing public, in real-time. This has the potential of placing responding personnel at a distinct disadvantage while increasing the threat to public safety providers, particularly to law enforcement personnel, who may be attempting rescue or evacuation operations for civilians, extraction's of trapped personnel, or assaults on the perpetrators.
(ERRI Editorial Comment: Permission was granted by the authors for us to publish this manuscript in its presented format. It is copyrighted by the authors and/or their agency and should not be reproduced without permission of the authors. It is also a working hypothesis that the authors are still exploring. They would welcome comments, questions, or suggestions regarding this theory. Feel free to forward your comments directly to JCHV72A@prodigy.com or reply to us here at ERRI and we will forward your comments to the authors. Please reference that you saw it on the ERRI website. -- C. L. Staten, Exec. Dir., ERRI)