[KYHAM] KEN Training for August 2005: Terrorism and YOU! Part 1

[Ron Dodson]

Terrorism and YOU! Part 1
By Ron Dodson, KA4MAP
Ky Section Emergency Coordinator

Recent events in Great Britain reminded us yet again that the threat of
a terrorist attack is always with us.  While much attention focuses on
the radical cells of Muslim extremists, we must remember too that
terrorism can also be a "home grown" affair.  What does a terrorist look
like?  Are they wild-eyed mad men, or people just like you and me? 

The British police have taken a beating over the shooting of a man they
believed (at the time) to be a fleeing terrorist.  Discounting your
opinion of what should or should not have happened or the number of
shots being excessive or acceptable, one thing should stand clear to us
all in this however...  If the man had not tried to flee and elude those
police authorities, he would very likely have been held a while and
later released after being cleared of any wrong-doing or connection with
a terrorist cell.  

Even your Kentucky SEC who is also a County EMA Director is no
exception!  Recently on a trip into the military base at Fort Knox I was
stopped and had my official EMA issued ID and personal ID taken away for
about 15 minutes while they checked me out.  (Shocking as this may sound
to you, it is quite plausible that someone MIGHT try to get in on a fake
ID!)  I was not terribly upset by this. Yes, I knew I'd be late to the
final day of a training class I had been involved with for 4 days prior.
Granted, I had been in and out of the base on numerous occasions since
Sept. 11, 2001 and no one ever took a second look at the ID's no matter
where I said I was going. That aside, it was just my day to fall under
scrutiny.  No need to be insulted or get upset. When the guard returned
my ID's I thanked him and went to class. My whole point being; if we
want to be safe and secure then we MUST be willing to undergo an
occasional inconvenience or a questioning of our identity by those
trying to give us that security. We, as citizens, must never feel that
we are above the law or above question! 

Then too, as Amateur Radio operators we should be expecting to
(on-occasion) BE STOPPED and BE QUESTIONED about who we are, where we
are going and why we have the equipment that we have with us at the
time! Most of all we should have made prior preparations to be quickly
checked out and vindicated.

In the July 2005 issue of QST magazine a letter in the correspondence
section detailed the misadventures of a ham who was detained, had his
equipment taken from him and was (for a while) looked upon as a possible
terrorist onboard a cruise ship.  This fellow did everything he could to
be prepared to operate while Maritime Mobile, he had all sorts of gear
and battery power packs. He had talked to the travel agents and the
cruise line reservation people weeks before departure.  He did
everything, except - the most important thing - HE FORGOT TO NOTIFY AND
ASK PERMISSION OF THE SHIP'S CAPTAIN and advise him or her of his
intentions and show proof of his FCC license before going into
operation.  I sympathize with this amateur, I really do, but we must
never take for granted the special needs of our hobby.  The same could
be said on an airplane flight or even on your hometown streets! 

Let me ask you... Do you have a valid copy of your amateur radio license
(and any MARS or CAP authorizations) in your vehicle along with a copy
of Kentucky's "Scanner Law" KRS 432.570?
http://www.kyham.net/docs/legal/scanner.pdf

Do you also have a copy of the Federal Pre-emptive Order PR Docket 91-36
http://www.arrl.org/announce/regulatory/pr91-36/pr91-36.html and are
your mobile and handheld equipment compliant with them (ie. Will NOT
transmit outside amateur bands)???

If not, one day you MIGHT have a hard time proving who you are and WHY
you have your radio equipment. It could even be taken away and never
returned as I'll explain in a moment! 

Has that two meter or dual band mobile or HT been MODIFIED to transmit
on frequencies used by local or state police? If so then you risk
someday losing this radio forever with no recourse left to you and
possibly fines and jail time. Even an identification from a fire
department or an EMA will not save you here as amateur radio equipment
does not have FCC type acceptance to be used in the public safety bands.
Yes, I know, many have done it and still do it, but the fact is, it is
not legal to use these radios in those bands.  The KRS 432.570 STATUTE
ONLY PROTECTS AMATEUR RADIOS WHICH RECEIVE OUT OF BAND.  Also be advised
that, KRS 432.570 Subsection(3) reads as follows: 

"It shall be the duty of any and all peace officers to seize and hold
for evidence any and all equipment had or used in violation of the
provisions of this section, and, upon conviction of the person having,
equipping or using such equipment, it shall be the duty of the trial
court to order such equipment or apparatus destroyed, forfeited, or
escheated to the Commonwealth of Kentucky, and said property may be
ordered destroyed, forfeited, or escheated as above provided WITHOUT a
conviction of the person charged with violating this section". 

In short: YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE CONVICTED TO LOSE YOUR RADIO!!!

A lot of these instances of equipment questioning and confiscation could
be avoided or made at least less frequent if we use a little common
sense in our activity.  Avoid monitoring police calls in public
locations or running volume levels fairly high. Some people may like to
be "noticed". You likely will be noticed and that attention may cause
someone to call the police or even BE the police themselves.  We must
all consider just how we would look to a police officer or an FBI agent
who does not know us if we are found in any questionable scenario. If
stopped and questioned, be polite and show them your license(s) for your
equipment.  Be prepared to have your radio turned on and off and have
the channels flipped through. (You also may not realize that a search
warrant is no longer required for a complete search incidental to a
vehicle traffic stop.) Be ready to answer questions and if you have
police, fire, EMS or EMA ID's, show those as well, but don't get upset
if it takes a few minutes to get these verified. Above all else, never
act suspicious or try to run! (As soon as you do, the officer is on
guard and will react.) If you have done nothing wrong and you have your
ID and radio authorizations and your gear is compliant with the law, you
should have no real problem.  A little preparation now can go a long way
to keeping you out of trouble minus a small inconvenience and loss of
time.  As a friend reminded me recently, "Remember the 7 "P's": Proper
prior preparation prevents pitifully poor performance.  Good advice in
ANY situation.  Until next month, 73.