Newark, NJ – The head of the FBI in New Jersey said Wednesday that some of the covert operations by the New York Police Department�s intelligence division have damaged the public�s trust in New Jersey law enforcement, though he emphasized that his agency has an overall good working relationship with the NYPD.

The Special Agent in Charge of the FBI�s Newark Division, Michael Ward, said two NYPD investigators had been assigned to the New Jersey-based Joint Terrorism Task Force for years and operated under clear guidelines and engaged in regular interagency briefings.

Ward told reporters that he was aware that officers from the NYPD�s intelligence division were also working in the state, adding that it was a fact known to most New Jersey law enforcement officials who work on counterterrorism issues. But Ward emphasized that although he met with NYPD intelligence officials on a bimonthly basis, he wasn�t briefed on the extent of the NYPD�s operations outside the task force.

�The key point is we don�t have awareness of everything that NYPD intelligence does in New Jersey. We have meetings with them, we get together with them almost twice a month in which we share information, but we don�t have insight into what they are doing. They bring information forward that they think is worthy of sharing and we�re kind of at the mercy of what they decide to tell us and when they decide to tell us.�

Ward said he learned about some of their activities through a series of reports by The Associated Press detailing the police department�s secret surveillance of mosques, Muslim-owned businesses and college campuses across the Northeast. He said it was those types of activities that risk undermining a key aspect of law enforcement: the ability to enlist the trust and cooperation of the public.

�What we�re seeing now with the uproar that�s occurring in New Jersey, is that we�re starting to see cooperation pulled back,� Ward said. �People are concerned that they�re being followed, they�re concerned that they can�t trust law enforcement and it�s having a negative impact. When people pull back cooperation it creates additional risks, it creates blind spots, it hinders our ability to have our finger on the pulse of what�s going on around the state, and thus, it causes problems and makes the job of the Joint Terrorism Task Force much, much harder.�
Muslim leaders in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and elsewhere have requested investigations into the NYPD�s activities.

(Source: ABC News)