Terrorism AwarenessQuestion 200 of 200

When reporting suspicious activity, what civil-rights principle must the security officer observe?

a.Report primarily on the basis of the subject's apparent race, ethnicity or religion, since those characteristics are what the intelligence picture is actually built around in practice
b.Avoid reporting anything at all in order to eliminate every civil-rights risk to the officer personally and to the employing operator, since a report that is never made cannot be challenged
c.Report observable behavior that is reasonably indicative of criminal or terrorism preparation activity; do NOT base reports on race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or other protected characteristics
d.Report only when a supervisor has specifically asked for the information, so that the decision to escalate always rests with somebody more senior than the officer on post

Explanation

28 CFR Part 23 and federal civil-rights statutes (and California's analogues including the Ralph and Bane Acts) require that intelligence collection and reporting be based on reasonable suspicion of criminal activity supported by articulable behavioral facts — NOT on protected characteristics such as race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or political belief. Bias-based reporting violates civil rights and undermines the credibility of legitimate threat reporting. The DHS 'See Something, Say Something' campaign explicitly emphasizes behavior over identity. Officers report what people do, not who people are.

Law Reference: 28 CFR Part 23; federal civil-rights statutes (42 U.S.C. §1981 et seq.)

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