More on the group behind the crackdowns on "Occupy"
December 22, 2011 4:12 PM   Subscribe

The Police Executive Research Forum began in the seventies as a CIA project to infiltrate big city police departments. The CIA admitted as much in 1973. In those days PERF cops sold themselves as the flower children reformers of policing a la Frank Serpico; then in the eighties they discovered Bill Bratton and the "fixing broken windows" (i.e. "arresting all the squeegee men") theory of policing. With September 11 came the inevitable training programs in Israel and office suite in the American Bankers Association building.

One of PERF's architects died last week but his son still works there; another made headlines in the UK a few years ago for giving an admirably candid drunk interview after losing his lucrative gig "fixing" the London Tube. (He got to keep most of the lucre.)

But PERF is usually at its best spinning the press. If you can think of a local law enforcement official with a "TV personality" who got his job following a "rigorous talent search" and was greeted upon arrival by a suspiciously fawning press, chances are he's a member.
posted by evabraunstein (3 comments total)

This post was deleted for the following reason: This is weirdly axe grindy. I know it's a topic close to your heart, but it's really not okay here as a post an MeFi and it looks a lot like an excuse to publish your article as a first comment which is not really spirit of the law ok. -- jessamyn



 
I wrote this about PERF but didn't link in observance of the rules. (Sorry MeFi, I tried a couple times in vain to post in Projects.)
posted by evabraunstein at 4:15 PM on December 22, 2011


The CIA admitted as much in 1973.

The CIA has broken your link!
posted by Jahaza at 4:20 PM on December 22, 2011 [4 favorites]


Gah!!!
posted by evabraunstein at 4:22 PM on December 22, 2011


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