NEW YORK — LAPD Chief William J. Bratton revealed plans Thursday to create a national anti-terrorism academy in Los Angeles where law enforcement officers from around the country could learn to identify threats and prevent attacks.
"There is no place like that for local law enforcement agencies," Bratton said in an interview after speaking at a conference attended by 300 law enforcement experts.
The conference was sponsored by the conservative Manhattan Institute's Center for Policing Terrorism. Institute officials agreed Thursday to help flesh out the academy proposal starting next week.
"It's a wonderful idea," said Tim Connors, the center's director. "There isn't any formal way to capture what we have learned and pass it on to police officers."
The academy proposal came as law enforcement leaders including U.S. Atty. Gen. Alberto R. Gonzales warned that the threat of homegrown terrorism not directly linked to Al Qaeda is rising and that local police must play a larger role in preventing attacks.
Meeting near the site of the World Trade Center, Bratton and chiefs from across the country called on the federal government to do more to help local agencies improve their ability to identify and prevent terror plots.
The Manhattan Institute has been working with the Los Angeles Police Department for more than a year to develop a model anti-terrorism program that can be used by other law enforcement agencies, Bratton said.
A training academy could begin with 15 to 20 big-city law enforcement agencies that have already formed an alliance to share anti-terror data, said Deputy Chief Mark Leap, head of the LAPD's anti-terror program.
Bratton said he would like to develop the academy over the next five years with help from experts brought in by the LAPD using existing seed money. Federal grants and other non-city money could then be sought for academy operations.
Bratton also announced plans to use $10 million from the federal Homeland Security Department to create a computer database that would allow the dozens of law enforcement agencies in Los Angeles County to share intelligence on potential terror plots.
"It really enforces the idea of getting the bastards before they get you," said Bratton.
Also speaking at the conference were law enforcement executives from the FBI and agencies in Miami, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Providence, R.I., as well as Sandra Hutchens, division chief of Los Angeles County's Office of Homeland Security.
