Baca Meets With White House Officials On 'Violent Extremism' Strategies
LOS ANGELES (CBS) — The top cop in Los Angeles County was in the nation's capitol on Wednesday to meet with Obama administration officials on strategies on how to fight what they call "violent extremism" in the U.S.
Sheriff Lee Baca was among 35 top law enforcement officials who met with administration officials including Attorney General Eric Holder and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano.
The meeting was aimed at providing feedback from the local level on the the government's latest efforts to counter violent extremism with its newly-released "Strategic Implementation Plan for Empowering Local Partners to Prevent Violent Extremism in the United States."
The briefings included information about possible warning signs about terrorist activity and about what type of activities are protected by the U.S. Constitution.
Baca urged federal officials to allocate at least $5 billion from the American Jobs Act to allow state and local governments to hire 40,000 new law enforcement officers.
"State, county and municipal governments play a critical role in community preparedness and the necessary ongoing improvements to public safety," Baca said. "What we need is the appropriate funding to ensure a successful effort."
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