Colorado State Patrol

One of the organizations that sponsor these trainings is the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). The ADL is a non-profit that works to combat anti-Semitism and advocate for Israel. In this context, the ADL runs a National Counter-Terrorism Seminar that has sent hundreds of top ranking officials to Israel to learn about combatting terror since 2003. That same year the ADL established an Advanced Training School that brings delegations of Israeli law enforcement to speak to American law enforcement officials, involving over 1,000 U.S. participants since the program began.

The State Patrol of Colorado is among the departments that have sent delegates to Israel. The Colorado State Patrol has sent at least 2 officials to train in Israel. James M. Wolfinbarger served as Chief of the Colorado State Patrol between 2009 and 2013. Scott Hernandez served as Chief of the Colorado State Patrol between 2013 and 2017. Chief James M. Wolfinbarger attended a training in Israel in 2009 with the ADL as a delegate of the NCTS. Chief Scott Hernandez attended an NCTS training in Israel with the ADL in 2015.

Chief Scott Hernandez’s training includes briefings by senior commanders in the Israeli police, military, intelligence and other security units. Chief Wolfinbarger’s training includes meetings with Israeli Brigadier Generals, police commanders and local government leaders, with visits to Israeli army command centers and holy sites. James Wolfinbarger is now in the private security sector, working as a Real-Time Crime Center (RTCC) Solutions Consultant at ŽMotorola Solutions, which supports command centers and fusion centers with technology and predictive policing. According to the ACLU, fusion centers can employ officials from federal, state and local law enforcement and homeland security agencies, as well as other state and local government entities, the federal intelligence community, the military and even private companies, to spy on Americans in virtually complete secrecy.

One of the private companies that transfer technology to police departments is the Israel-based Cellebrite. Cellebrite is a “mobile forensics” firm that manufactures data extraction, transfer and analysis devices for cellular phones and mobile devices for law enforcement, military and intelligence, and corporate customers.

Colorado State Patrol is one of the departments that uses Israeli private-sector technology. Colorado State Patrol spent $26,216 to crack into phones using Israeli tech firm Cellebrite, according to public record requests by Motherboard. California Highway Patrol uses Cellebrite’s technology to bypass phone passwords and security mechanisms to retrieve call logs, text messages, and in some cases even deleted data.

The way information moves in Israel is much more fluid than it is here. They have a remarkable exchange of information between all levels of government and private industry… [T]hat’s something we can build on here.” ~ Chief Wolfinbarger on the advanced collaboration between the Israeli private industry and Israeli government in “counter-terrorism” and how the ADL helped them start thinking about how to apply these techniques in their local police departments.

This trip forges ˜forever relationships… [that] range from friendships to opportunities to discuss and share ideas on what we want to change in our particular work settings. ~ Chief Scott Hernandez