Instead, he said, the state was paying the Philadelphia-based Institute on Terrorism Research and Response for little more than a compilation of planned public demonstrations by activist groups, including antiwar, environmental, and animal-rights advocates.
"In my experience, the PA [Criminal Intelligence Center] is well-equipped to do this work, to do this analysis," said King, now a partner at Ballard Spahr. "They're trained. They understand the law. They understand people's rights. They understand what is credible."
King added, "For $103,000 a year, you could hire at least one if not two full-time analysts to operate out of the state police criminal intelligence center with, I believe, better quality control."
State police officials could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
The state Office of Homeland Security's $103,000 contract with the Institute of Terrorism Research and Response came under intense scrutiny this week after details came to light about the kind of activity it was tracking: much of it peaceful demonstrations by legitimate activist groups.
In a statement Wednesday, the group's codirector, Mike Perelman, wrote that the institute's mission "is to identify and analyze information that can be leveraged to prevent injury, loss of life, and destruction of property."
"At times," Perelman continued, "that means providing guidance on the potential for deadly actions. At other times, it means providing security personnel guidance regarding staff requirements for crowd control. . . . The [institute] is proud to provide this level of research and analysis to our many clients."
