COUNTERTERRORISM WORK KEEPS LOCAL FBI OFFICE BUSY.

Byline: BETH BARRETT Staff Writer

Crew members notice something suspicious on a routine flight to Los Angeles International Airport.

A string of blasting caps is found in the water off an Orange County pier.

A tipster says a suicide bomber may be targeting a Hollywood landmark.

Hundreds of such leads with terrorist overtones are vetted each month by the Federal Bureau of Investigation's threat squad, the region's first line of defense against a terrorist attack.

In one of the most complex anti-terrorism systems in the nation, the FBI's Los Angeles office -- in conjunction with dozens of local law enforcement partners -- is charged with protecting 18 million residents in seven counties, from San Luis Obispo to Orange.

And it has become one of the country's busiest FBI field offices.

``It's almost unquantifiable, the difference between pre- and post-9- 11,'' said J. Stephen Tidwell, FBI assistant director in charge in Los Angeles. ``It's a massive workload.''

With Los Angeles considered a potential terrorist target -- several high-profile plots have been discovered in the five years since 9-11 -- the tension is immense as agents try to stay one step ahead of would-be attackers.

And, increasingly, homegrown ``self-radicalized'' terrorists inspired by al-Qaida or other groups are a concern.

``What we fear is what we don't know ... sleeper cells or individuals who are well-schooled, trained and financed,'' Tidwell said. ``We try to stay ahead of a threat that's morphing, mutating and evolving every day.''

Why hasn't there been an attack in Los Angeles -- or the United States -- since 9-11?

``I don't know,'' he said.

Still, FBI officials have been flooded with calls from the public about potentially suspicious behavior.

The sheer volume of calls -- coupled with post-9-11 criticism of the FBI's stinginess with intelligence -- has led the agency to share its counterterrorism role with law enforcement agencies throughout the region.

If a threat squad determines a tip might be valid, it is turned over for investigation to one of four Joint Terrorism Task Force units in the region -- including one based in the San Fernando Valley that handles cases to the north of the city.

Created with the Los Angeles Police Department during the 1984 Olympics, the units include members of the Los Angeles County's Sheriff's Department.

FBI officials are tight-lipped about details of the cases, but said many are reports of people taking photos near buildings or other potentially important facilities.

Under a national directive, every report has to be checked by threat squad members who try to determine whether the case points to any potential terrorists.

If a threat is confirmed, alerts are issued to law enforcement chiefs throughout the region via a network of telephones, computers and BlackBerrys.

Key to the effort is the FBI's Los Angeles Field Intelligence Group. Created in 2003 with several hundred analysts, it is one of 56 groups around the nation -- the bulk assigned to counterterrorism efforts.

Analysts provide global and national intelligence information to field agents who, in turn, report back with information on suspects or cases. That information is then fed back into the national intelligence network, said Malcolm Palmore, supervisory special agent overseeing the field intelligence group in Los Angeles.

Increasingly, the FBI and other agencies are working cooperatively. The newly opened Joint Regional Intelligence Center in Norwalk houses field group members, along with analysts from the LAPD, Sheriff's Department, Department of Homeland Security and other law enforcement agencies.

``Any piece of information that we're going to have, they're going to have access to at some level, and vice versa,'' Palmore said. ``It's not like we're in competition with one another. We each have different pieces of the intelligence puzzle.''

John Miller, the former Los Angeles anti-terrorism czar who now is assistant FBI director in Washington, D.C., said the JRIC is a significant step in improving intelligence analysis because of the sharing of information.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca -- whose department is a key JRIC partner -- said the cooperation was catalyzed by the events of 9-11.

``After that, we were vigorously reading into what the issues were concerning our performance as a nation concerning homeland security and the threat of a terrorist attack,'' Baca said.

Los Angeles police Chief William Bratton, who has led staffing efforts at the JRIC, said the goal at all levels is prevention -- and the sharing of federal, local and state information is key.

``This is a new game ... You have to move more quickly.''

beth.barrett(at)dailynews.com

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CALL THE FBI

Anyone with information about potential acts of terrorism is asked to call the Federal Bureau of Investigation, [phone].

CAPTION(S):

photo, 2 boxes

Photo:

(color) J. Stephen Tidwell, atop the Federal Building in Westwood on Friday, says the workload at the FBI is up since 9-11.

Andy Holzman/Staff Photographer

Box:

(1) L.A.'s counterterrorism efforts

SOURCE: Daily News research

(2) CALL THE FBI (see text)