Fusion: Turning Information and Intelligence in to Actionable Knowledge
Because
of the privacy concerns that attach to personally identifiable
information, it is not the intent of fusion centers to combine federal
databases containing personally identifiable information with state,
local, and tribal databases into one system or warehouse. Rather, when
a threat, criminal predicate, or public safety need is identified,
fusion centers will allow information from all sources to be readily
gathered, analyzed, and exchanged, based upon the predicate, by
providing access to a variety of disparate databases that are
maintained and controlled by appropriate local, state, tribal, and
federal representatives at the fusion center. The product of this
exchange will be stored by the entity taking action in accordance with
any applicable fusion center and/or department policy, including state
and federal privacy laws and requirements.
What Is a Fusion Center?
A
fusion center is an effective and efficient mechanism to exchange
information and intelligence, maximize resources, streamline
operations, and improve the ability to fight crime and terrorism by
analyzing data from a variety of sources. In addition, fusion centers
are a conduit for implementing portions of the National Criminal
Intelligence Sharing Plan (hereafter, NCISP or Plan). The NCISP is the
blueprint for law enforcement administrators to follow when enhancing
or building an intelligence function. The Plan contains over 25
recommendations that were vetted by law enforcement officials and
experts from local, state, tribal, and federal agencies. It embraces
intelligence-led policing, community policing, and collaboration and
serves as the foundation for the Fusion Center Guidelines.
A
fusion center is defined as a “collaborative effort of two or more
agencies that provide resources, expertise, and information to the
center with the goal of maximizing their ability to detect, prevent,
investigate, and respond to criminal and terroristactivity.” Among the
primary focuses of fusion centers are the intelligence and fusion
processes, through which information is collected, integrated,
evaluated, analyzed, and disseminated. Nontraditional collectors of
intelligence, such as public safety entities and private sector
organizations, possess important information (e.g., risk assessments
and suspicious activity reports) that can be “fused” with law
enforcement data to provide meaningful information and intelligence
about threats and criminal activity.
These processes support
efforts to anticipate, identify, prevent, monitor, and respond to
criminal activity. Though the foundation of fusion centers is the law
enforcement intelligence component, center leadership should evaluate
their respective jurisdictions to determine what public safety and
private sector entities should participate in the fusion center. To aid
in this assessment, functional categories have been developed, in which
similar entities are grouped. These categories are not comprehensive
but represent a starting point for fusion center leadership to begin
assessing what agencies and organizations should be involved in the
center’s operations.
The functional categories include:
- Agriculture, Food, Water, and the Environment
- Banking and Finance
- Chemical Industry and Hazardous Materials
- Criminal Justice
- Education
- Emergency Services (non-law enforcement)
- Energy
- Government Health and Public Health Services
- Hospitality and Lodging
- Information and Telecommunications
- Military Facilities and Defense Industrial Base
- Postal and Shipping
- Private Security
- Public Works
- Real Estate Retail
- Social Services
- Transportation
Why Should Fusion Centers Be Established?
The
ultimate goal is to provide a mechanism through which government, law
enforcement, public safety, and the private sector can come together
with a common purpose and improve the ability to safeguard our homeland
and prevent criminal activity. It is critical for government to
accomplish more with less. Fusion centers embody the core of
collaboration, and as demands increase and resources decrease, fusion
centers are an effective tool to maximize available resources and build
trusted relationships.