Law Enforcement Intelligence

The Emergency Management and Response—Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC) learned that the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recently released the Second Edition of “Law Enforcement Intelligence: A Guide for State, Local, and Tribal Law Enforcement Agencies.” (PDF, 5.3 Mb) “This Guide of nearly 500 pages serves as a road map to understanding criminal intelligence and its related methodology, standards, processes, management, and resources,” stated the former director of the DOJ Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS). “It will reflect the most current issues and initiatives related to law enforcement intelligence at the state, local, and tribal levels.”

After reviewing the Executive Summary, the EMR-ISAC noted the second edition of the Guide captures the vast changes that have occurred in the four years since the first edition was published in 2004. Emphasis has been placed on cooperation and information sharing among local, state, tribal, and federal agencies.

Hard copies may be ordered from the DOJ COPS Response Center by calling 800-421-6770

As for the sense that fusion centers are outside state and local responsibility, that could stem from a perception that fusion centers are a federal creation and amount to an unfunded mandate for state and local government to perform a national security role. While there is a clear state and local commitment to delivering public security and homeland security services within their own jurisdictions and to their publics, I think state and local governments do not feel they have an obligation or the wherewithal to support national/domestic security. Hence,,, “Oh, that’s a federal job”. This is a complicated subject and circumstances and attitudes vary widely across the country. I hope these remarks are not too disjointed and make some sense.

That may be it. It is the simplest explanation. But the reason I pose the question is a nagging sense that something else is afoot. The question is authentic. I don’t have strong evidence for what, if anything, is going on sub-rosa. But to start down a potentially dangerous road to that dissertation… Sometimes I have a feeling that an “after-glow” of the Cold War is that if the threat is a tad exotic and especially if it has a foreign dimension (in your words, it is not “traditional and well understood”) then ipso facto it is a federal job. As you may have noticed, I am a strong proponent in the Tenth Amendment. But I often perceive it can be the States themselves which most seriously undermine their role in the federal compact. And I keep trying to figure out why they are so persistently self-deprecating… even self-destructive.

Is the assumption “that’s a federal job” or is it “that’s a federal priority?”

Not having written than dissertation, I would guess (as you put it, with a few important exceptions) that it is the latter. Almost every state has a legal requirement to balance their budgets, so every dollar put toward a fusion center is one taken from anti-gang activities, new cruisers, etc. So if the return on investment is either not there or not made clear, most jurisdictions would probably rather put limited funds toward traditional and well understood budget lines.

Again, just a guess.

In my — rather limited — work with fusion centers, I find the local and regional leadership (within a state) being very sure of their ability to manage intelligence assets to maximize both local and national benefits. They resist federal control for reasons that relate to both practicality and pride, but seem to welcome collaboration with federal agencies and personnel. These same local and regional leaders perceive that “it will be a cold day in hell,” when their local and state political leaders would even talk about matching federal dollars for fusion centers. Part of this is certainly competition for local and state tax dollars. But there also seems to be a sense that anything as “sophisticated” as a fusion center is fundamentally a federal responsibility. I hope this description resonates, if not it will take a dissertation to explain. If it resonates, do you have any judgment as to why fusion centers would be seen as mostly falling outside a state’s or city’s public safety/emergency management responsibility? There are, as you say above, certainly exceptions, such as NYC, LA, and even Las Vegas, but by-in-large the assumption by political leaders is, “Oh, that’s a federal job.”

I have engaged with state and local fusion centers from their beginning, initially as the Director of DoD’s Joint Intelligence Task Force for Combating Terrorism and later as a consultant, influencing fusion center development and direction to a degree. The emergence model and subsequent evolution of fusion centers is accurate.

As for funding, the high risk practice of depending on federal grants as a source of sustainment dollars is common. No fusion centers I know of are identified as official line item programs in state, local or departmental budgets. I am sure there are exceptions, but I believe most fusion centers are departmentally sponsored activities with no official standing or programmatically documented manpower and operating costs. Aside from sponsor and partner departments’ contributions in-kind of personnel, infrastructure support and floor space, federal grants are often the only source of dollars for investment in analysts, training and capabilities development. This means that many fusion centers are more or less informal entities with unstable funding and high dependency on in-kind support. Would fusion centers benefit from official chartered standing as a unit of government? On balance, I think so. Would it cost state and local governments more than the current arrangement? Yes. Would state and local chartered, funded and governed fusion centers, supplemented by discretionary-use grant dollars, be more capable and relevant? In the cases I know of, yes.

I disagree with the federal executive who asserts that fusion centers are not different one from another, nor should they be. In reality, they are decidedly very different in terms of their capabilities and the value they add to public safety and homeland security. I agree that standardization is warranted with respect to establishing a baseline of capability for servicing national security requirements. But, one size does not fit all and other fusion center capabilities and functions should be tailored and responsive to local requirements.

The fusion center directors sense that it’s time to get out of dodge is understandable. Fusion centers just can’t effectively perform the terrorism prevention mission under current conditions. From my perspective, the fusion center terrorism prevention mission is pretty much being forced into the position of a secondary or tertiary priority. Many centers have gravitated almost exclusively to a traditional crimes focus.

Muddled DHS and FBI mandates contribute to a confusing federal, state and local terrorism prevention relationship. More worrisome is that many of the FBI’s JTTFs have become competitors with fusion centers’ terrorism prevention missions. The FBI’s requirement that all fusion center findings with a potential nexus to terrorism be remanded to the JTTF for investigation is a disincentive for fusion centers putting energy into terrorism information gathering and analysis. Too often there is no feedback from JTTFs on fusion center contributed terrorism reporting and it is rare that fusion center personnel are given insight to JTTF investigations. Fusion center access to federally classified information systems is still a mixed picture and in any event, information in classified systems is not necessarily tailored and relevant to calculating threats inside the United States (to its credit, DHS has made commendable progress in intelligence sharing relevant to state and local users). Where competition and one way information exchange conditions exist, collaboration and cooperation with both the FBI and DHS suffers and fusion centers tend to shift their priority and resources to local crime issues.

I believe in the fusion center concept, and I am convinced fusion centers could add a great deal more value to national, state and local public safety and homeland security. Tough times tend to clarify and focus thinking. Maybe now is the time to take a deep breath and re-think what is really expected and needed from fusion centers, what we are willing to pay for them and how, and whether DHS and, particularly the FBI, are serious about equitable domestic security partnerships.

If it were not for the commitment in diligence by the DHS, NSA and other security and technologically-savvy folks understandingthe importance of cyber-security down to our brave troop warrior in the field, we would be evn further vulnerable for imminent attack though it is seemingly Australian and European locations which seem a target for the next attack from reading numerous reports.

As far as State government, from a recent personal experience with these individuals and folks like the illustrious and supposed “icon Mr. Kennedy from Massachusetts who feels he has the right to use undue influence and request the change to existing laws at his whim and the interests of his Democratic party despite the law, in my case being enlightened by the real harm, the punishment without due process of the law State lawmakers can inflict on good citizen at their whim without question to the integrity of adopting statute causing undue harm, placing one in jeopardy at its whim, please do not expect too much from State officials or their coffers for the monies have been for the most part ill spent and for the most part, they could not understand the far reaching merits of your passion in professional commitmnet in work nor do woudl they want to understand the essence of the importance of your work and the fusion centers and the invaluable contribution afforded….for any such monies would deprive them of monies they need to sustain their position of arrogance and elitist demanor forgetting that it is the now the ever becoming angry citizen who sees government and its far reaching imposition which will mean term limits and far less empowerment though I believe hope for any such optimistic and responsible destiny waning as the clock ticks with increasing defict….

Thank you for such informative discussion by such enlightened individuals herein as it is refreshing to know there are individuals who are truly interested in our survival for as a beloved Republic with foundation of ethics and principles, the deficit continues to sprial “out of control” – factual unemployment at 16% or greater only to worsen and we have lawmakers blatently using empowerment to punish good citizens contrary to pledge in oath to uphold the US and local State Consitutions.

So to those of you who commit daily at DHS HQ and in the field as well as so many agencies and the DOD, thank you, thank you for your service….however, be very weary.

As ever expanding government is intentionally stripping us naked of our basic Rights here on Main Street USA, be assured that the only confidence we have that the “Brutes of Tehran” and others who seek our demise will not target us for their next shock and awe is because of you who 24×7 genuine care about our well being.

I have witnessed by this personal matter dealing with Massachusetts State bureaucrats in a tax related issue and that they are not only contrary to the oath, the pledge to upholding the Rights of Citizen as expressed as a prerequiste to our country, but we as good citizens cannot place our trust in government and those we have “entrusted” be precious vote to be the servants of the people, but rather master of arrogant, self agenda and indeed even enacting State law to place an individual such as me who has always placed fellow citizens before me…well, thank God that we have pople like you who strive to fulfill the responsibilities afforded to protect our great nation and its most charitable people.

Thank you.

I reiterate, pls do not rely on State government coffer to sustain your necessary work for we here on Main Street USA are being impoverished by increased fees, taxes and no signs in revitalization of local economies as people lose their jobs, their homes and families. In my case, I have become indigent as a result of my Civil and Human Rights being taken from me without due process of the law, hearing and statute which bears no relation whatsoever to “suspend” my license to drive, to be able to earn a living and when I ask the Massachusetts Sstate Legislature, the MA/DOR and RMV, “If someone truly owes you monies and is not in Appeal such as me or even stating I am contesting any income tax assessment, they simply owe income tax as thousands are in fact owing sucdh taxes..why would you “suspend” one’s license as how are they expected to add to the State coffer?” The reply, “Mr.Tingus, we are the deparyment of Revenue,we have been empowered to do so by statute and we will suspend your license to operate a motor vehicle for despite your POA faxed with Philp Dardeno, a former long time DOR official who we have much esteem for in his professional ethics and discipline, nnow retired and many of us worked for and despite, Mr. Tingus we acknowlwdge receipt of properly filed abatements in response to add’ls tax asssessment imposed upon you, it will take up to three week to ‘post’ and during this time your license ill be suspended on 8/3.” My reply, ” If one gave you a check, how long would that post?” – yes, reader, you guessed it..”Mr. Tingus, the next day!” However Ms. MA/DOR Collection Supervisor, “While I am aghast that any person’s Right to oeprate a motor vehicle is ‘suspended’ for anything other than motor vehicle related matter and that an income tax matter especially if someone owes the State coffer monies is ‘suspended’ as there are thousands listed who owe monies and surely you have ‘suspended’ each one these licenses by such abusive empowerment, you acknowledge receipt of properly filed POA and abatement today 7/31 on or before a general post letter I just received stating that unless I am in ‘contest’ of such MA/DOR assessment, on 8/3 my Right to operate a motor vegicle will be ‘suspendeded’ and the MA/DOR collections representative in Springfield stated, “we are the MA/DOR and we have so ordered by empowerment of the State Legislature the ‘suspension’ of your Rights to drive.”

If you do not think readers that I am out seeking the best Civil Rights legal team and recourse for thousands of fellow citizens, it is you at the fusion center I worry about as well for this unreliable political mentality that so pervades those we “elect” by precious vote should leave you, too worrisome for State government whether in california or in Massachusetts is in dire circumstance.

State deficits will only grow due to the incompetence for the most part of those WE elect without holding accountable for their lack of discipline, actions with obvious lack of transparency…We even witnessed US$750 Billion in stimulus monies handed to Hank Paulson et al and no one seems to now where the monies were intentionally earmarked or does the good citizen have good idea, but is intimidated to ask… p

In my case, as one example of numerous abusive treatment of good citizen though an excellent example of why the local State governments you look to for competence is not the recommended way to assure that your good work continues and all must turn to the beltway with prayer that someone’s head your knocking on understands the invaluable service your depict in your daily discipline for in stripping me without my mode of transportation this 19th day with no ability to earn a living, to be able to drive to the grocery store to buy food for sustenence, to be able to drive to the drug store for meds, socially isolated, with every Civil Rights, Human Rights stripped of me and now finding thousands of others with less Rights than those on the streets of Iraq…you who look to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and other State governments and leadership, be weary for it is apparent that the lack of ethics, the intentional tactics in intimidation with malicious attempt to abuse, to punish is the consciousness of the State bureaucrat…is this not true Governor Duval Patrick for you and the State Legislature and its agencies, the MA/DOR and RMV is allowing the addition of Section 23 of Chapyer 182 of the Acts of 2008 pursuant to Section 47B of Chapter 62C stripping one of his /her basic Rights to survive here on the street of Main Street Boston USA with the same you seek to understand the importance of “fusion centers” allowing anyone with a tax related issue to have such absurdity in State law enacted and empowering its agencies to “suspending” my license as a good citizen of the Commonwealth and obviously willing to stand atll for the principles of our beloved firefathers and our great Nation…

….numerous questions are provoked by such blatent theft of my Civil Rights, my Human Rights such as how many citizens are subjected to such unlawful treatement give the US and Massachusetts Constitution and I remind you – who are so wonderfully diciplined in your labor and to the very principles laid down by our forefathers to assure protection and “dignity” for each citizen and to protect our nation from the very foes that lurk among us within our open borders, we enjoin you to continue to work in genuine interest for us here on Main Street Boston and anywhere USA, however soon I will not have access to cable and to my ability to reach to you in forewarning you that you may expect far too much from the folks at the State House with golden dome as they will soon realize that the gold of Paul Revere shining ever so brightly can be substituted by asphalt shingle….

…. and the monies from such depiction in the obvious lack of ethical behavior towards citizen, the monies in deficit-ridden State coffers will be continued to be emptied without transparency and it is you I am concerned about as your work must be funded and I caution you to stop looking to the State for the mentality is so narrow that unless both sides of the Federal Congressional aisle are sought out to fund you…your days and our days are numbered as this my 19th day of intentional punishment now places my mortgage payment in jeopardy for the first time having never been late, however with no access to my Right – not priviledge – the necessity as stated by Federal mandate in a bankruptcy proceeding where one is afforded one’s “mode of transportation” and his /her home for security, the same folks you are expecting understanding and financial support from in your respective discipline, have willingly and knowingly stripped me of my basic Rights to earning a living where my automobile is necessary, placed my physical and emotional well being in jeopardy for I cannot drive to pick up meds and food, etc.

Pls seek Federal responsible lawmakers and keepers of our national coffers and the principles of our forefathers to fund your work for it is not I that will continue to be jeopardized and may evene perish as I remain with anxiet and uncertainy with less Rights than a convicted felon in Massachusetts State Prison, but you more importantly for your work is from my perspective of National Security relevance and on that basis, seek both sides of the aisle to help sustain you for you must not be so jeopardized!

God Bless you! God Bless America!

Thank you to Mr. Cumming for you are so invaluable to our nation with so much experienced knowledge and intellect, to David Gomez, Arnold Bogis, J, Chris and to so many that work 24×7 in diligent commitment with heartfelt national pride to thwart those who seek to use sword to place in peril our nation and our fellow good citizens…

Again, thank you.

Christopher Tingus
64 Whidah Drive
Harwich, MA 02645 USA
chris.tingus@gmail.com
http://www.bigdiglifevest.com
aka Mr. & Mrs. Citizen Joe

cut our .mhe,

That said, I agree with his points about sustainability funding.

The federal executive is vague–which is probably indicative of continuing confusion at the federal level about the focus of fusion centers. If local and state authorities are to support them in the long term, they will obviously have to pay repeated dividends on investment to those jurisdictions. This means at least a local law enforcement focus, and probably an all hazards one. The contribution to “national security” will come only intermittently since (thankfully) there are not terrorist sleeper cells in every state or region of the country and not a continuous terrorist threat everywhere. The argument shortly after 9/11 was that while NYC or DC or other large urban area were the likely targets, the planning and other related activities could take place far away from those centers (or that a strike in the “heartland” would really terrorize Americans).

Fortunately, while still threatened by future terrorist attacks, we do not currently have an environment like Israel or India or the UK during the Troubles. This points to the Fusion Center Director’s confusion:

“You know a lot of folks have forgotten about the catastrophe and consequences of 9/11. And it’s really not driving budgets right now. I still believe in fusion centers but there’s more happening on the criminal side. I see the really cool things we are doing with mashing information and data. I just don’t see it happening to the degree, to the level it should be happening with [the terrorist] threats. It is making me very nervous.”

While the catastrophe and consequences of 9/11 should not be forgotten, there is no reason to believe the threat of terrorism is going to drive local and state budgets everywhere. The reason he doesn’t see the same degree of “mashing” of terrorist information as on the criminal size is because the levels of activity (criminal vs. terrorist) are not in the same ballpark.

And to be clear, I support fusion centers (as all hazard entities), believe there will be another terrorist attack, and that it could certainly involve something much larger than 9/11.