Homeland Security Federal Efforts Are Helping To Address Some Challenges Faced By State And Local Fusion Centers

Following 9/11, state and local gov¿ts. formed fusion centers, collaborative efforts to detect, prevent, investigate, and respond to criminal or terrorist activity. Recognizing that the centers are a critical mechanism for sharing info., the fed. gov¿t. -- incl. the Dept. of Homeland Security, Dept. of Justice, and the Program Manager for the Info. Sharing Environ. -- is taking steps to partner with fusion centers. This testimony focuses on: (1) the characteristics of fusion centers as of 9/07; and (2) fed. efforts to help alleviate challenges centers identified. This report is based on an 10/07 report on 58 fusion centers and related fed. efforts to support them as well as updated info. obtained by reviewing plans describing selected fed. efforts. Includes recommend. Illus.

In general, a fusion center is a collaborative effort to detect, prevent, investigate, and respond to criminal and terrorist activity. Recognizing that fusion centers are a mechanism for information sharing, the fed. gov¿t. -- including the Dept. of Homeland Security, the Dept. of Justice, and the Program Manager for the Information Sharing Environment, which has primary responsibility for governmentwide information sharing and is located in the Office of the Dir. of Nat. Intelligence -- is taking steps to partner with fusion centers. This report examines: (1) the status and characteristics of fusion centers; and (2) to what extent fed. efforts help alleviate challenges that the centers identified. Includes recommendations. Illustrations.

Why GAO Did This Study. Following the September 11 terrorist attacks, state and local governments formed fusion centers, collaborative efforts to detect, prevent, investigate, and respond to criminal or terrorist activity. Recognizing that the centers are a critical mechanism for sharing information, the federal government including the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Department of Justice (DOJ), and the Program Manager for the Information Sharing Environment (PM-ISE), which has primary responsibility for government wide information sharing is taking steps to partner with fusion centers. This testimony focuses on (1) the characteristics of fusion centers as of September 2007 and (2) federal efforts to help alleviate challenges centers identified. This testimony is based on GAO's October 2007 report on 58 fusion centers and related federal efforts to support them as well as updated information GAO obtained in March 2008 by reviewing plans describing selected federal efforts and attending the second annual national fusion center conference. What GAO Recommends. While this testimony contains no new recommendations, GAO has recommended that the federal government define and articulate its long-term fusion center role and whether it expects to provide resources to help ensure their sustainability. PM-ISE agreed with the recommendation and is in the process of implementing it.

Homeland Security: Federal Efforts Are Helping to Address Some Challenges Faced by State and Local Fusion Centers

This is a print on demand edition of a hard to find publication. Recent terrorist activity, such as the attempted Times Square bombing, underscores the need for terrorism-related information sharing. Since 2001, all 50 states and some local governments have established fusion centers, where homeland security, terrorism, and other intelligence information is shared. The fed. gov¿t. recognizes the importance of fusion centers; however, as reported in October 2007, centers face challenges in sustaining their operations. This report assesses the extent to which: (1) the Dept. of Homeland Security (DHS) has taken action to support fusion centers' efforts to maintain and grow their operations; and (2) DHS and the Dept. of Justice have supported fusion centers in establishing privacy and civil liberties protections. Illustrations.

In general, a fusion center is a collaborative effort to detect, prevent, investigate, and respond to criminal and terrorist activity. Recognizing that fusion centers are a mechanism for information sharing, the federal government-including the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Department of Justice (DOJ), and the Program Manager for the Information Sharing Environment (PM-ISE), which has primary responsibility for governmentwide information sharing and is located in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence-is taking steps to partner with fusion centers. In response to your request, GAO examined (1) the status and characteristics of fusion centers and (2) to what extent federal efforts help alleviate challenges the centers identified. GAO reviewed center-related documents and conducted interviews with officials from DHS, DOJ, and the PM-ISE, and conducted semistructured interviews with 58 state and local fusion centers. The results are not generalizable to the universe of fusion centers. Data are not available on the total number of local fusion centers.

The value proposition for fusion centres is that by integrating various streams of information and intelligence, including that flowing from the federal government, state, local, and tribal governments, as well as the private sector, a more accurate picture of risks to people, economic infrastructure, and communities can be developed and translated into protective action. The ultimate goal of fusion is to prevent manmade (terrorist) attacks and to respond to natural disasters and manmade threats quickly and efficiently should they occur. As recipients of federal government-provided national intelligence, another goal of fusion centres is to model how events inimical to U.S. interests overseas may be manifested in their communities, and align protective resources accordingly. There are several risks to the fusion centre concept -- including potential privacy and civil liberties violations, and the possible inability of fusion centres to demonstrate utility in the absence of future terrorist attacks, particularly during periods of relative state fiscal austerity. Fusion centres are state-created entities largely financed and staffed by the states, and there is no one "model" for how a centre should be structured. State and local law enforcement and criminal intelligence seem to be at the core of many of the centres.

In general, a fusion center is a collaborative effort to detect, prevent, investigate, and respond to criminal and terrorist activity. Recognizing that fusion centers are a mechanism for information sharing, the federal government--including the Program Manager for the Information Sharing Environment (PM-ISE), who has primary responsibility for governmentwide information sharing, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the Department of Justice (DOJ)--is taking steps to partner with fusion centers. This testimony is based on GAO's draft report on state and local fusion centers. It addresses (1) the statutes and characteristics of the centers and (2) to what extent federal efforts help alleviate challenges fusion centers identified. In conducting this work, GAO reviewed center-related documents and conducted interviews with officials from DHS, DOJ, and the PM-ISE, and semistructured interviews with 58 state and local fusion centers.