Fusion centers: organization, function, and role in law enforcement

Criminal Justice

Fusion Centers

State and major urban area fusion centers serve as central points inside the state and local environment for the reception, examination, gathering, and distribution of threat-related information between the federal government and state, local, tribal, territorial (SLTT) and private sector associates. Positioned in states and major urban areas all through the country, fusion centers are distinctively located to authorize front-line law enforcement, public safety, fire service, emergency response, public health, critical infrastructure protection, and private sector security personnel to comprehend local implications of national intelligence, therefore facilitating local officials to better protect their areas. Fusion centers supply interdisciplinary knowledge and situational consciousness to enlighten decision-making at all levels of government. They carry out analysis and facilitate information sharing while assisting law enforcement and homeland security associates in preventing, protecting against, and responding to crime and terrorism (State and Major Urban Area Fusion Centers, n.d.).

Fusion centers are owned and managed by state and local entities with support from federal associates in the appearance of deployed personnel, training, technical assistance, exercise support, security clearances, and connectivity to federal systems, technology, and grant funding (State and Major Urban Area Fusion Centers, n.d.). Fusion centers contribute to the Information Sharing Environment (ISE) through their role in receiving threat information from the federal government; analyzing that information in the context of their local environment; distributing that information to local agencies; and collecting tips, leads, and suspicious activity reporting (SAR) from local agencies and the public. Fusion centers get information from an assortment of sources, including SAR from stakeholders inside their jurisdictions, as well as federal information and intelligence. They examine the information and develop applicable products to distribute to their customers. These products aid homeland security partners at all levels of government to recognize and address direct and emerging threats (Fusion Centers, 2012).

By combining state and local information with federal threat intelligence, it could be disputed, fusion centers serve as a fundamental linkage or translator for state and local authorities. The fusion centers, through their connectivity with the federal Intelligence Community via either systems and/or federal personnel collocated at the centers, can serve as the single focal point for timely dissemination of that information. The imperative is to push the defensive perimeter outward (Fusion Centers: Issues and Options for Congress, 2008).

There are many benefits to be realized by local city and police departments from participating in a fusion center. "These centers support the efforts of state and local law enforcement to prevent and investigate crime in the local communities along with addresses one of the most pressing national challenges such as gangs, border violence, narcotics, homicides, natural disasters and terrorism" (Tennessee Fusion Center, n.d.). Federal agencies supply terrorism-related information to state, local, and tribal authorities mainly through these fusion centers, which may additionally modify such information for distribution to satisfy intra-or interstate needs. In the end this saves money by leveraging assets and helping local leaders make educated decisions on utilizing resources.

The closest fusion center to where I live in Killeen, TX is the Texas Intelligence Center located in Austin, TX. The Fusion Center's Watch Center is open twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. It works with federal, state, regional and local law enforcement and serves as the state warehouse for home-land security information and event reporting. The Watch Center supplies up-to-date intelli-gence support to law enforcement and public safety authorities, and merges information and data on suspicious activities and threats from all jurisdictions and disciplines. During emergencies or periods of augmented threat, the Center may ramp up to accept and process supplementary informa-tion as well.

Also included in the Fusion Center:

The Intelligence Unit, which supports law enforcement and criminal justice communities by providing analytical case devel-opment, as well as strategic and tactical case support to officers regarding criminal organizations, including transnational gangs, drug trafficking organizations, and emerging threats.

The Criminal Case Support Unit, which provides support to major crime investigations and special cases,

The Counterterrorism Unit, which works to reduce the threat of terrorism in Texas through information, analysis, and as-sessments in support of proactive multi-agency efforts to pre-vent attacks (Texas Fusion Center now open, 2010).