Order Code RL34070
Fusion Centers: Issues and Options for Congress
July 6, 2007
Todd Masse
Specialist in Domestic Intelligence and Counterterrorism
Domestic Social Policy Division
Siobhan O’Neil
Analyst in Domestic Security and Intelligence
Domestic Social Policy Division
John Rollins
Specialist in Terrorism and International Crime
Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division

Fusion Centers: Issues and Options for Congress
Summary
Although elements of the information and intelligence fusion function were
conducted prior to 9/11, often at state police criminal intelligence bureaus, the events
of 9/11 provided the primary catalyst for the formal establishment of more than 40
state, local, and regional fusion centers across the country. Currently, a number of
bills pending before Congress, including S. 4, H.R. 1, S. 1644, and H.R. 2638, have
elements that address fusion centers.
The value proposition for fusion centers 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 centers 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 center concept — including potential privacy and civil liberties violations,
and the possible inability of fusion centers to demonstrate utility in the absence of
future terrorist attacks, particularly during periods of relative state fiscal austerity.
Fusion centers are state-created entities largely financed and staffed by the
states, and there is no one “model” for how a center should be structured. State and
local law enforcement and criminal intelligence seem to be at the core of many of the
centers. Although many of the centers initially had purely counterterrorism goals, for
numerous reasons, they have increasingly gravitated toward an all-crimes and even
broader all-hazards approach. While many of the centers have prevention of attacks
as a high priority, little “true fusion,” or analysis of disparate data sources,
identification of intelligence gaps, and pro-active collection of intelligence against
those gaps which could contribute to prevention is occurring. Some centers are
collocated with local offices of federal entities, yet in the absence of a functioning
intelligence cycle process, collocation alone does not constitute fusion.
The federal role in supporting fusion centers consists largely of providing
financial assistance, the majority of which has flowed through the Homeland Security
Grant Program; sponsoring security clearances; providing human resources;
producing some fusion center guidance and training; and providing congressional
authorization and appropriation of national foreign intelligence program resources,
as well as oversight hearings. This report includes over 30 options for congressional
consideration to clarify and potentially enhance the federal government’s relationship
with fusion centers. One of the central options is the potential drafting of a formal
national fusion center strategy that would outline, among other elements, the federal
government’s clear expectations of fusion centers, its position on sustainment
funding, metrics for assessing fusion center performance, and definition of what
constitutes a “mature” fusion center. This report will be updated.

Contents
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Fusion Center Value Proposition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
DHS’s Value Proposition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Importance of Intelligence and Intelligence Sharing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Importance of Fusion, Including Non-Traditional
Intelligence/Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Unique Role of State, Local and Tribal (SLT) Public Sector . . . . . . . . 7
Benefits of Fusion Being a Team Function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Potential Risks to Fusion Centers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Potential Risk — Underlying Philosophy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Potential Risk — Civil Liberties Concerns or Violations . . . . . . . . . . 10
Potential Risk — Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Potential Risk — Funding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Evolution of Fusion Center Concept . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Intelligence-Led Policing and Other Policing Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
HIDTA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Grassroots Support — Governors and Homeland Security Advisors . . . . . 17
Shift in Homeland Defense and Security Responsibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Characteristics of State/Regional Fusion Centers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Ownership/Stewardship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Legal Authority . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Multiple Fusion Centers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Mission/Scope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
All-Crimes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
All-Hazards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Operational v. Analytical . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Prevention and/or Response . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Prevention . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Response . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Proactive v. Reactive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Access to Information/Intelligence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Clearances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Classified Systems Access . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Responsibility to Share Replaces Need to Know . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Information/Intelligence Sharing and Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
State/Locally-Administered Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Access to Private Sector Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Lack of Interoperability of Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Plethora of Federally-Sponsored Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Classified Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Over-classification and Excessive Number of Security/Handling
Instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Sensitive But Unclassified (SBU) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Over-classification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Funding: A State Perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Staffing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Staffing Levels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Law Enforcement Personnel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Non-Sworn Personnel from Law Enforcement Agencies . . . . . . . . . . 35
Non-Law Enforcement Personnel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Federal Participation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Federalism and the Federal Role in Fusion Centers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Recognition of Homeland Security Role for Non-Traditional Actors . . . . 39
Federal Fusion Center Guidelines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Fusion Process Technical Assistance Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Federal Financial Support for Fusion Centers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Sustainment Funding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Human Capital Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
“Lanes in the Road” — Roles and Responsibilities of
Federal Detailees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Enhanced Information Sharing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Congressional Oversight and Funding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Promulgation of Federal Regulations — 28 CFR, Part 23 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Private Sector Purposes and Roles in Fusion Centers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Information Sharing and Analysis Centers (ISACs) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Protected Critical Infrastructure Information (PCII) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Privacy Concerns and Private Sector Data Use by the
Federal Government . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Fusion Center Challenges and Potential Options for Congress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
I. Federal Challenges and Potential Options for Congress . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Option 1: Draft a National Fusion Center Strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Option 2: Answer the Sustainment Funding Question . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
2a. Status Quo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
2b. Status Quo “Plus” — Enhance Flexibility of the Current HSGP
or Establish a Fusion Center Grant Program Within HSGP . . . . 59
2c. Develop a Sustainment Funding Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
2d. Direct and Sustainable Fusion Center Functional Support . . . . . . 61
Option 3: Training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
3a. Philosophy — Develop National Intelligence and Information
Lexicon and Standards for Fusion Centers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
3b. Enhance Civil Liberties and Privacy Training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
3b-Part II. Enhance Training of 28 CFR, Part 23 . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
3c. Establish a Fusion Center Mentor Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
3d. Enhance Private Sector Outreach and Information . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
3e. Enhance Public Sector Outreach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
3f. Additional Training for SLT Cleared Personnel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Option 4: Build Additional Linkages to the Federal
Intelligence Community . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
4a. Formalizing, Creating a Statutory Basis For, and Strengthening
the Interagency Threat Assessment Coordination Group . . . . . . 67

4b. Intelligence Analyst Exchange — Fusion Centers and
NCTC Directorate of Intelligence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
4c. Draft a National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) Concerning the
Potential Nexus Between Criminal Activity and Terrorism . . . . 69
4d. Enhance Mechanisms for Fusion Centers to Task the IC
for Information and Receive “Feedback” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
4e. Establish a Mechanism for Fusion Centers to Have Input into
the NIPF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
4f. Civil Liberties and Privacy Protection — A Role for the IRTPA-
Established Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board . . . . . . 71
4g. Create a Statutory Basis For an Intelligence “Confidence”
Ranking System for All Federal Intelligence Products . . . . . . . . 72
Option 5: Consider Structural Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
5a. Support the Current Path of Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
5b. Support the Designation of One Lead Fusion Center Per State . . . 74
5c. Expand the FBI FIGs to be the Federal Strategic Analysis
Fusion Centers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
5d. Establishment of a National Fusion Center
Representative Organization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
5e. Move Toward Regional Fusion Centers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Option 6: Enhance Information Access and Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
6a: Federal Regulations of SLT Criminal Intelligence Systems —
28 CFR, Part 23 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
6b. Require All Federally Funded Systems to be Interoperable . . . . . . 80
6c. Standardize Reporting Formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
6d. Consolidate Federal Information Sharing Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
6e. Consider Increasing the Number of Cleared SLT Personnel at
Fusion Centers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
6f. Urge Compliance with Intelligence Reform Act and 9/11
Commission Regarding Over-Classification
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Option 7: Create a True Trusted Partnership
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Option 7a. Enhance Coordination Efforts Through
Personnel Exchanges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
II. Fusion Center Options With No Unique Federal Remedy . . . . . . . . . . . 85
State Legal Authorities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
State Option 1: Add or Revise State Legal Authorities . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
State Option 2: Consider Revising Statutory Language
Impeding Information Sharing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
State Fusion Center Personnel and Management Issues . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Personnel Option 1: Selection of Fusion Center Leaders . . . . . . . . . . 86
Personnel Option 2: Assignment and Performance of Fusion
Center Personnel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Personnel Option 3: Employee Performance Metrics . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Option 4: Sub-State Competition and Lack of Planning . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Option 5: How States Can Achieve Enhanced Buy-In . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Appendix A. Philosophies of Intelligence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Appendix B. Map of Current and Planned Fusion Centers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93

List of Figures
Figure 1. Organizational Network Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Figure 2: The Intelligence Cycle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Figure 3: Map of Current and Planned Fusion Centers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
List of Tables
Table 1. FBI and DHS Interaction with Fusion Centers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

A Methodological Note
Research for this report included a review of literature related to state and
regional fusion centers, primary source interviews with the majority of
state fusion center leaders and operational directors, as well as with
stakeholders within the federal government, including Intelligence
Community (IC) organizations, Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
and the Government Accountability Office (GAO) officials. In the interest
of engaging in open dialogue with the centers, the conversations were
conducted on a “not for attribution basis.” The inherent limitations of the
survey method are acknowledged, but were adopted in the interest of
efficiency and effectiveness. Other stakeholders and interested observers
of state fusion centers outside the government, including individuals in
academia, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and state and local
law enforcement were also consulted. Primary source interviews were
conducted by the authors and were based on a survey they developed.

Fusion Centers: Issues and Options
for Congress
Introduction
The creation of post-9/11 intelligence/information1 fusion centers2 does not
represent a totally new concept, but suggests an extension of pre-9/11 state and local
law enforcement intelligence activities. Most state police/bureau of investigation
agencies have run intelligence or analytic units for decades. Many of the fusion
centers examined for this report were the outgrowth of those units, prompting some
to refer to fusion centers as ‘state police intelligence units on steroids.” Conceptually,
fusion centers differ from their predecessors in that they are intended to broaden
sources of data for analysis and integration beyond criminal intelligence, to include
federal intelligence as well as public and private sector data. Furthermore, fusion
centers broaden the scope of state and local analysis to include homeland security and
counterterrorism issues.
1 Intelligence is information to which value has been added through analysis and is collected
in response to the needs of policymakers. At the most generic level, there are two types of
intelligence: raw and finished. Raw intelligence is that which has not been vetted, verified
and validated. Finished intelligence, which includes information of unknown credibility,
has been through an analytical process which has resulted in conclusions and judgments
being made. As opposed to evidence, which is generally gathered in support of a
prosecution, intelligence is gathered to inform policymakers and those individuals
responsible for taking actions, including national security, law enforcement and public
safety officials. While intelligence may occasionally be introduced into legal proceedings,
generally it is not. The distinction between intelligence and information is discussed at
length in Appendix A.
2 The Fusion Center Guidelines define a fusion center 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
terrorist activity.” Fusion Center Guidelines: Developing and Sharing Information and
Intelligence in a New Era, August 2006, available from
[http://it.ojp.gov/documents/fusion_center_guidelines_law_enforcement.pdf], accessed on
June 26, 2007, p. 2. Some apply this definition broadly to include any multi-jurisdictional
anti-crime or response effort that may utilize intelligence and/or information, to include
federally-owned and operated collaborative efforts, like FBI-led Joint Terrorism Task
Forces (JTTFs) or High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA). The authors, however,
limit their discussion of fusion centers to those 40+ largely state and regional entities created
to enhance the ability of the jurisdiction to prevent, mitigate, and in some cases, respond and
recover, from man-made threats, attacks, and natural disasters.

CRS-2
Despite being an expansion of existing sub-federal intelligence/information
activities, fusion centers represent a fundamental change in the philosophy toward
homeland defense and law enforcement. The rise of fusion centers is representative
of a recognition that non-traditional actors — state and local law enforcement and
public safety agencies — have an important role to play in homeland defense and
security. In addition, there has been a shift towards a more proactive approach to law
enforcement in the United States.
Numerous national strategies have assessed the primary threat to U.S. national
security as terrorism, both at home and abroad.3 Indeed, the National Strategy on
Homeland Security provides that “the American People and way of life are the
primary targets of our [terrorist] enemy and our highest protection priority.”4 The
means for combating this threat are broad and encompass all elements of national
power, to include non traditional sectors. From a law enforcement perspective, it has
been argued that state and regional intelligence fusion centers, particularly when
networked together nationally, represent a proactive tool to be used to fight a global
jihadist adversary which has both centralized and decentralized elements. This
network of fusion centers is envisioned as a central node in sharing terrorism,
homeland security, and law enforcement information with state, local, regional, and
tribal law enforcement and security officials.5
Today, there are over 40 intelligence fusion centers across the country (see
Appendix B for a map and list of these centers). Research suggests that there is no
“one-size-fits-all” model for these centers and there are significant differences
between them. There are, however, some common themes, and more importantly,
common questions, that arise when examining fusion centers, to include:
! Do fusion centers solve the pre-9/11 information sharing problems,
and as such, make Americans safer?
3 For example, the National Strategy on Counterterrorism states that “The paradigm for
combating terrorism now involves the application of all elements of our national power and
influence. Not only do we employ military power, we use diplomatic, financial, intelligence,
and law enforcement activities to protect the Homeland and extend our defenses, disrupt
terrorist operations, and deprive our enemies of what they need to operate and survive.” See
The National Strategy for Combating Terrorism, September 2006, p. 1. and According to
the Director of National Intelligence (DNI), “Terrorist threats to the Homeland, to our
national security interests, and to our allies remain the pre-eminent challenge to the
Intelligence Community....” See “Annual Threat Assessment of the Director of National
Intelligence,” Testimony of Ambassador John D. Negroponte, Before the Senate Select
Committee on Intelligence, January 11, 2007, p. 2.
4 See The National Strategy on Homeland Security, July 2002, p. 7.
5 This vision is promoted by the Program Manager - Information Sharing Environment (PM -
ISE), which was created by Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004,
Section 1016 and was placed under the administration of the Office of the Director of
National Intelligence. The functions, but not necessarily the authorities, of the ISE
transcend the boundaries of the federal intelligence and law enforcement communities. See
Chapter Seven “Sharing with Partners Outside the Federal Government,” in Information
Sharing Environment Implementation Plan
, Office of the Director of National Intelligence,
November 2006.

CRS-3
! Can fusion centers work if they aren’t part of an integrated
philosophy of intelligence and security?
! Who “owns” and benefits from fusion centers? Who should staff,
fund, and oversee them? What role, if any, should fusion centers
play in the Intelligence Community (IC), and what role should
federal agencies play in fusion centers, to include funding?
! Do fusion centers represent a shift in the security v. civil liberties
pendulum? How active and pro-active, if at all, should fusion centers
be in the collection of intelligence that is not directly tied to a
specific and identifiable criminal act?
! There is no single model for how each center is structured or
operates. Is some basic level of common standards necessary in
order for fusion centers to offer a national benefit? Moreover, does
the federal government have an integrated national strategy towards
fusion centers?
! Is the current configuration of 40 plus fusion centers, with, in some
cases, several operating within one state, the most efficient
organizational structure?
! Is the current approach to creating, authorizing, funding, and
supporting fusion centers sustainable? What are the risks to the
fusion center concept and how have those risks been specifically
weighed and balanced against the stated goals of fusion center
operations?
In order to provide context for the analysis of these fundamental questions, this report
will highlight how the concept and development of these centers continue to evolve,
as well as provide an overview of current national trends in fusion centers, the federal
role in supporting such centers, and the role of the private sector. Finally, the report
will provide Congress with a number of legislative options for consideration. Prior
to examining these topics, it is necessary to consider the value proposition these
centers pose, as well as potential risks to fusion center development.
Fusion Center Value Proposition
Conceptually, the argument that fusion centers represent a vital part of our
nation’s homeland security relies on at least four presumptions:
! Intelligence, and the intelligence process, plays a vital role in
preventing terrorist attacks.
! It is essential to fuse a broader range of data, including non-
traditional source data, to create a more comprehensive threat
picture.

CRS-4
! State, local, and tribal law enforcement and public sector agencies
are in a unique position to make observations and collect
information that may be central to the type of threat assessment
referenced above.
! Having fusion activities take place at the sub-federal level can
benefit state and local communities, and possibly have national
benefits as well.
DHS’s Value Proposition. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
has stated that the value of fusion centers to both DHS and state and local authorities
includes a number of common and distinct functions. The following four areas were
assessed by DHS as being common benefits fusion centers would yield to DHS and
state and local authorities:
! Clearly defined information gathering requirements.
! Improved intelligence analysis and production capabilities.
! Improved information/intelligence sharing and dissemination.
! Improved prevention, protection, response, and recovery
capabilities.6
DHS also outlined areas of how it and state and local authorities would benefit
uniquely from participation in the fusion centers. Unique benefits to DHS include:
! Improved information flow from state and local entities to DHS.
! Improved situational awareness.
! Improved access to local officials.
! Consultation on state and local issues.
! Access to non-traditional information sources.
According to DHS, the unique benefit of fusion centers to state and local authorities
includes:
! Improved information flow from DHS to states and localities.
! Increased on-site intelligence and DHS law enforcement expertise
and capabilities.
! Clearly defined DHS entry point.
! Insight into federal priorities.
! Participation in dialogue concerning threats.
The extent to which DHS’s vision of the fusion center value proposition has
developed will be addressed throughout this report. Given that the tenure of DHS
Office of Intelligence and Analysis (OIA) personnel detailed to fusion centers is less
than one year, it could be argued that it may be premature to assess the extent to
which DHS’s vision for fusion center payoffs is being realized. However, as will be
further explained below, research indicates that DHS personnel are being used
6 DHS, Support Implementation Plan for State and Local Fusion Centers: Executive
Summary,
June 2006.

CRS-5
currently more as a “clearly defined DHS entry point,” than as tools to improve
“...intelligence analysis and production capabilities.” Moreover, the development of
a process for gathering information according to clearly defined information
requirements in fusion centers remains nascent.
Importance of Intelligence and Intelligence Sharing. To briefly expand
upon the four presumptions which are often cited in arguments that fusion centers are
valuable to homeland security, it is important to first focus on the role of intelligence
in homeland security, especially with regard to prevention efforts. At the First
Annual National Fusion Center Conference, Secretary Chertoff reiterated to the
hundreds of state and local conference participants that he views intelligence as an
early warning system that allows public safety officials to get a jump on the
adversary.7 The 9/11 Commission states, “Not only does good intelligence win wars,
but the best intelligence enables us to prevent them from happening altogether.”8 All
major post-9/11 government reorganizations, legislation, and programs have
emphasized the importance of intelligence in preventing, mitigating, and responding
to future terrorist attacks. This includes the creation of the Department of Homeland
Security, specifically the Department’s Office of Intelligence and Analysis, the
passage of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act (IRTPA) of 2005
(P.L. 108-458), intelligence sharing provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act (P.L. 107-
56), as well as the creation of the Intelligence Sharing Environment (ISE), among
numerous other developments.
Importance of Fusion, Including Non-Traditional
Intelligence/Information. Another presumption that is often cited is that to
prevent attacks intelligence needs to include a broad range of data, including that
from non-traditional sources — state and local homeland security-related personnel
and the private sector. The Commission found that the September 11th attack plot:
fell into the void between foreign and domestic threats. The foreign intelligence
agencies were watching overseas, alert to foreign threats to U.S. interests there.
The domestic agencies were waiting for evidence of a domestic threat from
sleeper cells within the United States.9
As such, the 9/11 Commission concluded there was a necessity for fusing domestic
and foreign intelligence.
Fusing foreign intelligence with a wide spectrum of domestic information is the
stated primary purpose of most fusion centers. Locally gathered information
collected from a broad array of law enforcement, public health and safety, as well as
private sector sources, is fused with intelligence collected and produced by the
7 Derived from CRS transcription of Secretary Chertoff’s Keynote Address to the first
annual National Fusion Center Conference, March 6, 2007.
8 The 9/11 Commission Report: Final Report of the National Commission of Terrorist
Attacks Upon the United States
, Authorized Edition (New York: WW Norton & Company,
2004), 420.
9 The 9/11 Commission Report: Final Report of the National Commission of Terrorist
Attacks Upon the United States
, p. 263.

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federal Intelligence Community to better understand threat and assist in directing
security resources. The authors of the Fusion Center Guidelines: Developing and
Sharing Information and Intelligence in a New Era
stated:
Data fusion involves the exchange of information from different sources —
including law enforcement, public safety, and the private sector — and, with
analysis, can result in meaningful and actionable intelligence and information.
The fusion process turns this information and intelligence into actionable
knowledge.10
The Homeland Security Advisory Council (HSAC) finds that this process should be
continual, “...More than one-time collection of law enforcement and/or terrorism-
related intelligence information and it goes beyond establishing an intelligence center
or creating a computer network....11 Furthermore, HSAC believes that out of the
fusion process,
one of the principal outcomes should be the identification of terrorism-related
leads — that is, any nexus between crime-related information and other
information collected by State, local, tribal, and private entities and a terrorist
organization and/or attack.12
By fusing state and local information with federal threat intelligence, it could be
argued, fusion centers serve as a vital linkage or “translator” for state and local
authorities. For example, when a bombing occurs overseas, it can be very helpful for
modus operandi and other tactical information surrounding that bombing to be
communicated to states and localities in a timely fashion so they may align their
protective resources accordingly. 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, according to Charles Allen, Chief Intelligence
Officer at DHS, is to push the defensive perimeter outward. According to Allen:
Our ability to move, analyze, and act on information is our greatest strength.
And, we must use the (national fusion center) information in that network to push
our defensive perimeter outward.13
While providing an important indication and warning function in a counterterrorism
sense, the fusion process can also be harnessed for preventing other types of crime,
and/or responding to natural disasters as will be discussed in-depth below.
10 See Fusion Center Guideline: Developing and Sharing Information and Intelligence in
a New Era,
August 2006, p.
11 See U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Advisory Council,
Intelligence and Information Sharing Initiative: Homeland Security Intelligence and
Information Fusion
, April 28, 2005, p. 3.
12 Ibid.
13 Derived from CRS transcription of speech by Charles Allen at the First Annual National
Fusion Center Conference, March 6, 2007.

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Unique Role of State, Local and Tribal (SLT) Public Sector. It has
been argued that state, local, tribal law enforcement, first responders, and other
public and private sector entities are uniquely positioned to collect information to
identify emerging threats and assist in the development of a more comprehensive
threat assessment. Secretary Chertoff, speaking from his experience as a former
federal prosecutor and judge, has noted that many organized crime cases were
intelligence driven and that state and local police were best placed to discover
anomalies in their communities that can lead to the prevention of violent acts.14
Although the fusion process as outlined above goes beyond law enforcement or
criminal intelligence, the counterterrorism role of state and local law enforcement has
been outlined in numerous reports.15 Those who agree with Secretary Chertoff are
apt to argue that the 800,000 plus law enforcement officers across the country know
their communities most intimately and, therefore, are best placed to function as the
“eyes and ears” of an extended national security community. They have the
experience to recognize what constitutes anomalous behavior in their areas of
responsibility and can either stop it at the point of discovery (a more traditional law
enforcement approach) or follow the anomaly or criminal behavior, either unilaterally
or jointly with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), to extract the maximum
intelligence value from the activity (a more intelligence-based approach).16
Numerous examples are cited by officials as demonstrating the counterterrorism
role that state, local, and tribal governments and, by extension, fusion centers which
have law enforcement as their core function, can play. Ambassador Thomas
McNamara – the Program Manager for the Information Sharing Environment17 –
cited three examples at the First Annual National Fusion Center Conference. The
first was a narcotics investigation conducted by federal, state, and local law
enforcement that “...revealed a Canadian-based organization supplying precursor
chemicals to Mexican methamphetamine producers was in fact a Hezbollah support
cell.” A second case involved a local law enforcement investigation in Torrance,
California in which an individual engaged in a series of gas station robberies dropped
his cell phone. The phone was exploited by law enforcement officers who “...
uncovered a homegrown Jihadist cell planning a series of attacks.” Another
investigation into cigarette smuggling by a county sheriffs office “... uncovered a
Hezbollah support cell operating in several states.”18 One additional incident often
14 Ibid.
15 See When Terrorism Hits Home: How Prepared Are State and Local Law Enforcement
(RAND, 2004) and State and Local Intelligence in the War on Terrorism (RAND 2005).
See also The Impact of Terrorism on State Law Enforcement: Adjusting to New Role and
Changing Conditions
, April 2005, The Council of State Governments and Eastern Kentucky
University.
16 At the Federal level, some have argued the FBI has shifted between these two approaches
over time. See “FBI Alters Tactics in Fight Against Terrorists,” in Wall Street Journal, May
23, 2007.
17 The Information Sharing Environment was established pursuant to the Intelligence Reform
and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (P.L. 108-458), section 1016.
18 See “Building a Trusted Partnership,” Remarks of Ambassador Thomas McNamara at the
(continued...)

CRS-8
cited case originated in Los Angeles, California where an investigation of a car theft
ring led to the discovery of a domestic group supporting Chechen terrorists.19
One school of thought suggests that sound law enforcement alone can disrupt
terrorist plots. This theory may be accurate as it pertains to individual terrorists or
terrorist groups that are not particularly well-trained or resourced and, as a result,
may be more aspirational than operational. However unsophisticated and low-tech
these amateur extremist groups may be, their intent is hostile and their activities are,
it could be argued, worthy of disruption, generally through law enforcement actions.20
One important question regarding this theory is — are basic law enforcement tools,
which demand a criminal predicate prior to the collection of intelligence, likely to
only uncover less sophisticated terrorists and forms of terrorist activity?21 Are
current law enforcement methodologies, including those that are deemed “proactive,”
such as intelligence-led policing, effective tools for discovering the unknowns about
potential terrorist activity in one’s community, or are different approaches
necessary?22 It could be argued that sophisticated terrorist operatives may be so well-
trained as to avoid any potential illegal activity that may undermine their inimical
plots. These operatives may dissociate themselves from direct interaction with
supporters who may engage in criminal acts. Do all terrorists or terrorist supporters
within the United States engage in criminal activity? The answers to this question
are arguable. If, however, the premise that sophisticated terrorists do not necessarily
engage in criminal activity is accepted, is reactive and ex post facto collection of
18 (...continued)
National Fusion Center Conference, Destin, Florida, March 6, 2007, p. 2.
19 See “Criminal Intent: An L.A. Police Bust Shows New Tactics for Fighting Terror —
Officers Use Local Laws to Arrest Small Offenders with High-Risk Potential — Foiling a
Chechen ‘Charity’,” in Wall Street Journal, December 29, 2006, p. A1.
20 See Daniel L. Byman, “The Rise of Low-Tech Terrorism,” in Washington Post, May 6,
2007, p. B3. An example which may support Byman’s argument is the recent arrest of a
group of men accused of plotting to attack a military base in New Jersey (NJ). The would
be terrorists were ultimately discovered because they took one of their terrorism training
videos into a Circuit City store to be copied into DVD format. While the clerk’s actions in
calling the local police, who subsequently called NJ Office of Homeland Security and
Preparedness, are laudable, one could question whether a well-trained terrorist operative
would have engaged in such amateur behavior.
21 Levels of sophistication in terrorist activity would include the extent to which terrorists
have received training — and are experienced in — secure communications; clandestine
movement of funds; spotting, assessment, and recruitment of suicide bombers to implement
attacks; target selection (including political implications of various attacks); logistics and
technical aspects of bomb-making and delivery, among other functions.
22 Intelligence-Led Policing is defined as “...a collaborative enterprise based on improved
intelligence operational and community-oriented policing and problem solving...information
sharing must become a formal policy not an informal practice. Most important, intelligence
must be contingent on quality analysis of data.” See U.S. Department of Justice, Office of
Justice Programs, Intelligence-Led Policing: The New Intelligence Architecture, September
2005.

CRS-9
intelligence sufficient to uncovering sophisticated terrorist plots?23 Moreover, what
are the limits of aggressive and pro-active intelligence collection by state, local and
tribal security and law enforcement personnel?
Benefits of Fusion Being a Team Function. Secretary Chertoff has also
stated that fusion centers are one of the most important tools that the community has
to collect and connect the dots that can protect people and critical infrastructure. He
was, however, cautious to stipulate that he views these centers as entities of the state
and local governments that established them, and that the federal government had no
intention of controlling the centers. According to Secretary Chertoff, the desired
“end state” is as follows:
Ultimately, what we want to do is not create a single [fusion center], but a
network of [centers] all across the country, a network which is visible not only
to us at the federal level, but as important, if not more important visible to each
of you working in your own communities so you can leverage all the information
gathered across the country to help you carry our your very important
objectives.24
The Secretary’s emphasis on the importance of fusion centers serving the state and
local communities that largely “own” and operate them has been echoed by others.25
A counter-argument for concentrating fusion resources at the sub-federal level
suggests that state and local authorities may not have the necessary resources and
experience to conduct the level of advanced and/or strategic analysis necessary for
achieving true “fusion.”
Potential Risks to Fusion Centers
There are several potential risks associated with fusion center development.
One risk focuses on the hazards associated with creating fusion centers without the
requisite philosophical and organizational changes necessary within the intelligence
and law enforcement communities to sustain the work of the centers. The other risks
23 For a description of criminal activity terrorists may engage in to support operational or
logistical activities see CRS Report RL34014, Terrorist Precursor Crimes: Issues and
Options for Congress
, by Siobhan O’Neil.
24 Derived from CRS transcription of Secretary Chertoff’s Keynote Address to the first
annual National Fusion Center Conference, March 6, 2007.
25 For example, Charlie Allen, DHS Chief Intelligence Officer, has made numerous
statements regarding the simultaneous benefits of fusion centers at both the state and local
level, for example, Charlie Allen, “Assessment of Information Sharing Centers,” Testimony
before the Intelligence, Information Sharing and Terrorism Risk Assessment Subcommittee
of the House Homeland Security Committee, September 7, 2006, transcript provided by
Federal News, available from [www.lexis.com], accessed on July 26, 2007. Kentucky
officials took a similar view about how their center will benefit the state and its citizens, see
Kentucky Justice and Public Safety Cabinet, “Governor Ernie Fletcher Unveils Intelligence
Center to Help Federal, State Agencies Prevent and Track Criminal Activity,” Press Release,
October 11, 2006, available from [http://www.kentucky.gov/Newsroom/justice/
pr1011a.htm], accessed on July 26, 2007.

CRS-10
focus on factors that could ultimately diminish political and popular support for
fusion centers, and ultimately result in their demise or marginalized contribution to
the national homeland security mission.
Potential Risk — Underlying Philosophy. Some might argue that the rise
of state and regional fusion centers may have been premature — that is, the
establishment of these entities in the absence of a common understanding of the
underlying discipline. Creating a fusion center is a tangible action that seeks to
enhance state and/or regional coordination and cooperation to prevent and mitigate,
and in some cases, respond and recover from, homeland security threats. However,
if fusion center development occurs devoid of a more fundamental transformation,
is any real progress made? Is the country any safer or more prepared with fusion
centers or have we created a false sense of security? Given recent terrorist activity
overseas, including plots and activity in the United Kingdom, what should fusion
centers do to recognize potential indicators of similar plots in the homeland? It could
be argued that if information flow into fusion centers is limited, the quality of the
information is questionable, and the center doesn’t have personnel with the
appropriate skill sets to understand the information, then the end result may not
provide value. Furthermore, if fusion center constituent agencies don’t buy into a
common fusion and prevention philosophy that arguably needs to accompany fusion
centers (i.e., responsibility for security, a proactive approach, and need for
understanding their environment to discern potential threats) can fusion centers be
effective?
It is also important to ask: If fusion centers offer some benefit, who are the
beneficiaries? Are the benefits limited to the states and regions the fusion centers
were largely designed to serve, given the centers were largely molded by the needs,
politics, and resources of the given jurisdiction? Or, is there a “free-rider” benefit for
the federal government and the nation as a whole? It could be argued that with little
or no investment in state and/or regional fusion centers, the federal government
stands to gain some benefit. If it is possible for state and regional fusion centers to
serve state, local, regional, and national interests, what is an equitable division of
responsibility, labor, and resources?
Another philosophical concern stems from the different conceptions of
intelligence among the intelligence and law enforcement communities (see
Appendix A). In the absence of a common understanding about what constitutes
intelligence, fusion center development and progress may be impeded. Ultimately,
without a common framework among disparate fusion centers and other homeland
security agencies, it is possible that benefits of the their efforts will remain narrow,
rather than having a national impact. While fusion center guidelines (discussed more
in-depth below) represent a movement to provide fusion centers with a common
framework, and were generally well-received by the centers, arguably, the Guidelines
have the following limitations: (1) they are voluntary, (2) the philosophy outlined in
them is generic and does not translate theory into practice, and (3) they are oriented
toward the mechanics of fusion center establishment.
Potential Risk — Civil Liberties Concerns or Violations . The essence
of fusion, as outlined above, is the integration and analysis of existing streams of
information and intelligence for actionable public policy ends — be they

CRS-11
counterterrorism, broader counter-crime issues, or natural disaster response.
Embedded in the fusion process is the assumption that the end product of the fusion
process can lead to a more targeted collection of new intelligence, to include private
sector data, which can help to prevent crime. It could be argued that through a more
pro-active and targeted intelligence process, one that has as its starting point an
intelligence gap, or unknown about a particular threat, it is possible that sophisticated
criminal groups could be undermined. However, the potential fusion center use of
private sector data, the adoption of a more proactive approach, and the collection of
intelligence by fusion center staff and partners has led to questions about possible
civil liberties abuses. Director of National Intelligence, Mike McConnell,
acknowledges the difficulty of balancing effective intelligence efforts with civil
liberties concerns, stating:
The intelligence community has an obligation to better identify and counter
threats to Americans while still safeguarding their privacy. But the task is [a]
inherently a difficult one...[one] challenge is determining how and when it is
appropriate to conduct surveillance on a group of Americans who are, say,
influenced by al Qaeda’s jihadist philosophy. On one level, they are U.S.
citizens engaging in free speech and associating freely with one another. On
another, they could be plotting terrorist attacks that could kill hundreds of
people.26
Arguments against fusion centers often center around the idea that such centers
are essentially pre-emptive law enforcement — that intelligence gathered in the
absence of a criminal predicate is unlawfully gathered intelligence. The argument is
that the further law enforcement, public safety and private sector representatives get
away from a criminal predicate, the greater the chances that civil liberties may be
violated. Furthermore, it could be argued that one of the risks to the fusion center
concept is that individuals who do not necessarily have the appropriate law
enforcement or broader intelligence training will engage in intelligence collection
that is not supported by law.27 The concern is to what extent, if at all, First
Amendment protected activities may be jeopardized by fusion center activities.
According to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), “We’re setting up
essentially a domestic intelligence agency, and we’re doing it without having a full
debate about the risks to privacy and civil liberties.”28 Furthermore, the ACLU is
also concerned with having DHS perform a coordinating role at the federal level with
respect to these centers. “We are granting extraordinary powers to one agency,
26 Mike McConnell, “Overhauling Intelligence,” Foreign Affairs, July/August 2007.
27 Some might argue that the entire concept for fusion centers, particularly those aspects
involving the incorporation of private sector data that may not be accurate or based on any
criminal predicate is fundamentally flawed. If there is little legal recourse for citizens to
challenge information related to them that resides in commercially available databases, and
such information is included in fusion center operations, privacy rights and civil liberties
could be undermined.
28 See Shane Harris, “Issues and Ideas - Fusion Centers Raise a Fuss,” in National Journal,
February 10, 2007.

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without adequate transparency or safeguards, that hasn’t shown Congress that it’s
ready for the job.”29
Most of the fusion center representatives interviewed for this report appeared
to be aware of the need to be respectful of privacy and civil liberties as a result of 28
CFR Part 23, the Fusion Center Guidelines,30 the National Criminal Intelligence
Sharing Plan
(NCISP),31 DHS/Department of Justice (DOJ)-sponsored fusion center
conferences, and DHS – provided Technical Assistance Training, as well as
interactions with peer fusion centers. Several fusion centers had, or were in the
process of creating, a governance board, to serve an oversight function, especially on
civil liberty concerns. In one case, a fusion center cited concern for civil liberties as
the reason it had specifically chosen a former judge to sit on its governing board.
Many centers also claim to have privacy policies, a couple of which were reviewed
by local ACLU or other civil liberties organization representatives.32
However, few of the centers had aggressive outreach programs to explain to the
public the type of intelligence activities their centers could and could not engage in.
There are exceptions; for example, one state fusion center works closely with the
most active civil liberties organization in the state, provides the center’s standard
operating procedures to the public, and has appointed a state attorney general office
representative to the center’s governing board in order to pro-actively address civil
liberties issues.33 Another state center has brought in a nonprofit research and
training organization to audit their operations, plans to invite civil liberties groups
into the center to show its operations, and even stenciled the First Amendment and
the following quote by Harry Truman on its walls:
In a free country we punish men for the crimes they commit but never for the
opinions they have.34
An official from a fusion center that advocated a proactive approach to civil liberties-
related outreach warned colleagues of the dangers of civil liberties abuses, saying,
“even the perception of abuse associated with a single center, will be devastating for
us all.”35
29 Ibid.
30 One of the prominent Fusion Center Guidelines recommends fusion centers “Develop,
publish, and adhere to a privacy and civil rights policy.” See U.S. Department of Homeland
Security & U.S. Department of Justice, Fusion Center Guidelines: Developing and Sharing
Information and Intelligence in a New Era
, available from [http://it.ojp.gov/documents/
fusion_center_guidelines_law_enforcement.pdf], accessed on May 31, 2007, p. 49.
31 Available at [http://www.it.ojp.gov/topic.jsp?topic_id=93] (accessed June 5, 2007).
32 Interview with state fusion center representative, April 23, 2007.
33 Interview with state fusion center representative, May 1, 2007.
34 Interview with state fusion center representative, May 17, 2007.
35 Remarks by State Fusion Center Official, National Fusion Center Conference, CRS Notes,
March 6, 2007.

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Those centers not engaged in a proactive civil liberties outreach effort cited the
lack of need and/or the lack of funds as impediments for undertaking such an effort.
Several fusion centers suggested they did not need such a proactive outreach program
on civil liberties because there had been no local complaints about civil liberties
abuses. In a few cases, fusion centers had done targeted outreach to assure specific
communities that the fusion center and other law enforcement agencies were not out
to target them, but these programs did not reach a large audience. Others suggested
that other state/local agencies were responsible for such programs (although most of
them were described as general homeland security-related, rather than specific to
concerns related to the fusion center). In several cases, fusion centers suggested they
wanted to do a public relations campaign, but they didn’t have the necessary funds.
While this report is not meant to provide an authoritative legal interpretation of
related law, due to disparate state laws authorizing fusion center or criminal
intelligence activities, for purposes of criminal intelligence systems, most fusion
centers operate under federal regulations, in addition to any applicable state policies,
laws or regulations.36 At the federal level, the authorities which guide the FBI in
collection of intelligence are the Attorney General’s Guidelines for FBI National
Security Investigations and Foreign Intelligence Collection
.37 At the state and local
levels, if there is any analogue to the Attorney General’s guidelines for multi-
jurisdictional criminal intelligence systems, it is 28 Code of Federal Regulations
(CFR) -(Judicial Administration), Chapter 1 (Department of Justice), Part 23
(criminal intelligence systems operating policies). Many centers cite 28 CFR, Part
23 as the guiding legal mechanism for their criminal intelligence operations. By its
terms, 28 CFR, Part 23, applies to “all criminal intelligence systems operating
through support under the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, as
amended.” From the perspective of intelligence collection, the 28 CFR, Part 23
standard is reasonable suspicion. One of the operating principles of 28 CFR, Part 23
is that “A project shall collect and maintain criminal intelligence information
concerning an individual only if there is reasonable suspicion that the individual is
involved in criminal conduct or activity and the information is relevant to that
criminal conduct or activity.”38 Further:
36 See e.g. Burns Ind. Code Ann. §§5-2-4-1, 10-19-10-1 through 10-1-10-4; Va. Code Ann
§§52-47, 44-146.22 note.
37 The Guidelines stipulate three level of investigation into threats - threat assessments,
preliminary investigation, and full field investigation; each level has certain legal thresholds
and investigative tools attached to it. Depending on available information, these
investigative tools and techniques range from non-intrusive (open source collection) to
intrusive (electronic surveillance). The least intrusive of all level of investigation is the
threat assessment, which allows the FBI to pro-actively “...use available information to
identify terrorist threats and activities...when the FBI receives information or an allegation
about possible terrorist activity, and the matter can be checked out promptly through
relatively non-intrusive techniques.” See U.S. Department of Justice, Fact Sheet, Attorney
General’s Guidelines for FBI National Security Investigations and Foreign Intelligence
Collection
, November 3, 2003, pp. 2-3.
38 See 28 CFR, Part 23, Section 23.20 (a) and (c) (Operating Principles).

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Reasonable Suspicion or Criminal Predicate is established when information
exists which established sufficient facts to give a trained law enforcement or
criminal investigative agency officer, investigator, or employee a basis to believe
that there is a reasonable possibility that an individuals or organization is
involved in a definable criminal activity or enterprise.39
The question of how to balance civil liberties with security remains an open
issue Congress and the country often weighs. The balancing is, arguably, a moving
target driven by the country’s collective sense of security and safety. The nation
cannot necessarily have absolute security, nor absolute liberty; a pendulum swings
between relative amounts of each of these “public goods.” The question, to which
there is no definitive answer, raised here is how aggressive should fusion centers be
in pro-actively collecting and analyzing intelligence that may go beyond that which
may be entered into criminal intelligence systems that fall under federal law? Which
entity at the federal level is auditing the activities of fusion centers to ensure civil
liberties are not violated? Given that these centers are creations of state and local
governments, should an entity of the federal government be the ultimate arbiter of
civil liberties protection?
Potential Risk — Time. Some homeland security observers suggest that the
rush to establish and enhance state fusion centers is a post-9/11 reaction and that over
time some of the centers may dissolve. It could be argued that in the absence of
another terrorist attack or catastrophic natural disaster, over the course of the next 5
to 10 years, state and regional fusion centers may be eliminated and/or replaced by
regional fusion organizations. The state fusion regional representation organizations
may be an entity to facilitate future center consolidation efforts. Issues that may lead
to state and regional fusion center consolidation into regional organizations include:
! Perceived lack of need by state leaders;
! State and federal financial constraints;
! Duplication of effort without showing tangible products and services
within a given center; and
! Reduction of risks to a given geographic location.
Alternatively, if there are additional terrorist attacks or natural disasters in the near
future and fusion centers can demonstrate their tangible value by serving as
proactive, analytic and/or operational information/intelligence hubs, it is plausible
that substantial additional federal, state, and local funds may flow to these centers.
Potential Risk — Funding. A potentially time-related risk is the threat
diminished or eliminated federal and/or state funding poses to fusion center
development. If the United States is not the target of a successful terrorist attack,
homeland security funding, arguably, may decrease. If overall federal funding levels
for homeland security decrease, it is possible that there will be some level of decrease
in Homeland Security Grant Program (HSGP)40 funding. Such a decrease might
39 Ibid.
40 Homeland Security Grant Program is comprised of five interconnected grant programs:
(continued...)

CRS-15
force states to re-prioritize funds for those programs deemed the most critical to their
jurisdiction. Specific federal programs that fund and/or support fusion centers (i.e.
DHS and FBI detailee programs) could potentially also suffer under funding cuts.
It is unclear how fusion centers would fare in such a situation. It is likely that the fate
of fusion centers would differ drastically from state to state, depending on a range of
factors, to include, their level of maturity, buy-in from other agency partners, their
resource needs, and noted successes, balanced with other critical issues and programs
within the jurisdiction.
During research for this report, one fusion center official stated that if federal
funding went away, his fusion center would continue to operate, albeit with less staff
and possibly with a more limited scope. It could be argued in some states that fusion
centers would not be able to continue long after federal dollars and support ceases to
exist. Others might disagree, believing it is quite possible that many fusion centers
would survive despite dwindling federal support. It is even possible that many fusion
centers would survive even after drastic decline in state and local funding because
states and localities would be in a difficult position to officially dismantle these
centers.
Evolution of Fusion Center Concept
As previously mentioned, almost all state and regional fusion centers were
created after the September 11th attacks. While the attacks were the direct impetus for
the creation of most state and regional centers, the fusion center movement did not
occur in a vacuum and can be best understood as a continuum of a mounting tide.
Important influences include the increasing favor of the Intelligence-Led Policing
model, among others; the perception that the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area
(HIDTA) Center structure was successfully enhancing coordination; rising agreement
amongst Governors that each state should have a fusion center; and the support of the
President and key federal homeland security entities, such as the Homeland Security
Advisory Council (HSAC), and the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) —
Information Sharing Environment Program Manager’s Office.
Intelligence-Led Policing and Other Policing Models
In the decade prior to the attacks, the Intelligence-Led Policing (ILP) model41 was
gaining favor in the United States following the dramatic drop in crime in Kent,
40 (...continued)
(1) State Homeland Security Program, (2) Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI), (3) the
Law Enforcement Terrorism Prevention Program (LETPP), (4) the Metropolitan Medical
Response System (MMRS), and (5) the Citizens Corp Program (CCP). See DHS, Office of
Grants and Training, FY 2007 Homeland Security Grant Program — Program Guidance
and Application Kit
, January 2007, p. 1.
41 Other policing models such as Community Oriented Policing and Problem Oriented
Policing were also gaining momentum and popularity during this time - each model also
relies heavily on intelligence and situational awareness, although less explicitly than
Intelligence-Led Policing.

CRS-16
England, where it was originally developed, and the reported increase in use of the
model in Europe and Asia.42 The model, according to the Department of Justice’s
Bureau of Justice Assistance, is a
collaborative enterprise based on improved intelligence operations and
community-oriented policing and problem solving.... To implement intelligence-
led policing, police organizations need to reevaluate their current policies and
protocols. Intelligence must be incorporated into the planning process to reflect
community problems and issues. Information sharing must become a policy, not
an informal practice. Most important, intelligence must be contingent on quality
analysis of data. The development of analytical techniques, training, and
technical assistance needs to be supported.43
Additional law enforcement strategies, like Community-Oriented Policing (COP) and
Problem-Oriented Policing (POP), which were becoming in vogue during the same
period, also rely heavily on intelligence and situational awareness, although less
explicitly than Intelligence-Led Policing.44 These models highlighted the importance
of intelligence and/or situational awareness in crafting proactive, preventative, and
targeted law enforcement strategies. The focus of these models on both intelligence
and the importance of a proactive stance are likely to have influenced the later
support for fusion centers.45
HIDTA
The High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Center model also
impacted the rise of state and regional fusion centers. Since 1990, 28 areas have been
42 Three years after adopting this policing model, Kent experienced a 24% decrease in crime
- US Department of Justice (DOJ), “Intelligence-Led Policing: The New Intelligence
Architecture,” US Department of Justice Website, September 2005, available from
[http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov], accessed on May 18, 2007 - hereon known as DOJ,
“Intelligence-Led Policing.” Law enforcement agencies in Europe and Asia reportedly were
increasingly adopting intelligence-led policing - PR Newswire Association, “International
Spies And Analysts Define New Model For Intelligence: Global Intelligence Forum Brings
Together Twenty-Three Countries Including Saudi Arabia, Japan, And Israel,” May 23,
1998, available from [http://www.lexis.com],
accessed on May 21, 2007.
43 DOJ, “Intelligence-Led Policing.,” vii.
44 Ibid., 10-11.
45 It should be noted that many critics of the ILP and COP find the lack of a commonly
adopted explicit definition of the terms leads to confusion. A report on ILP by the Australian
national crime and criminal justice research agency found, “Although there is a growing
literature on intelligence-led policing...it has been generally assumed that the term speaks
for itself, and definitions are rare.” It could be argued that these models are more intangible
theories that are not easily translated into strategic actions. As a result, it could be argued
that ILP, COP, and other policing models may mean very different things to different people
and even when there is agreement, they are difficult to implement. Quote from Jerry H.
Ratcliffe, “Intelligence-led Policing,” Australian Institute of Criminology, Trends & Issues,
No. 248, April 2003, available from [http://aic.gov.au/publications/tandi/ti248.pdf], accessed
June 4, 2007.

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designated as HIDTAs across the country.46 HIDTAs are designed to be multi-
agency entities that facilitate the coordination of law enforcement counterdrug efforts
across all levels of government. Prior to 9/11, the benefits of collocation,
coordination of resources, and information sharing across agencies was apparent to
many in the law enforcement communities, and there were several states and regions
that were looking to replicate the HIDTA model in their communities. In one case,
a state had discussed creating a HIDTA-like center in the area of the state that was
not serviced by the existing HIDTA prior to 9/11, however, the initiative lacked the
political support to facilitate funding.47 After the attacks, the proposal was revised
and soon thereafter became that state’s fusion center.48 In several cases, post-9/11
state/regional fusion centers have been located with HIDTA centers, and in one case,
organizationally linked with the local HIDTA — perhaps an indication of the
importance of the HIDTA model influence on the fusion center movement.
Grassroots Support — Governors and Homeland Security
Advisors

The growing focus on more intelligence-oriented policing models and the
success of multi-agency law enforcement efforts, like the HIDTAs, combined with
post-9/11 public demand and political support to create a strong movement toward
including sub-federal law enforcement and non-traditional stakeholders in
counterterrorism. However, unlike HIDTAs, which are largely federally funded and
managed, this new movement was largely a grassroots movement with state and
regional leaders leading the charge. Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney
is an advocate of the role states and locals would play, stating:
Fundamentally, we recognize that we can’t protect the homeland by just
putting a cop out on the corner of the street. We have too many bridges,
roadways, hospitals, schools, tunnels, trains. You just can’t protect all of
the possible terrorist targets. You have to find the bad guys before they
carry out their bad acts. That requires intelligence. And the states and
localities are going to finally have to be a major part of that.49
This appears to be a manifestation of a fundamental shift in thinking
regarding responsibility for national security in which state and local officials are
increasingly taking responsibility for traditionally conceptualized federal roles. This
may have been the result of a belief that regardless of origin — a terrorist training
camp in Afghanistan or a radicalized cell in Lackawanna, NY — state and local
public officials are ultimately responsible for the safety of their citizens.
46 “The High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Program: An Overview,” White House
Website, available from [http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/hidta/overview.html],
accessed on May 18, 2007.
47 Interview with state fusion center official, May 4, 2007.
48 Ibid.
49 CNN American Morning, “Breaking News: Bin Laden Tape, Interview With Governor
Mitt Romney,” CNN Transcript, December 16, 2004, available from
[http://www.lexis.com], accessed May 18, 2007.

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Furthermore, there was a strong sentiment among state and local officials and law
enforcement agencies that the federal government had not provided enough of the
right information and intelligence to enable them to potentially prevent a future
attack or at least mitigate its impact and respond effectively.
Shift in Homeland Defense and Security Responsibility
Traditionally, national defense and security were the responsibility of the
federal government. The Homeland Security Advisory Council (HSAC)
acknowledged this reality when it addressed intelligence sharing in its 2005 report,
which states:
For the most part, terrorism-related information has traditionally been
collected outside of the United States. Typically, the collection of this type
of information was viewed as the responsibility of the intelligence
community and, therefore, there was little to no involvement by State and
local enforcement entities.50
It could also be argued the nature of post-Cold War, transnational, sub-state threats
increasingly requires all levels of government, all levels of law enforcement and a
wider spectrum of public and private officials to work together to protect the United
States. This may be especially important given the possibility that:
those wanting to commit acts of terrorism may live in our local
communities and be engaged in criminal and/or other suspicious activity as
they plan attacks on targets within the United States and its territories.51
Characteristics of State/Regional Fusion Centers
There appears to have been two waves of post-9/11 fusion center
development: the first occurring in 2003, and the second wave of fusion centers that
gained momentum in approximately 2005. Based on conversations with some
fusion centers, this second wave gained momentum following the National
Governor’s Association (NGA) meeting in 2005. Indeed, the NGA published its
2006 survey of state homeland security advisors and found that “developing a state
intelligence fusion center” ranked as their third priority.52 The importance of fusion
centers to “enhance states’ ability to collect, analyze and disseminate intelligence
[and] intelligence sharing among federal, state, and local government,” was a priority
in the previous survey NGA released in January 2005. Other catalysts include the
50 U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Advisory Council,
Intelligence and Information Sharing Initiative: Homeland Security Intelligence &
Information Fusion
, April 28, 2005, 2.
51 Ibid.
52 National Governor’s Association (NGA), “2006 State Homeland Security Directors
Survey: New Challenges, Changing Relationships,”available from [http://www.nga.org/
Files/pdf/0604HLSDIRSURVEY.pdf]; accessed on May 23, 2007, 3.

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Homeland Security Advisory Council (HSAC)53 meeting in March 2005, the
preliminary conclusions of which included that:
each state should establish an information center that serves as a 24/7 “all
source,” multi-disciplinary, information fusion center.54
Many fusion centers also stated that their elected leaders, law enforcement,
and other officials realized that this was a national trend and recognized that the
federal government was starting to provide funding to support existing centers. A
defining moment in this realization appears to have been when the National
Governors Association issued its 2007 “A Governor’s Guide to Homeland Security,”
which identified intelligence fusion centers as one of 10 “key points” a new governor
should examine in an effort to enhance their state’s security. Intelligence fusion
centers, according to the NGA, are:
the focal point for information and intelligence sharing among local, state,
and federal agencies from a variety of disciplines.55
The continued efforts of Global Justice Information Sharing Initiative (Global),56 the
establishment of the ISE, and the publication of the Fusion Center Guidelines,
amongst other developments, also appear to have validated the growing fusion efforts
at the state and local level. Furthermore, several fusion centers suggested Hurricane
Katrina was influential in either solidifying their conviction that coordination of
multiple stakeholder agencies via the fusion center was important for their state,
and/or influencing their interest in an all-hazards approach.
Ownership/Stewardship
The overwhelming majority of the centers examined by the authors are state-
wide in jurisdiction and are largely operated by the state police or state
bureau/division of investigation. These state fusion centers are largely the outgrowth
or expansion of an existing intelligence and/or analytical unit or division within the
state’s law enforcement agency. In many cases additional personnel, slightly
expanded mission/scope, and additional resources were added to the existing
intelligence unit infrastructure. As such, these state centers were more likely to stand
up in a shorter period of time than those centers that regions established anew. As
53 For more information on HSAC, see [http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/
03/20020321-9.html], accessed May 21, 2007.
54 On the other hand, however, there was a note in the meeting notes following this
suggestion that read “to be further investigated by the Working Group,” Homeland Security
Advisory Council, Summary of Meeting Notes December 14, 2004, Dated March 7, 2005,
available from [http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/HSAC_MtgSummary_121404.pdf],
accessed on May 21, 2007.
55 NGA, A Governor’s Guide to Homeland Security, 2007, available from
[http://www.nga.org/Files/pdf/0703GOVGUIDEHS.PDF], accessed on May 22, 2007, 8.
56 The Global Justice Information Sharing Initiative (Global) serves as a Federal Advisory
Committee and advises the Attorney General on Justice information sharing and integration
activities.

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previously stated, due to their origins and development, some have referred to this
type of state fusion center as “state police intelligence on steroids.”
Less than 20% of fusion centers studied for this report were regional/local in
jurisdiction. The majority of regional centers exist in Urban Area Security Initiative
(UASI) regions, usually large cities with substantial populations and numerous
critical infrastructure sites. The regional centers were more likely than state centers
to have multiple agencies involved in their development and day-to-day operational
management.
Legal Authority
The majority of fusion centers do not operate under a separate and fusion
center-specific legal authority. Currently, the states legal authorities recognizing or
establishing a fusion center range from nonexistent, to memorandums of agreements
by the partnering agencies, and in one case a state statute which defines the center
and its responsibilities. The majority of the existing fusion centers are not currently
recognized by a governor’s executive order or by state legislation — rather, as most
centers are an outgrowth of the existing state law enforcement agency. As such, they
tend to derive their authority from statutes that created those state police agencies or
bureaus of investigation. Many of the fusion centers rely on internal policy
documentation to demonstrate the establishment of the centers: policy memoranda
signed by leaders of the state offices of homeland security or law enforcement
organizations, Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) between agencies participating
in the center, and/or internal center directives discussing the roles and responsibilities
of the organization. In one case, prior to the issuance of an executive order, a
regional center operated simply by partner agency consensus in the absence of
specific legal authority.57
The DHS and DOJ-produced Fusion Center Guidelines58 are silent on the
issue of recommended authorities desired to support the establishment and
continuing operation of a state fusion center. The lack of official state recognition
of these centers could prove troubling for fusion centers in the future. If there is a
reduction in future federal funding or moves to a cost-sharing model, federal grant
deciding bodies may view those fusion centers with sustained in-state funding
streams and/or a statutory recognition as more attractive candidates for continued
federal funding.
Multiple Fusion Centers
In several states there are more than one fusion center. The number of fusion
centers, as variously defined, within a single state ranges from two to eight. In some
states, the fusion centers appear to work well together, or at least have taken steps to
enhance their working relationship. In several states, they have worked to prevent
57 Interview with state fusion center official, May 2, 2007.
58 Department of Homeland Security and Department of Justice, Fusion Center Guidelines,
August, 2006. [http://it.ojp.gov/documents/fusion_center_guidelines_law_enforcement.pdf].

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the creation of multiple, non-integrated information silos by ensuring automatic
electronic data sharing or using the same information management system. In at least
two states, representatives from the fusion centers and/or it’s managing agency sat
on the governing board of the other center in the state. There was one case in which
a regional fusion center worked to help secure more funding for the state center,
which was having trouble getting homeland security grant funds due to the 80/20%
mandated split for local and state governments59 (this will be addressed in more depth
later in the report). In other cases, there appeared to be friction when several fusion
centers are operating (or are proposed for development) within a single state — some
even appeared to be in competition with each other. Overall, the relationships
between the multiple fusion centers within a single state haven’t been long
established and well tested. Although it has not been documented, several states with
multiple fusion centers reported that DHS recently requested that each state designate
a primary fusion center.
Mission/Scope
Given the fractured development of grassroots fusion centers around the
country, and the broad nature of federal guidelines on the subject, fusion centers have
significantly different roles and responsibilities. Some fusion centers are solely
counterterrorism focused, while others have a broader mission. Some are prevention
oriented, while others have a response and/or recovery role.
With regard to the ultimate purpose of state and regional fusion centers, the
topic remains open to debate. In some cases the stated purpose of these centers has
shifted in the few years they have been operating. Many of the “first-wave” centers,
those created soon after 9/11, were initially solely focused on counterterrorism.
Today, less than 15% of the fusion centers interviewed for this report described their
mission as solely counterterrorism. In the last year, some counterterrorism-focused
centers have expanded their mission to include all-crimes and/or all-hazards. For
some this shift is official, for others it is defacto, reflected in the day to day
operations of the center, but not in official documentation.
This shift towards an all-crimes and/or all-hazards focus can be explained by
several factors: appearance of a national trend, need for local and non-law
enforcement buy-in, and need for resources. First, leadership at several fusion
centers interviewed for this report noted they believed the country was moving
towards an all-crimes and/or all-hazards model and they felt they needed to move
with the changing tide. Others suggested it was impossible to create “buy in”
amongst local law enforcement agencies and other public sectors if a fusion center
was solely focused on counterterrorism, as the center’s partners often didn’t feel
threatened by terrorism, nor did they think their community would produce would-be
terrorists. Rather, most police departments and public sector agencies are more
concerned with issues such as gangs, narcotics, and street crime, which are more
relevant to their communities. Lastly, one fusion center mentioned that having a
wider purpose, that is all-crimes and/or all-hazards, allowed the fusion center to
59 See CRS Report RL33858, The Department of Homeland Security’s Risk Assessment
Methodology: Evolution, Issues, and Options for Congress
, February 2, 2007.

CRS-22
apply for a greater array of grants and draw on resources from more public agencies
and individual partners.
All-Crimes. A little more than 40% of fusion centers interviewed for this
report describe their center’s mission as dealing with “all-crimes.” There were
shades of meaning in the definition of “all-crimes” across fusion centers. Some
fusion centers were concerned with any crime, large or small, petty or violent. Such
centers provided support to investigations into single criminal acts and larger
criminal enterprises. Some centers, however, focused on large-scale, organized, and
destabilizing crimes, to include the illicit drug trade, gangs, terrorism, and organized
crime. One such center made the distinction that this approach was “homeland
security focused,” rather than all-crimes, which appears to recognize the potentially
destabilizing impact the aforementioned crimes can have on the overall security of
a community or region.
All-Hazards. A little more than 40% of fusion centers interviewed for this
report describe their center as “all-hazards”as well as all-crimes. It appears as if all-
hazards means different things to different people. The term itself appears to have
come out of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) work in the early
1980s to develop evacuation plans not only in response to nuclear attack, but to
address all-hazards.60 The all-hazards approach to preparedness and mitigation —
two of the four interrelated emergency management actions (the other two being
post-event, response and recovery) — soon became part of the federal government
and FEMA’s approach to emergency management. In many ways the concept has
evolved from a preparedness focus to a more proactive stance.
After the September 11th attacks, the federal government continued to
emphasize an all-hazards approach to preparedness. Indeed, the December 2003
Homeland Security Preparedness Directive (HSPD) No. 8 encourages an all-hazards
approach to homeland security preparedness and specifically defines “all-hazards
preparedness” as “preparedness for domestic terrorist attacks, major disasters, and
other emergencies.”61 However, the focus of the term seems to have shifted with the
help of the fusion center movement, as some fusion centers appear to have adopted
an all-hazards mission with a more proactive, prevention-focused stance.
60 “Intimations of Mortality,” The Economist, November 26, 1983, available from
[http://www.lexis.com], accessed on June 4, 2007 & see U.S. Federal Emergency
Management Agency, Guide for All-Hazard Emergency Operations Planning, September
1996, available from [http://www.fema.gov/pdf/plan/slg101.pdf], accessed on June 4, 2007,
which states, “flexible enough for use in all emergencies — including unforeseen events —
provides a community with an emergency management “bottom line.” From there, a
community can proceed confidently with long-term mitigation efforts directed at specific
hazards. Or, it can devote more resources to risk-based preparedness measures (e.g.,
specialized training, equipment, and planning). Whatever the initiative, an all-hazard EOP
helps the community start from a position of relative security.”
61 “Homeland Security Presidential Directive/HSPD-8,” December 17, 2003, available from
[http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/12/20031217-6.html], accessed on May
18, 2007.

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Moreover, there are some indications that different fusion centers viewed “all-
hazards” as pertaining to either their data streams, agency partners, or the center’s
role. For some, all-hazards suggests the fusion center is receiving and reviewing
streams of incoming information (i.e., intelligence and information) from agencies
dealing with all-hazards, to include law enforcement, fire departments, emergency
management, public health, etc. To others, all hazards means that representatives
from the aforementioned array of public sectors are represented in the center and/or
considered partners to its mission. At some centers, all-hazards denotes the entity’s
mission and scope — meaning the fusion center is responsible for preventing and
help mitigating both man-made events and natural disasters. For others, “all-
hazards” indicates both a pre-event prevention role as well as a post-event response,
and possibly recovery, role.
Several fusion center officials that described their center as having an all-
hazards focus mentioned the influence of Hurricane Katrina on their center’s
development. In most cases, the fusion centers with an all-hazards mission sought
to facilitate intelligence/information sharing and analysis pre-event (whether man-
made or natural disaster), but unlike some entirely prevention-oriented, all-crimes-
or counterterrorism-focused centers, also facilitated situational awareness post-event
(again for both man-made or natural disaster). In most cases, all-hazards-oriented
fusion centers sought to act as a force multiplier and support structure for existing
Emergency Operations Centers (EOCs), which remain responsible for coordinating
the response to large-scale incidents and disasters.
Operational v. Analytical
The majority of fusion centers interviewed for this report serve a solely, or at
least primarily, analytic role. These centers operate a support function for operations
and investigations, but are not directly engaged in such activities, although there were
some exceptions. Those centers that are more operational in nature tended to be
either largely “owned” and operated by a single state police/bureau of investigations
agency, and/or predominately staffed by sworn law enforcement personnel (as
compared to more analyst-heavy fusion centers).
The fusion center leadership of state-wide centers, which were largely
“owned” by one state agency, tended to have a more direct relationship with the
“boots on the ground.” These centers operated under the same parent agency, usually
a state police or investigation agency, making it easier to have direct access to both
investigators and their information/intelligence collection efforts. Regional and more-
multi-agency “owned” centers appeared unable, largely due to chain of command
issues, to directly task their partner agencies’ staffs. The operational activities of
these centers included responding to incident scenes, running/assisting with
investigations, and tasking collectors. In one case, a fusion center provided an
operational support unit to assist local law enforcement with investigations where it
lacked appropriate equipment and/or personnel.62
62 Interview with state fusion center official, May 4, 2007.

CRS-24
Prevention and/or Response
Most fusion centers fulfill both prevention and response functions, with a
bias toward prevention. Many states that have a separate emergency management
organization can direct greater attention toward prevention.
Prevention. The overwhelming majority of fusion center officials
interviewed for this report saw their centers as primarily prevention-oriented entities.
In order to prevent, as well as mitigate, a variety of threats, fusion centers work to
enhance information sharing, conduct threat assessments and analysis, and support
and/or facilitate preparedness efforts. To those ends, most fusion centers acted as:
! intelligence/information relay centers;
! collocation centers for personnel from various agencies (often with
access to their agencies’ databases);
! facilitators of coordination on a variety of projects;
! analytic centers; and
! case support centers.
For example, some centers operated largely as filtering stations — sifting through
many finished information and intelligence products from federal agencies, other
state fusion centers, and state and local law enforcement agencies to identify relevant
information for the center’s jurisdiction, which would be distributed to customer
agencies in the region. Others added analytic value to existing products by
supplementing local information or explicitly highlighting local connections to the
larger trends. Some fusion centers check the variety of databases they and their
partner agencies have access to in response to inquires from local police departments,
as the result of a private citizen tip relating to a suspicious incident, or as a result of
information gleaned from another information product. Sometimes fusion centers
provide case support to law enforcement agencies (at all levels of government). As
a general trend, it appears as if all of the fusion centers interviewed for this paper are
involved in at least one step of the intelligence cycle, but none appears to be involved
in all steps of the cycle.
Response. In most states, there is an emergency management agency
and/or operation center that is responsible for response activities to both man-made
and natural disasters.63 However, in numerous cases, the fusion center is described
as playing a situational awareness role to support the emergency operations center
(EOC) during events. Some fusion centers said they had a reserved seat at the EOC
that they could access during events. In a few cases, fusion centers had a more active
role: at least two have sent analysts to the command posts at both high profile events
(i.e. pro golf tournaments) and relevant emergencies (i.e. a fire or an explosion) to
relay information back to the fusion center.
63 According to NGA survey data, “100 percent of respondents have established a statewide
emergency operations center” — based on 2004 survey for 2005 report, with 38 of the 55
U.S. states and territories responding, the survey achieved a 69 percent response rate -
Homeland Security in the States: Much Progress, Much Work, January 24, 2005, available
from [http://www.nga.org/cda/files/0502HOMESEC.pdf], accessed on May 23, 2007.

CRS-25
Proactive v. Reactive
As previously stated, the overwhelming majority of fusion centers reviewed
for this report were described by their leadership as being primarily prevention
focused. In order to be successful in preventing (and mitigating) threats, fusion
center officials across the county frequently advocate the proactive stance their
centers have adopted. Many fusion centers state their proactive orientation marks a
departure from traditional policing, which is often reactive, post-event, and
prosecution focused. However, research indicates that while fusion centers want to
become more proactive, many continue to follow a reactive model.
Most fusion centers respond to incoming requests, suspicious activity reports,
and/or finished information/intelligence products. This approach largely relies on
data points or analysis that are already identified as potentially problematic. As
mentioned above, it could be argued that this approach will only identify
unsophisticated criminals and terrorists. The 2007 Fort Dix plot64 may serve as a
good example — would law enforcement have ever become aware of this plot if the
would-be perpetrators hadn’t taken their jihad video to a video store to have it
copied? While state homeland security and law enforcement officials appear to have
reacted quickly and passed the information to the FBI, would they have ever been
able to find would-be terrorists within their midst if those individuals avoided
activities, criminal or otherwise, that might bring to light their plot?
It is unclear if a single fusion center has successfully adopted a truly
proactive prevention approach to information analysis and sharing. No state and its
local jurisdictions appear to have fully adopted the intelligence cycle. While some
states have seen limited success in integrating federal intelligence community
analysis into their fusion centers, research indicates most continue to struggle with
developing a “true fusion process” which includes value added analysis of broad
streams of intelligence, identification of gaps, and fulfillment of those gaps, to
prevent criminal and terrorist acts.
Access to Information/Intelligence

An important consideration when assessing the maturity of fusion center
information sharing and analysis efforts is the centers’ access to and quality of
relevant information and intelligence. Following the September 11th attacks, there
was an outcry about the failure of information sharing between the federal
intelligence and law enforcement communities and state and local officials. The 9/11
Commission concluded, “The biggest impediment to all-source analysis — to a
greater likelihood of connecting the dots — is the human or systemic resistence to
sharing information.”65 As some homeland security observers have noted those who
do not share information outside their agency may use the classification barrier (not
64 For more information see DOJ, “Six Individuals Charged with Plotting to Murder U.S.
Soldiers at New Jersey Military Base,” Press Release, May 8, 2007, available from
[http://newark.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/2007/nk050807.htm], accessed on July 26, 2007.
65 The 9/11 Commission Report: Final Report of the National Commission of Terrorist
Attacks Upon the United States
, p. 416.

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having appropriate clearances) or the reciprocity challenge associated with security
clearances (having a clearance sponsored by an agency other than the one that owned
the information) as an excuse for failing to probatively share information. This was
especially true with regards to vertical information sharing - sharing between federal
agencies and sub-federal entities, like state and local law enforcement and other first
responders.
Clearances. In the nearly six years since the attacks, it appears as if federal
intelligence agencies have made a concerted effort to provide clearances to numerous
state and local personnel. Almost all fusion centers studied for this report had
multiple personnel with security clearances, although there were a couple of
exceptions that had few if any cleared personnel. On average, fusion centers appear
to have 14 staff with Secret clearances,66 which is not insignificant considering the
average staff size of the fusion centers interviewed for this report was approximately
27 full-time persons.67 Clearances for state and local personnel were not restricted to
Secret-level clearances, but also included some Top Secret (approximately 6 persons
on average) and Top Secret-Secure Compartmentalized Information (SCI)
(approximately one person on average) clearances as well.68 In some cases federal
detailees to the centers held the highest level clearances, in other cases, state, and
local officials assigned to the center held TS/SCI clearances. It is important to note
that discussions with fusion center officials suggest there is a lag between obtaining
clearances and obtaining the necessary equipment for receiving and storing classified
intelligence.
It appears the FBI provided most of the initial security clearances for state and
local authorities following September 11th. According to the FBI, as of August 2005,
6,011 such clearances have been authorized since the program began in 2002.69
However, based on interviews with fusion centers, that appears to be changing.
Fusion center representatives claimed that in recent months DHS has increasingly
conducted security clearances for state and local personnel at fusion centers. Fusion
centers claimed that the DHS process has improved to the point that it was faster than
the FBI’s. In a few cases, fusion centers reported turning to DHS after local FBI
leadership no longer offered to clear state and locals in their fusion center. Others
66 For information on the various security clearances mentioned in this report see FBI,
“Security Clearance Process for State and Local Law Enforcement,” available from
[http://www.fbi.gov/clearance/securityclearance.htm], accessed on July 27, 2007, and
Derrick Dortch, “Getting a Security Clearance,” The Washington Post, June 25, 2004,
[http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A52768-2003Feb10?language=printer],
accessed on June 27, 2007.
67 For the purposes of this report, the authors attempted to focus on full-time personnel with
clearances, although in some cases fusion centers have a large number of cleared part-time
personnel.
68 It should be noted that in some cases those individuals with Top Secret and Top Secret
SCI clearances are actually federal detailees assigned to the center - however, although that
may impact what information is shared and when is shared, it does represent the capability
to receive highly classified information in the fusion center.
69 Kevin Johnson, “FBI Gets Local Police in the Loop,” USA Today, August 2, 2005, News
Section, 3A.

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suggested the FBI only provided high-end (Top Secret, TS SCI) clearances, while
DHS conducted investigations for Secret clearances. Regardless of who is
sponsoring security clearances for non-federal government personnel, issues remain
regarding reciprocity among agencies in recognizing another’s clearance which at
times hinders an individual from accessing facilities and computer systems.
Classified Systems Access. In the past few years, state and local
authorities have received increased and enhanced access to classified information
systems. This appears to be largely facilitated by the proliferation of systems
designed for state and local law enforcement and other public sector use, and due to
increased collocation with federal agencies, and, as previously mentioned, a growing
number of security clearances for state/local officials. DHS created HSIN, HSIN-
Secret, and the Homeland Security Data Network (HSDN)70 as portals to facilitate
information sharing with and among state and local agencies, including at the
classified level.
In addition to the significant number of cleared state and local personnel at
the fusion centers, fusion center collocation with federal agencies has also increased
state/local access to threat intelligence and information. However, often that access
was indirect (i.e. a federal official may need to access the information on behalf of
state and local fusion center staff). For example, state/regional fusion centers
collocated with the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) or Field Intelligence
Group (FIG)71 often have indirect, and sometimes direct, access to FBI information
systems and/or the other systems housed in the facility’s Sensitive
Compartmentalized Information Facility (SCIF).72 Fusion centers that are not
70 HSIN-Intel is a portal DHS uses “primarily to disseminate current homeland security
intelligence information and integrated intelligence assessments derived from both DHS and
Intelligence community sources” to both law enforcement, first responders, and private
sector homeland security partners. According to DHS officials, HSIN-Secret (HSIN-S) is
the portal through which the Department”provides intelligence products up to the collateral
SECRET classification level to our State and local partners...” HSDN is “analogous to the
Department of Defense’s Secret Internet Protocol Network (SIPRNET).” Charles E. Allen,
“The Homeland Security Information Network: An Update on DHS Information Sharing
Efforts,” Statement for the Record before the House Homeland Security Committee,
Subcommittee on Intelligence, Information Sharing, and Terrorism Risk Assessment,
September 13, 2006, 5, 6, 7, respectively.
71 The purpose of the Field Intelligence Groups (FIG) as described by the FBI is to “manage
and coordinate intelligence functions in the field. The FIGs are the mechanism through
which the FBI contributes to regional and local perspectives on a variety of issues, including
the receipt of and action on integrated investigative and intelligence requirements. In
addition, FIGs provide the intelligence link to the Joint Terrorism Task Forces (JTTF),
Fusion Centers, FBIHQ, and other intelligence community agencies. FIGs are staffed by
intelligence analysts (IAs), special agents (SAs), language analysts (LAs), and surveillance
specialists.” John S. Pistole, Statement before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence,
January 25, 2007, available from
[http://www.fbi.gov/congress/congress07/pistole012507.htm], accessed on June 27, 2007.
72 It should be noted that the terms SCIF and secure room are often incorrectly used
interchangeably to describe a separate office within a facility. A SCIF, according to the
(continued...)

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collocated, but that have federal agency detailees often have indirect access through
those representatives. There are several fusion centers who have built, or are in the
process of building, their own SCIF or secure room in order to have direct access to
such systems.
Responsibility to Share Replaces Need to Know. The support within
the federal IC and law enforcement agencies to share sensitive information with state
and local law enforcement, fusion centers, and other public sector entities appears to
have increased in recent years. Moving from a “need to know” rule to a
“responsibility to share” rule73 for information sharing and addressing the security
designation and handling restrictions that act as barriers to effective information
sharing appears to be a priority for the DNI’s office, as is evident by the efforts of the
Program Manager for the Information Sharing Environment (PM-ISE or ISE).
However, it could be questioned whether the PM-ISE has authorities commensurate
with the office’s responsibilities to implement its initiatives across all levels of
government.74
Numerous fusion centers officials claim that although their center receives a
substantial amount of information from federal agencies, they never seem to get the
“right information”75 or receive it in an efficient manner. According to many state
fusion center leaders, often pertinent threat intelligence must be requested by fusion
centers, rather than federal agencies being proactive in providing it. The obvious
difficulty arises regarding the inability to request relevant threat information that is
unknown to members of the fusion center. The 9/11 Commission criticized the lack
of incentives to share information and penalties for those who didn’t share within the
Intelligence Community. Even if federal IC agencies have instituted incentives and
penalties for information/intelligence sharing, it is unclear if these requirements
would apply to vertical sharing with state and local authorities, as well as the private
sector counterparts and what mechanisms might be in place to assess effectiveness.
Both H.R. 1 and S. 4, two bills pending before Congress, address enhanced
72 (...continued)
National Security Agency, is “an accredited area, room, group of rooms, buildings, or
installation where Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) may be stored, used,
discussed, and/or processed.” See NSA Website, available from
[http://www.nsa.gov/business/busin00010.cfm], accessed on June 19, 2007. By contrast,
a secure room is an office that has simple locking devices in place to control the flow of
personnel into the area. A secure room is not built to the same structural specifications as
that of a SCIF and can only store sensitive unclassified information.
73 It is recognized that, notwithstanding a renewed effort to enhance information sharing,
there remains a need to protect intelligence sources and methods.
74 The responsibilities and authorities of the PM-ISE are outlined in P.L. 108-458, Section
1016.
75 As mentioned above, this could be a perception problem amongst state and local personnel
unfamiliar with the limits of national intelligence and/or an issue related to extent to which
federal products are tailored to state and local needs. For more information, CRS Report
RL34061, Intelligence and Information-Sharing Elements of S. 4 and H.R. 1, June 26, 2007,
by Todd Masse.

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information sharing mechanisms, including monetary and non-monetary awards to
federal employees as incentives for information sharing.76
Information/Intelligence Sharing and Management
By all accounts information sharing between federal and sub-federal agencies
has improved since the September 11th attacks. However, according to some fusion
officials it appears that information sharing from the federal government to the state
and local fusion centers continues to be a largely reactive, especially when it comes
to information state and local officials believe is relevant to their jurisdiction.
Several fusion center officials remarked that they receive such intelligence and/or
information when they request it, which is an improvement over pre-9/11 situation,
however according to fusion center officials, federal agencies are still not proactive
in reaching out to state and regional fusion centers, sometimes even when a
connection to that locality is apparent in an analytic product. Other fusion centers
cited a lack of feedback when the fusion center or one of its state/local partners
provides information up to the federal government.
State/Locally-Administered Systems. Research indicates that there
may be a misconception that all states and regions are operating sophisticated
intelligence management systems that have access to all databases available within
their jurisdiction. Not every state has a state-wide intelligence system, in fact many
don’t. Such systems are expensive and potentially problematic in getting all agencies
with homeland security-related missions to adopt a particular system. Even states
that have such a system, often don’t have access to all the data pools outsiders
believe they do. For example, one center that is more mature than many of its
counterparts reported having access to only 30% of the law enforcement data in the
state — and that was good compared to other respondent fusion centers.77 One state
is preparing to go online with a statewide database that will have access to 92% of
law enforcement records (state and local), but this is the exception rather than the
rule.78
Access to Private Sector Systems. There is also a misconception that
fusion centers, and the information management systems that some of them manage,
have access to vast amounts of private sector data. This is largely unfounded. Even
within fusion centers that have long established relationships with private sector
organizations and individual companies, as some do, fusion centers do not typically
appear to have access to their data. The flow of information from the private sector
to fusion centers is largely sporadic, event driven, and manually facilitated. It does
not appear that these databases are directly linked together. In general, the private
sector seems very wary of that level of sharing — concerned with lack of government
76 See Tile VII, section 723 of H.R. 1 RFS, Implementing the 9/11 Commission
Recommendations Act of 2007; and Title I, section 114, of S. 4.ES, “Improving America’s
Security Act of 2007.”
77 Interview with state fusion center official, April 24, 2007.
78 Interview with state fusion center official, May 7, 2007.

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safeguards, industrial espionage, exposing weaknesses to competitors, as well as
privacy and civil liberties concerns.
Lack of Interoperability of Systems. There are areas of concern related
to these information management systems, specifically that there is a lack of
coordination regarding the adoption of such systems nationally. In many cases, state-
wide intelligence systems cannot work in conjunction with other systems within the
state or regionally. Despite federal efforts to promote the use of Extensible Markup
Language (XML) as the standard format across levels of government for justice and
public safety information management systems,79 fusion centers and states continue
to purchase systems that operate using proprietary language and that cannot “speak”
to other systems without additional equipment and costs. This may be due to the lack
of mandatory guidance on this issue and other technology-related concerns.
Currently, all guidance on this is voluntary.
Plethora of Federally-Sponsored Systems. In addition to funding
concerns, the most consistent and constant issue raised by fusion center officials
relates to the plethora of competing federal information sharing systems. The fusion
centers interviewed for this report cited numerous sites operated by federal agencies
that they needed to check in order to receive information from the federal law
enforcement and intelligence communities, including, but not limited to, the HSIN
and its sister systems HSIN-Secret and HSDN, Law Enforcement Online (LEO),
Federal Protective Service (FPS) portal, Regional Information Sharing Systems
(RISS), among others.
Respondent fusion center officials remarked that their staff could spend all
day, every day reviewing all the information posted on these systems, and still not be
confident they had seen all relevant and/or unique data. Often information is
duplicated on several sites, but because of the occasional situation when it is not,
fusion center officials believe they need to check them all. One official found the
message from Washington regarding efforts to streamline dissemination channels
contradictory with the continued promotion of individual agency’s “pet projects” at
the state and local level. In addition, fusion center officials found the systems’
usability and security lacking. This problem affects not only how fusion centers
receive information, but how they pass it to federal agencies. In several cases, it
appeared as if information flow to a particular federal agency was severely impeded
because the fusion center resisted using the system/portal run by the agency and did
not have personal contacts to send information directly.
Classified Systems. Several fusion center officials mentioned problems
related to the different requirements federal agencies have for creating secure spaces
to house their classified information systems. The lack of reciprocity for such spaces
and the lack of coordination between federal agencies likely results in increased costs
for fusion centers. The construction of secure spaces needed to house classified
intelligence systems can reportedly cost “two to 10 times the cost of conventional
79 DOJ, Global JXDM User Guide: Building Exchange Content Using the Global JXDM:
A User Guide for Pr actitioners and Developers, available from
[http://it.ojp.gov/topic.jsp?topic_id=201], accessed on June 1, 2007.

CRS-31
office space, depending on features required.”80 Construction companies estimate
that the cost of building a SCIF in an existing state/local facility can cost $200-$500
per square foot, and sometimes more depending on the requirements of the federal
sponsoring agency.81 Several fusion centers interviewed for this report mentioned
estimated costs between $75,000-$100,000 to build each secure space at their
respective centers. In a few cases, fusion centers mentioned they had been advised
they would need more than one such space because individual federal agencies had
different security requirements for their own systems. One such center that is moving
to a new space was told they needed to create three different secure spaces to house
different federal information systems — a cost that would be largely, if not entirely,
borne by the center.82
Over-classification and Excessive Number of Security/Handling
Instructions. Systematic over-classification was identified by the 9/11
Commission Report as preventing critical intelligence from reaching law
enforcement, state officials and infrastructure operators.83 It could be argued that the
federal government has been slow to address the over-classification of intelligence,
and the culture of “ownership” over intelligence products generated by particular
federal intelligence or law enforcement agencies continues to be an obstacle to
information sharing.84 In addition, there is a serious lack of standardization regarding
classification designations and dissemination guidelines.
Sensitive But Unclassified (SBU). Moreover, it has been argued that the
federal government uses a large number of distinct security designations and a variety
of handling instructions that make using classified information unnecessarily
confusing and onerous. A 2006 Government Accountability Office (GAO) study
found federal agencies involved with terrorism-related intelligence currently use “a
total of 56 different designations for information they determined to be sensitive but
unclassified, and agencies that account for a large percentage of the homeland
security budget reported using most of these designations.”85 More than half of the
agencies involved in the study reported encountering difficulties sharing sensitive but
80 Barnaby Wickham, “BRAC Realignment Brings No Surprises to Baltimore Real Estate
Executives,” The Daily Record (Baltimore, MD), September 7, 2005, available from
[http://www.lexis.com], accessed on June 5, 2007.
81 Phone Interview with construction company engaged in SCIF construction, June 12, 2007.
82 Interview with regional fusion center, May 3, 2007.
83 See National Commission of Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, The 9/11
Commission Report: Final Report of the National Commission of Terrorist Attacks Upon
the United States
, pp. 417-418.
84 See Matthew M. Johnson, "Local Counterterrorism Efforts Handicapped by
Intelligence-Sharing Woes," CQ Homeland Security - Intelligence, June 29, 2007.
85 US Government Accountability Office (GAO), Information Sharing: The Federal
Government Needs to Establish Policies and Processes for Sharing Terrorism-related and
Sensitive but Unclassified Information, (Washington DC: GAO, 2006), 21.

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unclassified information.86 This is certainly echoed by state and local law
enforcement agencies, which found the “multiplicity of designations and definitions
not only causes confusion but leads to an alternating feast or famine of
information.”87 In addition, “lack of clarity on dissemination rules and lack of
common standards for controlling sensitive but unclassified information, often
overwhelm end users with the same or similar information from multiple sources.”88
GAO concluded that, without standardization for security designations, guidance and
monitoring, there is a probability that “the designation will be misapplied, potentially
restricting material unnecessarily or resulting in the dissemination of information that
should be restricted.”89
One PM-ISE effort that may ameliorate this issue is the Controlled
Unclassified Initiative (CUI) which is seeking to reduce the number of SBU
designations from over 100 to three, with clear instructions for security, handling,
and dissemination.90 This initiative appears to still be in the development stage.
Over-classification. Congress and the Administration have acted to
address over-classification through the IRTPA which required the President within
270 days of the enactment of IRTPA to
issue guidelines for acquiring, accessing, sharing, and using information,
including guidelines to ensure that information is provided in its most
shareable form, such as by using tearlines to separate out data from the
sources and methods by which the data are obtained.91
To date, it appears that no such guideline has been issued92 and due to continued
over-classification, it may be that fusion centers, as well as other pertinent SLT
officials, may not receive all the relevant threat information they need. Before
IRTPA, the 9/11 Commission also addressed the issue of over-classification in its
final report. The report proposes that
when a[n] [intelligence] report is first created, its data be separated from
the sources and methods by which they are obtained. The report should
86 Ibid., p. 21.
87 Ibid., p. 25
88 Ibid.
89 Ibid., p. 21.
90 See Federal Information at the Fusion Center: Rules of the Road, an ISE presentation
delivered at the National Fusion Center Conference, March 6, 2007. See also Ambassador
Ted McNamara, Statement for the Record submitted to the House Committee on Homeland
Security Subcommittee on Intelligence, Information Sharing, and Terrorism Risk
Assessment, April 26, 2007, available from [http://www.ise.gov/docs/HHSC-
20070426-%20McNamara%20Testimony.pdf], accessed on June 19, 2007, 5-6.
91 Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004, P.L. 108-458 (SEC.
1016.(d)1).
92 The PM-ISE Implementation Plan (November 2006, Table, ES-1, p. xvii) provides for two
requirements and five guidelines, none of which directly address over-classification.

CRS-33
begin with the information in its most shareable, but still meaningful, form.
Therefore the maximum number of recipients can access some form of that
information. If knowledge of further details becomes important, any user
can query further, with access granted or denied according to the rules set
for the network — and with queries leaving an audit trail in order to
determine who accessed the information.93
The argument that security designations are often necessary due to sensitive
sources and methods, which prevents intelligence from reaching many SLT officials,
may be overstated. In many cases, the intelligence may have even been culled from
open source information. In addition, the majority of fusion center officials
interviewed for this report were near emphatic that they were not concerned with
sources and methods. Rather, fusion center officials wanted to know if the
originating agency had deemed the threat credible and if the threat had been
corroborated.
Funding: A State Perspective
While not mandated by federal law or executive order, many federal
government agencies recognize the utility of state created fusion centers. As such,
over the past two years the federal government has provided financial support to the
fusion centers with the states continuing to pay for approximately 80% of fusion
center budgets.94 While state leadership has expressed appreciation for this funding
others have questioned the effectiveness of federal government support to state fusion
centers.95 Other state leaders are concerned that the desire for additional federal
funding and direction may be problematic as they are concerned that the greater
support provided by the federal government will lead to prescriptive requirements
levied on the fusion centers.96
According to FY2007 homeland security grant guidance, the State Homeland
Security Program, Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) grant program, and Law
Enforcement Terrorism Prevention (LETTP) Program, and the Metropolitan Medical
Response System (MMRS) grant program (the four of which comprise the
overwhelming majority of all Homeland Security Grant Program (HSGP) funding
streams, and the majority of all homeland security-related grants administered by
93 National Commission of Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, The 9/11 Commission
Report: Final Report of the National Commission of Terrorist Attacks Upon the United
States
, Authorized Edition (New York: WW Norton & Company, 2004), 417-418.
94 Numerical assessment derived from discussion with fusion center leaders detailing the
approximate funds received to date from the federal government.
95 Comments by fusion center leadership during the survey interviews noted that while the
funding from the federal government was appreciated and needed to assist in establishing
the center, the lack of strategy and direction accompanying the support left many centers
confused regarding its role in homeland security as well as the federal strategy for
information sharing.
96 Comment by fusion center leader during CRS hosted fusion center discussion, May 31,
2007.

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DHS97), require that at least 80% of all funds be passed to local jurisdictions.98 This
policy was cited continually by fusion center officials as a major hurdle in channeling
the homeland security funds toward state-wide fusion center efforts. Several also
cited the required spending split as leading to the creation of regional fusion centers
within states that already had a state-wide center operating. These requirements have
been used in several previous grant cycles.99
Much like the diverse missions of fusion centers, state and federal funding
and programmatic support to the nation’s fusion centers also varies greatly. As noted
earlier in the report, to date the nation’s fusion centers have largely been paid for with
state funds. Some of the surveyed fusion centers did not receive state or federal start-
up funds and were established by simply combining and renaming existing state
and/or local public safety-related agencies into a state fusion center.
Annual budgets for the fusion centers studied for this report appear to range
from the tens of thousands to several million (with one outlier at over $15 million).
Similarly, the sources of funding differed significantly from center to center — as
stated, some were entirely dependent on diverting funds from existing state and/or
local funding streams, while others were largely funded by federal grants. Federal
funding ranged from 0%-100% of fusion center budgets, with the average and
median percentage of federal funding at approximately 31% and 21%, respectively.
Thus, it appears that on the whole, fusion centers are predominately state and locally
funded.
Staffing
In general, the fusion centers studied for this report remain largely law
enforcement oriented entities. That said, centers appear to be increasingly bolstering
their non-sworn officer ranks and reaching out to non-law enforcement homeland
security partners.
Staffing Levels. Staffing levels at fusion centers that are fully operational
range from 3 to nearly 250 full-time personnel, with the average number of full time
staff at approximately 27 persons. Part time personnel ranged from 0 to over 100,
with the average number of part time staff at fusion centers running far lower.
Federal representation at the fusion centers in question is small percentage-wise, but
can have a big impact on the center itself. Such participation can provide access to
additional information streams and help facilitate the security clearance process, as
97 The only HSGP program that does not is Citizen Corps. Grant allocations used to
determine this assessment were provided by the Department of Homeland Security in phone
calls on June 21 & 26, 2007.
98 [U.S. Department of Homeland Security, FY2007 Homeland Security Grant Program:
Program Guidance and Application Kit, January 2007, available from
[http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/odp/docs/fy07_hsgp_guidance.pdf], accessed on June 19, 2007,
39-40.
99 For example, FY2003 and FY2004 grant guidance documentation,
[ h t t p : / / w w w . d h s . g o v / x n e w s / r e l e a s e s / p r e s s _ r e l e a s e _ 0 2 7 4 . s h t m ] a n d
[http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/First_Responder_Press.doc], accessed June 19, 2007.

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well as impact the overall relationship between the federal sponsor agency and the
fusion center.
Law Enforcement Personnel. In general, law enforcement personnel are
the dominant participants in the fusion centers studied in this report. Furthermore,
the majority of sworn officers detailed to fusion efforts are from state police agencies
and state bureaus of investigation, rather than local departments. Some may argue
this is natural given the majority of fusion centers are state-wide entities that grew
out of state police/bureau of investigation intelligence/analysis units. Of the local
law enforcement agencies represented, the overwhelming majority are from the
largest local police departments in the country, which have more resources, and in
some cases, intelligence units (which are somewhat rare in local police departments
as will be discussed below).
While in general, law enforcement and public safety officials have more prior
experience with intelligence then the other non-law enforcement public sector entities
that are increasingly involved in fusion centers, it is important not to overstate law
enforcement experience and/or resources with regard to intelligence. In general,
many local law enforcement agencies may not have an intelligence or analytic unit,
reiterating what RAND found in 2004 when it reported that
64 percent of state law enforcement agencies reported having a separate
criminal intelligence unit, as compared to only 10 percent of local law
enforcement agencies.100
While many local police departments do not have an intelligence unit, they may have
an analyst(s). However, even when local departments have an analyst(s) and were
interested in detailing someone to the fusion center, they may not have enough man
power to do so on a full time basis, and for many on a part time basis. There are
many other cases where local law enforcement agencies appear unconvinced of the
value of fusion centers — and by their cost/benefit analysis, it does not currently
benefit the department to detail personnel to the center.
Non-Sworn Personnel from Law Enforcement Agencies. Although
the majority of fusion center personnel come from law enforcement agencies, not all
of them are sworn officers. It appears that most fusion centers have made a concerted
effort to hire crime and/or intelligence analysts. In one case, a fusion center had
tactically oriented, case support analysts, and more strategic analysts that managed
specific threat portfolios, as well as non-sworn analyst supervisors.101 Over the last
two funding cycles, fusion centers have increasingly hired contract analysts using
homeland security funds, although the length of the contracts has proved problematic
for many fusion centers, which will be discussed further below.
100 Lois M. Davis et al, When Terrorism Hits Home: How Prepared Are State and Local
Law Enforcement?
, available from [http://www.rand.org/pubs/monographs/2004/RAND_
MG104.pdf] accessed on May 22, 2007, 44.
101 Interview with Fusion Center Official, April 25, 2007.

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Non-Law Enforcement Personnel. All-hazards centers are more likely
than their counterterrorism or all-crimes colleagues to have non-criminal justice
personnel,102 to include Department of Health, Fire, Emergency Management
Services (EMS), and other non-traditional homeland security partners in the public
sector. Surprisingly, there were a number of fusion centers that had been described
as all-hazards that did not have non-law enforcement personnel working in the center.
In many cases, non-law enforcement public sector detailees to the fusion centers
worked part-time and/or had a desk and were pre-cleared so they could work out of
the center as needed and/or during an event.
Federal Participation. As will be addressed in greater detail below,
almost all of the fusion centers studied for this report have some federal presence.
The agencies represented, roles they play, and size of detailee staff differed
significantly from center to center. To varying degrees, federal participation in state
and regional fusion centers appears to influence the relationship between levels of
government, state, and local access to information and resources, the flow of
information/intelligence, and maturation with regards to intelligence cycle functions.
Approximately 30% of fusion centers are collocated with a federal agency(s), and as
a result, that federal agency(s) may have a significant influence on their development,
operation, and even budget demands.
There appears to be a direct correlation between contact between a federal
agency and a fusion center, and the center’s positive outlook on the relationship
between the two. In general, fusion centers collocated with a federal agency reported
favorable relationships with that agency. This was often in stark contrast to the views
of other fusion centers not collocated with a federal agency(s). For instance, one
fusion center collocated with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had
nothing but praise for the agency, but another fusion center not collocated expressed
frustration at not getting cooperation from ICE.103 It should be noted that collocation
and praise for inter-agency coordination does not necessarily translate to enhanced
organizational effectiveness. Many fusion center leaders stated that collocation and
the appearance of seamless coordination did not obviate the need to frequently
inquire about information or an incident that was known to federal employees but not
shared with state fusion center representatives.
Furthermore, fusion centers that were not collocated with a federal agency,
but had a representative from a federal agency located full time in the center, were
more likely to have a favorable impression of the relationship between the two than
centers that lacked such a representative. Thus it is not surprising that many of the
fusion center directors surveyed spoke of a close relationship with the local FBI
entities: JTTF, Field Office, and FIG, given the large number of detailees from those
entities.
102 “Criminal justice personnel” is used to refer to personnel from both state, local, and tribal
traditional police departments as well as corrections, parole, natural resource enforcement,
alcohol enforcement bureaus, park police, etc.
103 Interviews with state fusion center officials, April 12, April 17, and May 2, 2007.

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Federalism and the Federal Role in Fusion Centers
One of the central, if implicit, themes that runs throughout this report is
federalism. That is, while fusion centers were largely established by states, if the
federal intent is to create a network of fusion centers that can be leveraged for both
state, local, and federal public safety and homeland security purposes, there are
several challenges that must be overcome. Research indicates one of the central
challenges of designing a constructive and productive federal role in supporting these
state and local fusion centers is working to ensure that the centers retain their state
and local-level identity and support from those communities. According to many
homeland security observers, one manifestation of this tension lies in the need to
strike a balance between the national needs for a consistent provider of state and local
threat information with the state’s autonomy to pursue issues deemed of importance
to local jurisdictions. This tension is often notable when reviewing the diverse, and
at times incompatible, types of threat and warning products required by state leaders
and contrasted to those requested by federal homeland security and law enforcement
entities.
Part of the challenge from the federal perspective has been how to guide, but
not dictate to, the “owners and operators” of these largely state-established entities
prior to the provision of any federal financial support. And, once federal financial
and human resources support was provided, how to coordinate and target these
resources for maximum overall return on investment.
Another example of how federalism flows throughout the fusion center issue
is the legal treatment of terrorism. Terrorism is a federal crime. If it is prosecuted
at all, it is usually done at the federal level. However, since the September 11th
attacks, terrorism has been codified as a crime in many states.104 Another example
of how federalism permeates fusion centers is privacy. There is one Federal Privacy
Act,105 and numerous state privacy laws.106 If fusion centers are serving both state,
local, and federal ends, one of the central questions becomes what is the role of the
federal government in supporting these centers, and what products and services can
the federal government reasonably expect the centers to produce, given federal
funding levels.
As elements of the states and regions they serve, fusion centers began to
develop critical mass or staying power in the years immediately following the
terrorist attacks of 2001. As these centers continued to proliferate across the country
and garnered state support, federal entities began to take notice. While some 30
percent of the fusion centers interviewed were established prior to 2004, concrete
federal financial support for the centers did not materialize until Fiscal Year 2004,
104 National Conference of State Legislatures, Summaries of Crime-Related Terrorism State
Enactments, available from [http://www.ncsl.org/programs/cj/02terrorsum.htm], January
2003, accessed on June 19, 2007.
105 See the Privacy Act of 1974, codified at 5 U.S.C, Section 552a.
106 See National Conference of State Legislatures, available at
[http://www.ncsl.org/programs/pubs/privacy-overview.htm] [accessed May 30, 2007].

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when, according to DHS, it provided $29 million of Homeland Security Grant
Program funding.107 Federal guidance to the fusion centers followed shortly
thereafter in July 2005. Finally, in 2006, human capital support in the form of DHS
and FBI detailees to the centers began taking place.
While DHS has provided direct financial support to the fusion centers through
the HSGP, the FBI has not provided direct financial support. The FBI’s contributions
have come more in the form of support for security clearances,108 personnel support,
and other “in-kind” contributions, such as rent payments when centers are collocated
with FBI Joint Terrorism Task Forces or Field Intelligence Groups.109
The federal government has played several roles in assisting states and
regions to develop their fusion centers, including the provision of:
! Recognition, post-9/11, of the need to have state and local
governments and the private sector, non-traditional actors in national
security matters, play an increasingly important role in homeland
security.
! Guidance, to be adopted voluntarily by fusion centers, on the central
elements of a fusion center and suggested methods for how to
establish and operate sound fusion center policies and practices.
! Technical assistance and training related to issues encountered as
fusion centers develop.
! Financial resources to support fusion center “start up” costs,
including system connectivity.
! Human resources to assist in interaction with federal agencies and
analytical fusion.
! Assistance to support enhanced information sharing between the
federal government and state and local entities through the fusion
centers.
! Congressional hearings on fusion centers.
! Promulgation of federal regulations.
107 See DHS, Office of Grants and Training, Fusion Centers: DHS Funded Activities —
Fiscal Years 2004-2006
, April 2007.
108 According to the FBI, it has obtained security clearances for 520 State and local law
enforcement officers assigned to fusion centers. See FBI, “Fusion Centers,” material
provided to CRS from the FBI, dated May 25, 2007.
109 See FBI, “Fusion Centers,” material provided to CRS from the FBI, dated May 25, 2007.

CRS-39
Recognition of Homeland Security Role for Non-Traditional
Actors

As alluded to above, the rise of state and regional fusion centers is part of a
greater movement to decentralize homeland security to include non-traditional
stakeholders (public health, emergency responders, and the private sector) at all
levels of government (to include state, local, and tribal). The federal government
appears to have recognized that the September 11th attacks signaled a need for greater
state and local participation in homeland security. The 2002 National Strategy for
Homeland Security
acknowledges the expansion of responsibility for homeland
defense and security, stating:
The nature of American society and the structure of American governance
make it impossible to achieve the goal of a secure homeland through
federal executive branch action alone. The Administration’s approach to
homeland security is based on the principles of shared responsibility and
partnership with the Congress, state and local governments, the private
sector, and the American people.110
Even prior to the attacks of 9/11/2001, before the term “homeland security”
was part of our national lexicon, the Department of Justice was working to ensure
public safety and criminal information was shared across levels of governments. In
1998, the Department of Justice created the Global Justice Information Sharing
Initiative (Global), a “group of groups” representing more than 30 independent
organizations spanning the spectrum of law enforcement, judicial, correctional, and
related bodies.111 In October 2003, Global released The National Criminal
Intelligence Sharing Plan
(NCISP), which sought to:
link federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies so that they can
share intelligence information to prevent terrorism and crime.112
However, the NCISP does not explicitly address fusion centers and their role in
information sharing fusion is not mentioned. It was not until July 2005 that federal
fusion center guidelines were issued.
110 U.S. Office of Homeland Security, The National Strategy for Homeland Security, July
2002, available from [http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/nat_strat_hls.pdf], accessed on
May 22, 2007, p. 2.
111 See U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Program, Information Technology
Initiatives, “Global Justice Information Sharing Initiative (Global),” available at
[http://it.ojp.gov/topic.jsp?topic_id=8] (accessed June 1, 2007).
112 U.S. Department of Justice, “Attorney General Ashcroft Announces Implementation of
the National Criminal Intelligence Sharing Plan,” Press Release, May 14, 2004, available
from [http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2004/May/04_ag_328.htm], accessed on June 4, 2007.

CRS-40
Federal Fusion Center Guidelines
Under the aegis of the DOJ’s Global,113 Federal Fusion Center Guidelines
have been developed, as recommended by the Homeland Security Advisory
Council’s Intelligence and Information Sharing Working Group in December 2004.114
Global has issued two sets of Guidelines, and continues to work on additional
guidance with, among other entities, the Office of the Director of National
Intelligence’s Program Manager for the Information Sharing Environment. The first
set of Guidelines, entitled Fusion Center Guidelines: Developing and Sharing
Information and Intelligence in a New Era — Guidelines for Establishing and
Operating Fusion Centers at the Local, State, and Federal Levels — the Law
Enforcement Intelligence Component
was published in July 2005.
The second set of Guidelines, entitled Fusion Center Guidelines Developing
and Sharing Information and Intelligence in a New Era — Guidelines for
Establishing and Operating Fusion Centers at the Local, State, and Federal Levels
— Law Enforcement Intelligence, Public Safety and the Private Sector
was published
in August 2006. The federal Fusion Center Guidelines (FCG) received support from
several law enforcement organizations, including the Law Enforcement Intelligence
Unit (LEIU)115 and Major Cities Chiefs Association (MCCA),116 which added further
credibility to the fusion center movement.
On balance, fusion center respondents had generally positive impressions of
these voluntary guidelines. Fusion centers that were more advanced in their
development when the FCG were released generally found that they validated their
existing, policies, structures and activities. One center, however, found that the FCG
were not helpful as the issues discussed were not tied to an over-arching national
fusion center strategy and did not address technical aspects of operating a fusion
center.117
113 The Criminal Intelligence Coordination Council (CICC), an element of Global,
recommended the establishment of a Fusion Center Focus Group which, in turn, was
responsible for recommending guidelines for fusion center development. Fusion center
representatives are included in Global, including the Vice Chair of the Global Advisory
Committee, currently a colonel from the New York State Police. See
[http://it.ojp.gov/topic.jsp?topic_id=8] (accessed June 1, 2007).
114 See “Justice Department Releases Fusion Center Guidelines,” in Government Computer
News
, August 31, 2005.
115 Law Enforcement Intelligence Unit (LEIU), “Resolution in Support of Fusion Center
Guidelines - Law Enforcement, Public Safety, and the Private Sector,” Adopted on June 16,
2006, available from [http://it.ojp.gov/fusioncenterguidelines/leiuresolution.pdf], accessed
on May 31, 2007.
116 Major Cities Chiefs Association (MCCA), “Resolution: Fusion Center Guidelines,” June
6, 2006, available from [http://it.ojp.gov/fusioncenterguidelines/chiefsresolution.pdf],
accessed on May 31, 2007.
117 Interview with regional fusion center official, May 3, 2007.

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Fusion Process Technical Assistance Program
Consistent with many of the 18 Guidelines outlined in the aforementioned
Fusion Center Guidelines, the DHS and DOJ-sponsored fusion process technical
assistance program offers seven fusion center services in order to assist fusion center
development. Instructors for these courses include fusion center and DHS
representatives. The seven technical assistance services include (1) Fusion Process
Orientation, (2) Fusion Center Governance Structure and Authority, (3) Fusion
Center Concept of Operations (CONOPS) Development, (4) Fusion Center Privacy
Policy Development,118 (5) 28 CFR, part 23 (criminal intelligence systems), (6)
Fusion Center Administration and Management, and (7) Fusion Center Liaison
Officer Program Development.119
Research indicates that those fusion center representatives that have either
participated in these services as trainers or students have found the sessions to have
some utility. Others believe that, while the services were a useful first step, a more
sustained form of fusion center mentorship, based on a national fusion center
strategy, would add additional value to these brief courses.
Federal Financial Support for Fusion Centers
Federal financial support for fusion centers has largely come in the form of
Homeland Security Grant Program (HSGP) funding. It appears that DHS data
regarding the amount of direct funds it has provided to fusion centers could be
interpreted as somewhat confusing. In December 2006, DHS reported that it has
“...provided over $380 million in support of these centers.”120 According to a DHS
Office of Grants and Training (G&T) representative, this information includes the
period from 2001 to the end of 2006.121 Subsequently, in April 2007, DHS reported
that in fiscal years 2004-2006, it provided a total of $131 million to “...establish or
enhance a fusion center or fusion cell.”122 If the $250 million “delta” between these
118 According to the Deputy Program Manager for the ISE, a “Federal government-wide ISE
Privacy Guidelines Committee has been established to ensure that incorporating the centers
into the ISE will be done in a manner that protects the privacy, civil liberties, and other legal
rights of individuals and corporations, as provided under U.S. law.” See remarks of Susan
B. Reingold, Deputy Program Manager, ISE, at the National Guard Bureau – J-2 Intelligence
Knowledge Management Conference, June 12, 2007.
119 See DHS Office of Grants and Training; Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice
Assistance, Fusion Process Technical Assistance Service, January 2007.
120 See DHS Fact Sheet: Selected Homeland Security Accomplishments for 2006, December
29, 2006.
121 Discussion with DHS, Office of Grants and Technology Official, June 6, 2007.
122 See DHS, Office of Grants and Training, Fusion Centers: DHS Funded Activities —
Fiscal Years 2004-2006
, April 2007. The methodology section of this report stipulates that
projects covered in the report included those that were “...reported directly to the (DHS,
Office of Grants and Training) by State and local users of the Grants Reporting Tool (GRT),
through the submission of their Bi-Annual Strategy Implementation Report.” See cited
(continued...)

CRS-42
two figures is attributable to time alone, that would mean that from March, 2003,
when DHS was established, the Department allocated123 approximately $250 million
to fusion centers. While this is plausible, it may be unlikely, given the lack of DHS
focus on fusion centers at that time124 and the small number and relative immaturity
of fusion centers in existence during the 2001-2003 time period. According to a
DHS representative, the difference between the two figures lies in two factors: time
and “requested” versus “actual” funding data.125 Because data on actual funding lags
data on requested funding, in order to provide the most up to date information, DHS
G&T has used both figures. While this may be reasonable, even given DHS’s
methodological explanations, such wide variance in funding ($380 million versus
$131 million) can be misleading.
Empirical research suggests that the figures cited by DHS as having been
allocated to fusion centers do not necessarily reach the centers themselves.126 This
may represent a problem at the state level, as State Administrative Agents (SAAs)
that administer HSGP funds may not always allocate funds in a manner that is
entirely consistent with how the funds were requested. Alternatively, it could
represent a problem with how DHS has defined fusion centers, and calculates the
HSGP funding provided to the centers. One example offered by a fusion center leader
noted that the center hired several analysts using HSGP funds but within a few
months these personnel were reassigned to another non-fusion center homeland
security effort.127
According to DHS, its methodology for calculating DHS-funded activities at
fusion centers involves relying upon state and localities to report to the Department
through use of the State Bi-Annual Strategy Implementation Reports (BSIR),128 an
122 (...continued)
report, p. 3.
123 Allocation of funds differs from “draw down” of funds with the former referring to a
DHS decision to support disbursement of HSGP funds related to fusion center to the State
Administrative Agent (SAA) based on HSGP grant guidelines. “Draw down” is generally
interpreted as the provision of the HSGP funds from the SAA to the fusion center or fusion
center contractors for products and services provided.
124 Interview with former senior DHS official, May, 2007.
125 Ibid.
126 Fusion center personnel are generally not the SAA for Federal grant funds and, as a
result, may not necessarily know the explicit origins of HSGP Federal funds. However,
respondent fusion center leaders or operational directors generally are aware of which
information technology projects or human capital positions are funded with Federal HSGP
grants.
127 Interview with fusion center official, May 7, 2007.
128 According to DHS officials, the BSIR reports require states to demonstrate “how the
actual expenditure of grant funds is linked to [the state’s] strategy goals and objectives.” J.
Richard Berman, Statement before the Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Science,
and Technology of the House Committee on Homeland Security, April 12, 2005,
available from:
(continued...)

CRS-43
element of the Grants Reporting Tool (GRT).129 DHS searches through the GRT
databases using, among other methods, keyword search terms such as terrorism
intelligence, emergency preparedness, response teams, fusion, analysis, and others.
DHS recognizes this method has its limitations in terms of accuracy, as it has stated:
“Because fusion center and/or fusion cell related projects may exist in the GRT that
do not specifically use the term “fusion” in one of the search fields, this list of
projects should not be considered to be all inclusive of DHS-funded fusion center
activities nation-wide.”130 Moreover, the information on DHS-supported fusion
center activities is based on grant recipients’ entry of information into the GRT.
While this method of calculation may serve DHS’s purpose of articulating the
specific projects funded related to fusion centers, there are a number of limitations
associated with this methodology:
! Requested versus actual data could be stated more clearly. If both
figures continue to be provided, historical percentages of requested
amounts that are approved for actual funding might prove helpful.
! It speaks more to how HSGP funds may have been spent versus how
they have been allocated. Notwithstanding the fact that Fusion
Center Guidelines may not have been developed until 2005, if DHS
and DOJ have been supporting fusion center “related” activities
since 2001 when there were few fusion centers, the agencies should
be able to ascertain the funding amount allocated to these activities.
! Grants allocated to fusion centers are done in a manner consistent
with annual HSGP Guidelines which, while increasingly including
direct language relating to fusion center activities, such as analysis
of intelligence and information, are not specifically targeted to
fusion centers. There is no “fusion center grant program.” If it is a
Departmental priority to develop a national network of fusion
centers, it could be argued that a direct funding stream and/or HSGP
Fusion Center Program might facilitate more targeted and tailored
development of fusion centers. Alternatively, it could be argued that
targeting fusion center funding more directly could undermine
broader homeland security goals which transcend fusion center
activities.
In recent federal homeland security grant cycles, funds were permitted to be
used to finance several fusion center-related activities and infrastructure investments.
In a review of fusion centers nationwide, it appears that federal funding was likely
to be used for start up costs and technology and infrastructure investment. In the last
128 (...continued)
[http://www.dhs.gov/xoig/assets/testimony/OIG_1st_Responder_Testimony_Berman_Ap
r05.pdf], accessed on June 27, 2007.
129 According to DHS officials, the Grants Reporting Tool was not available until 2004 and
enhanced the Department’s ability to track grants.
130 See DHS, Office of Grants and Training, Fusion Centers: DHS Funded Activities —
Fiscal Years 2004-2006
, April 2007, p. 129.

CRS-44
two years of homeland security funding, federal grants could be used to fund one- to
two-year contractor slots for analysts at fusion centers. Additionally, federal grants
were used to fund training for fusion center personnel. The salaries of federal
employees detailed to fusion centers and the cost (rent, etc.) associated with
collocation if a federal agency housed the fusion center, neither of which are funded
through federal homeland security grants, are also represented in the overall federal
contributions tallied in this report.
Another central question with respect to federal funding for fusion centers,
not unlike other federal funding streams, is the extent to which it is reasonable to
attach certain conditions to the funding. As mentioned above, one challenge is to
retain the grass-roots, state and local priority basis of these centers. Yet, from a
business perspective, it is not unreasonable for the federal government to expect
some return for its investment in fusion centers. Other than generally enhanced
information sharing, it is not certain what that return on investment is from the
federal perspective. Part of this question may be resolved when decisions are made
about the extent to which, if at all, the federal government determines sustainment
funding will or will not be provided to the centers.
Sustainment Funding. One of the central questions and challenges to
fusion centers continues to be the provision of sustainment funding, or funding which
is provided annually, on a sustainable basis, to fusion centers to support personnel
costs and information connectivity, among other functions. At the first annual
national conference on fusion centers, Secretary Chertoff stated that one of the
manners in which DHS has supported fusion centers is by providing grant funding
— over $300 million — for the creation of fusion centers. However, he continued,
the funding
... helps fledgling centers get off the ground and start to build fundamental
baseline capabilities. This is not meant, by the way, to be sustainment
funding. We are not signing up to fund fusion centers in perpetuity. But
we do want to use these grants to target resources to help fusion centers
make the capital investment and training investment to come to maturity.
And then, of course, we expect every community to continue to invest in
sustaining these very important law enforcement tools.131
At the same conference where Secretary Chertoff delivered his direct message
that sustainment funding was unlikely, a representative of the Homeland Security
Council (HSC) delivered a seemingly more sanguine message on this topic.
According to the HSC representative, the Administration realizes that fusion centers
are not a “fly by night operation,” and, as a result, “... if we are asking you to invest
resources...we need to remain committed.”132 The HSC representative stated that
131 Derived from CRS transcription of Secretary Chertoff’s Keynote Address to the first
annual National Fusion Center Conference, March 6, 2007.
132 Derived from CRS notes taken at the First Annual National Fusion Center Conference,
March 8, 2007.

CRS-45
while there were no definitive percentage splits on burden-sharing, the
Administration was having such conversations.133
Representative Jane Harman, having recently visited numerous fusion centers,
raised concerns about fusion center sustainment funding, stating, “all the DHS staff
assistants (detailees) in the world won’t get the job done if fusion centers do not have
adequate and sustained funding. Without money, they’re going to disappear, and
DHS State and local fusion center programs won’t succeed.134 DHS Chief
Intelligence Officer, echoed Representative Harman’s funding concerns,135 testifying
that
I share many of the concerns expressed by this subcommittee ... about
creating a sustainable fusion center capability at the non-Federal level.
DHS, in partnership with DOJ, is a major supporter of fusion centers
through our grants and accompanying technical assistance program, and in
providing classified infrastructure....136
Alternatively, it could also be argued that if fusion centers can prove their tangible
value to their state, local, and regional constituents support base, funding will
continue to be provided through state and local revenue sources. Empirically,
numerous respondent fusion centers shared that if federal funding is eliminated, it
was likely that the center would continue to exist, but its activities would become far
more parochial — by focusing largely on criminal intelligence relevant to the state
and locality alone — and not issues pertaining to federal homeland security concerns.
What remains to be defined, and will be addressed below is, from a federal
perspective, how is fusion center “maturity” defined, and how is it being assessed by
the federal government, and according to what performance metrics? Given
Secretary Chertoff’s remarks, at what level of maturity do resources cease to be
provided? Some argue that a federal fusion center strategy may be beneficial in
addressing some of the historical fusion center concerns.
Human Capital Support
Research indicates that there are two levels of federal human capital support
provided to fusion centers — individuals who have some level of contact with the
133 Some conference participants noted that the seemingly contradictory messages were a
demonstration of the lack of uniform federal policy with respect to State, local and regional
fusion centers.
134 See Transcript, House Homeland Security Committee, Subcommittee on Intelligence,
Information Sharing, and Terrorism Risk Assessment, Hearing on Security and Information
Sharing and Civil Liberties, March 14, 2007.
135 As part of the Intelligence Community, the budget of the DHS Office of Intelligence and
Analysis (OIA) is classified. OIA’s budget is combined with DHS’ National Operations
Center (NOC) budget and is classified under a general Departmental operations budget line.
136 See Statement of Assistant Secretary Charles E. Allen Before the Subcommittee on
Intelligence, Information Sharing, and Terrorism Risk Assessment of the House Homeland
Security Committee, March 14, 2007.

CRS-46
centers as either local clients of the center and/or providers of information to the
center, and part-time or full-time federal detailees to centers. The first category
includes a relatively broad range of federal law enforcement and public safety
professionals including representatives from the National Guard , Centers for Disease
Control, High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas, as well as various DHS elements.
The second category of part-time and full-time detailees to the fusion centers is
composed largely, although not exclusively, of FBI and DHS representatives. While
the FBI and DHS share certain missions, such as counterterrorism, they are unique
agencies with distinctive missions and resource levels to meet their mission.
Questions concerning the deployment of federal human capital resources to the
centers might include
! To what extent have the FBI and DHS formally coordinated their
deployments to fusion centers?137
! How did the FBI and DHS determine to which fusion centers they
would deploy personnel?
! What criteria were used to support the decision?
! What types of professionals were deployed to the center?
! How have the FBI and DHS personnel currently deployed been
utilized? What roles have they played and what value have they
added to fusion center operations and analysis?
Table 1 below provides some data related to each of the aforementioned
questions. What is notable is that it does not appear that the FBI and DHS drafted
a joint, formal strategy outlining their approach to interaction with the centers. While
each agency has its own unique mission, counterterrorism and countering crime are
two large areas of mission overlap between these two federal agencies and the state
and local fusion centers. Moreover, it also does not appear that the Homeland
Security Council, a coordinating body akin to the National Security Council (NSC)
primarily focused on homeland security issues, has issued a national strategy for
fusion centers.
137 According to the Deputy Program Manager for the ISE, the FBI and DHS are still
developing an “integrated deployment plan.” See remarks of Susan B. Reingold, Deputy
Program Manager, ISE, at the National Guard Bureau – J-2 Intelligence Knowledge
Management Conference, June 12, 2007. Given that the FBI has already deployed 250
personnel and DHS is in 15 centers, the effect such a plan may have at this point may be
marginal. However, such a plan may prove useful if it clarified the roles and responsibilities
of DHS and FBI detailees in the centers, and outlined a joint oversight process to monitor
agency progress in effectively implementing those responsibilities.

CRS-47
Table 1. FBI and DHS Interaction with Fusion Centers
Issue
FBI
DHS
Coordination
Policy
Sept. 2005: FBI Dir.
June 2006: Sec.
It does not appear
“engagement
Mueller instructs all
Chertoff designates
that there was or is a
date” meaning
field leaders to
Office of Intelligence
national or FBI/DHS
date the agency
“ensure coordination” and Analysis as
strategy for how the
began official
between FBI and
executive agent to
agencies planned to
interaction with
state-wide and multi-
accomplish the DHS
engage fusion
fusion centers
agency centers.
state and local fusion
centers to serve
center mission.
mission specific
and/or overlapping
counterterrorism
goals.
Number of
35 of which, 16 fusion 15
centers
centers are collocated
deployed to
with an FBI entity
Number
250
15, with a goal of 35
employees
by the end of FY2008
assigned to
centers
Types of
64 Special Agents;
15 Intelligence
employees
121 Intelligence
Analysts/Intelligence
assigned/deploy Analysts; 65 Other
Liaison Officers.
ed to centers
(linguists,
investigative support
specialists, financial
analysts)
Criteria for
Center “maturity”
Risk, maturity, field
While both assessed
deployment
(facility; connectivity; “needs assessments”
maturity, it would
multi-agency full-time
appear DHS’s
participation;
assessment was
“Global” guidelines
largely risk-based.
biased)
Roles assigned/
Field Intel Group IA - Information exchanges, Extent to which
deployed
analytical,
“reach back” and
roles are
personnel play
information
liaison with DHS
coordinated and
exchanges
Headquarters for all
clear differ across
Special Agent -
DHS components.
fusion centers.
investigative links to
Joint Terrorism Task
Forces.
Sources: FBI material provided to CRS, May 25, 2007. DHS Implementation Plan for State and
Local Fusion Centers: Executive Summary
, June 2006.
While there are numerous issues that are raised by the lack of a
comprehensive national strategy for what the federal government wishes to achieve
through its interaction with fusion centers, one of the central issues becomes the

CRS-48
allocation of human resource to the centers. While risk,138 maturity, and individual
center needs139 are entirely valid means by which to determine how to provide
resources to centers, these funding criteria could result in numerous centers with
significantly increased human resources, while others with arguably similar levels of
risk remain in a stage of relative immaturity due to lack of human resource support.
The question of what the federal government collectively defines as a “mature”
center, or what the minimum level of capability for a fusion center is from a federal
perspective, it could be argued, hampers the development of a long-term and
sustained partnership between the federal government and the state and regional
fusion centers.
“Lanes in the Road” — Roles and Responsibilities of Federal
Detailees. Fusion center leadership often described FBI detailees as having well-
defined roles and responsibilities compared to that of the DHS representatives whose
roles in the organization were often less well-defined.140 DHS officials claim to place
Department representatives based on the needs and wants of the center. Thus, there
appears to be a wider spectrum of roles for DHS personnel detailed to the various
state fusion centers as their tasks vary from an intelligence analyst, to Departmental
coordinators, to an advisor on federal grant applications. Yet all 15 DHS detailees
come from the Office of Intelligence and Analysis. Some critics suggest that work
undertaken outside of the core information sharing role between DHS and the fusion
centers hampers the primary reason for being detailed to the center and negates any
opportunity to “facilitate the flow of timely, actionable, all-hazard information
between state and local governments and the national intelligence and law
enforcement communities.”141
138 DHS calculated risk according to a quantitative and weighted model of the following 12
factors: population (10%), border risk (10%), terror risk (10%), immigration risk (10%),
iconic value (5%), hazardous materials risk (10%), population density (5%), critical
infrastructure (10%), port risk (10%), economic risk (10%), 2005 UASI funding (5%), 2005
State grant distribution (5%). See DHS, “The Department of Homeland Security Support
Implementation Plan for State and Local Fusion Centers,” March 7, 2006. According to
DHS, “The key to harvesting the value from these relationships is in tailoring DHS’ support
offering to meet the specific needs of individual Fusion Centers.” See DHS, State & Local
Fusion Center: DHS Support Plan
, February 2007.
139 DHS has conducted over 17 site assessments, or visits to established centers to determine
how it might best target human resources potentially provided to the centers. These visits
include, but are not limited to, Columbus, Ohio; Phoenix, Arizona; North Central Texas;
Albany, NW; Tallahassee Florida; and Maynard, Massachusetts. See DHS State and Local
Fusion Centers: DHS Support Plan,
February 2007. For a list of where DHS currently has
personnel deployed see Appendix B.
140 Conversations with Fusion Center Director, May 2007. Based on input from state fusion
center leaders, DHS personnel detailed to a center performed functions ranging from
analysis, DHS liaison and coordination point of contact, operations, providing grant writing
expertise, logistics, and administrative.
141 Statement of Charles Allen, Assistant Secretary of Intelligence and Analysis, Department
of Homeland Security, before the Committee on Homeland Security, Subcommittee on
Intelligence, Information Sharing, and Terrorism Risk Assessment, September 13, 2006.

CRS-49
Overall, relationships with DHS were described by fusion centers having a
DHS detailee as relatively positive. However, by comparison, fusion centers reported
a more favorable relationship with the FBI than DHS. There are numerous plausible
explanations for such attitudes ranging from the different missions of FBI and DHS,
to the sheer difference in numbers of FBI and DHS personnel assigned to these
centers. Furthermore, it is likely that fusion centers, despite the traditional friction
between state and local law enforcement and the FBI, are more comfortable with the
FBI, because they share a common lexicon and world view that comes with being a
member of the greater law enforcement community.
Corporate DHS is, however, a relatively new entity and in many ways state
fusion center personnel — who are often sworn law enforcement officers — are still
trying to determine how they interact with the Department. An example of this is the
concern many state and local law enforcement and fusion center staff have expressed
regarding sharing law enforcement sensitive information with the Department, which
often has contractor analysts and other non-law enforcement personnel review data.
On a few occasions, fusion centers mentioned steps they had taken to ensure DHS
analysts would not be able to access various portals utilized by the center or
participate in information sharing calls with other law enforcement agencies.
A common refrain from state fusion center leadership was that there was no
coordination between the FBI and DHS with respect to substantive mission support
and resource allocations were often duplicative or nonexistent. At present, the
majority of terrorism-related issues that are brought to the attention of state fusion
center entities are provided directly to the local JTTF, with the FBI142 deciding to
investigate the issue or returning the lead to the reporting agency.143 However, DHS
has also requested that all state fusion centers report any suspicious incident that may
be perceived to be terrorist activity to the Department. Confusion exists whether this
information should be transmitted to DHS’ Office of Intelligence and Analysis, the
DHS National Operation Center, or provided simultaneously to the DHS and the FBI
JTTF. If the latter, homeland security observers are concerned that due to a lack of
definitive federal roles and responsibilities crucial information may not be acted upon
as DHS and the FBI will presume the other agency is undertaking the proper due
diligence of ascertaining the viability of a potential threat.
The reporting chain problem – from state and local fusion centers to the
Federal government – has been recognized. Under ISE Guideline 2, one
recommendation is that DOJ and DHS, in consultation with the Program Manager’s
Office, develop standards to: (1) specify the means through which State, local and
tribal data related to terrorist risks and threats and associated requirements and tasks
is communicated to federal authorities and private sector entities and (2) develop,
maintain and disseminate assessments of terrorist risks and threats gathered at the
state, local or tribal levels, and (3) develop processes and protocols to ensure
142 Presidential Decision Directive - 62, Protection Against Unconventional Threats to the
Homeland and Americans Overseas, dated May 22, 1998, at [http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/
odp/docs/pdd62.htm].
143 According to state fusion center leaders, it is quite common for a tip to be turned over
to the JTTF without the center receiving additional information on its status.

CRS-50
Suspicious Incident Reports and Suspicious Activity Reports are reported to
appropriate law enforcement authorities.144 Implementation of this recommendation
within fusion centers remains nascent and, therefore, inefficient dissemination
procedures continue.
A related problem, that further highlights the lack of coordination between
the federal agencies, is the vehicles for reporting and receiving information. As
previously stated, fusion center officials expressed continued frustration about the
multiple, seemingly competing, information systems promoted by various federal
agencies. Entering the same data into multiple databases is time-consuming and
inefficient. One fusion center official criticized DHS and FBI for failing to consider
fusion center needs while promoting their own “favorite pet projects.”145
Enhanced Information Sharing
In order to ensure that terrorism information146 is shared “... among all
appropriate federal, state, local and tribal entities, and the private sector through the
use of policy guidelines and technologies...,”147 Congress and the Administration
created the Information Sharing Environment. Enhanced horizontal information
sharing between federal agencies and vertical information sharing between all
stakeholders across all levels of governments is the ISE goal. Located within the
Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the Program Manger for ISE has been
working to integrate fusion centers into a broad initiative to enhance information and
intelligence between the federal government, and state and local law enforcement and
public safety entities, as well as the private sector. The Homeland Security Advisory
Committee believes that
the concept of intelligence/information fusion has emerged as a
fundamental process (or processes) to facilitate the sharing of homeland
security-related information and intelligence at the national level, and,
therefore has become a guiding principal in defining the ISE.148
144 See ISE Guideline 2, Develop a Common Framework for the Sharing of Information
Between and Among Executive Departments and Agencies and State, Local, and Tribal
Governments, Law Enforcement Agencies, and the Private Sector
, p. 21.
145 Interview with a state fusion center official, May 3, 2007.
146 Terrorism information is defined as “...all information, whether collected, produced, or
distributed by intelligence, law enforcement, military, homeland security, or other activities
relating to (A) the existence, organization, capabilities, plans, intentions, vulnerabilities,
means of finance or material support, or activities of foreign or international terrorist groups
or individuals, or of domestic groups or individuals involved in transnational terrorism; (B)
threat posed by such groups or individuals to the United States, United States persons, or
United States interests, or to those of other nations; (C) communications of or by such
groups or individuals; or (D) groups or individuals reasonably believed to be assisting or
associated with such groups or individuals.” P.L. 108-458 §1016, codified at 6 U.S.C. 485.
147 See the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004, §1016, P.L. 108-458.
148 See U.S. Department of Homeland Security — Homeland Security Advisory Council,
Intelligence and Information Sharing Initiative: Homeland Security Intelligence and
(continued...)

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According to its Information Sharing Environment Implementation Plan
(November 2006), the ISE has or will take the following actions with respect to
fusion centers:
! Establish a Federal Fusion Center Coordination Group “... to identify
resources to support the development of a network of State-
sponsored fusion centers charged to share information at all levels
of the ISE, and will recommend funding options.”149
! Encourage DHS and DOJ to “... work with Governors and other
senior State and local leaders to designate a single fusion center to
serve as the statewide or regional hub to interface with the Federal
government ...”150
! Encourage statewide and major area fusion centers to “ensure locally
generated terrorism information is communicated to the Federal
government through appropriate systems identified by Federal
officials as part of ISE implementation.”151
If, as mentioned above, one of the federal government’s goals is to create a national
network of fusion centers to share homeland security information in a timely and
effective manner, these initiatives, once implemented will assist in integrating
federal, state, and local public safety and law enforcement officials together.
However, these initiatives do not necessarily, in and of themselves, constitute a
national strategy for fusion centers, as they do not clearly articulate, among other
factors, federal expectations of fusion centers, and the extent to which sustainment
funding will be provided by the federal government for fusion centers.
Finally, there is one bill currently pending before Congress, S. 4, “Improving
America’s Security Act of 2007,” which would create a statutory basis for an
Interagency Threat Assessment Coordination Group (ITACG) to enhance information
sharing.152 Under S. 4, it has been proposed that the ITACG would, among other
148 (...continued)
Information Fusion, April 28, 2005, p. 2.
149 See Office of the Director of National Intelligence, PM-ISE, Information Sharing
Environment Implementation Plan
, November 2006, p. 119. According to a recent speech
delivered by the Deputy Program Manager for the ISE, this center is established. The
center, co-chaired by DHS and the FBI, “...is responsible for ensuring that the federal
government’s efforts to work with state and local fusion centers are coordinated and carried
out in a manner consistent with the President’s direction.” See remarks of Susan B.
Reingold, Deputy Program Manager, ISE, at the National Guard Bureau – J-2 Intelligence
Knowledge Management Conference, June 12, 2007.
150 Ibid.
151 Ibid., p. 125.
152 According to a conversation with ISE officials on June 26, 2007, the following progress
has been made with respect to the ITACG: (1) DHS and FBI officials have been designated
(continued...)

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responsibilities, “...facilitate the production of federally coordinated products derived
from the information within the scope of the (ISE).”153 The participation of state and
local personnel in the ITACG, to be located at the National Counterterrorism Center
(NCTC), would allow state and local officials (projected to be approximately 5
detailees)154 to develop an understanding of the volume and breadth of federal
intelligence. The group would allow federal Intelligence Community personnel to
learn more directly about the types of information and intelligence that is valuable
to state and local governments. Fusion center participation in the ITACG may be
valuable, as the fusion centers represent a central point through which federal
intelligence can flow across the country through appropriate dissemination channels
and security procedures. At this stage of development, it is unclear what relationship
the ITACG will have with state and regional fusion centers. A director for the HSAC
stated that “DHS used to have its own way of sending out information, and the FBI
did too...now [thanks to the ITACG] we have a coordinated way to send out threat
assessment information.”155 However, there are some indications that the FBI and
DHS will retain dissemination rights, thus calling into question whether the ITACG
will streamline intelligence flow to state and local authorities, or exacerbate the
current information sharing channel problems. Some might suggest the ITACG
would be the natural arbiter for fusion center information and intelligence
coordination efforts.
Congressional Oversight and Funding
While fusion centers are not federal entities and, therefore, have no federal
statutory basis, federal agencies with homeland security responsibilities appear to be
relying heavily on the information gathered at the local level to support the
development of a national threat assessment. Congress plays a role in supporting
these centers and federal government homeland security efforts in at least two areas.
First, as mentioned above, it authorizes and appropriates both HSGP funding, some
152 (...continued)
to serve in the ITACG, (2) the NCTC has allocated space for the entity, and (3) the
nomination process for state and local officials to join to ITACG for a temporary detail have
taken place. Whether the state and local officials with fusion center experience and/or
currently detailed to such a center, will be included in the representative pool. For more
information see CRS Report RL34061, Intelligence and Information Sharing Elements of
S. 4 and H.R. 1
, by Todd Masse.
153 See S. 4 ES, Section 131 (b). According to the ISE, the ITACG “...will also coordinate
the production and timely issuance of ...strategic and foundational assessment of terrorist
risks and threat to the United States and related trend and tradecraft information, including,
for example, assessments of lessons learned from terrorist events or counterterrorism
initiatives.” See ISE Guideline 2, Develop a Common Framework for the Sharing of
Information Between and Among Executive Departments and Agencies and State, Local, and
Tribal Governments, Law Enforcement Agencies, and the Private Sector
, p. 13, available
at [http://www.ise.gov/docs/guideline%202%20-%20common%20sharing%20framework.
pdf].
154 Conversation with ISE officials, June 26, 2007.
155 Quoting Thomas Bossert, Jason Miller, “White House Council Puts Cybersecurity in
Focus,” FCW.com, July 2, 2007. [http://www.fcw.com/article103121-07-02-07-Web].

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of which is allocated to support fusion center related activities, and the National
Foreign Intelligence Program (NFIP) budget which supports DHS and FBI personnel
detailed to the centers. Second, Congress has held numerous hearings to learn more
about fusion centers. Notably, during the 109th Congress there were over five
hearings held related to intelligence sharing, DHS Intelligence, and fusion centers.
Federal witnesses included representatives from the FBI, DHS, and Office of the
DNI. There were also numerous witnesses from state and local agencies, including,
but not limited to, the Illinois State Police, the Virginia Fusion Center, the New
Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness, and the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts. Thus far in the 110th Congress, there have been at least four hearings
related to state and local fusion centers, with one hearing taking place in Washington
State. Witnesses have included representatives from the private sector, including The
Boeing Company and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, and individuals from
state and local fusion centers in Florida, Tennessee, and Delaware.
In addition to hearings, Congress has funded fusion center-related projects.
As mentioned above, DHS’s Office of Intelligence and Analysis (OIA) currently has
15 intelligence professionals detailed to these centers, and the FBI has 250. At least
with respect to DHS, the House Committee on Appropriations recommended in its
FY2008 Appropriations Report
... doubling the requested funding level for establishing DHS presence at
these centers in 2008, and directs the Office of Intelligence and Analysis
to review all unobligated balances available in the DHS intelligence
budgets at the start of Fiscal Year 2008 and submit a re-programming
request for those that could reasonably be reallocated to fusion center
implementation.156
DHS-OIA funding levels are classified as a result of OIA being a member of the U.S.
Intelligence Community.157 As a result, the level of DHS-OIA budgets allocated to
detailing intelligence professionals to fusion centers is unknown. In another indicator
of congressional interest in increasing funding to the centers, P.L. 110-28, the “U.S.
Troop Readiness, Veterans Care, Katrina Recovery, and Iraq Accountability
Appropriations Act of 2007,” provided an additional $8 million to the DHS Analysis
and Operations account “... to be used for support of the State and Local Fusion
Center Program....”158
156 See Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Bill, 2008, House Committee on
Appropriations, H. Report 110 - 181. Both the House and Senate Appropriations
Committees include language in their FY 08 Appropriations Reports for the provision of
“ongoing, quarterly updates...that detail the progress...” DHS is making in its efforts
concerning fusion centers. See H. Rpt 110-181(p. 24) and S. Rpt 110-84 (p. 24).
157 See P.L. 107-296, Section 201(h), codified at 50 U.S.C. 401a.
158 See P.L. 110-28, Title I, Chapter 5. The language requires quarterly reporting to the
House and Senate Appropriations Committees on numerous factors relating to fusion
centers.

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Promulgation of Federal Regulations — 28 CFR, Part 23
As mentioned above, all fusion centers are guided by federal regulation 28
CFR, Part 23 with respect to how they manage their multi-jurisdictional intelligence
systems operating under Title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Street Act
of 1968 (P.L. 90-351). 28 CFR, Part 23, requires all multi-jurisdictional law
enforcement information management systems funded in part by federal grants159 to
follow guidelines for the collection, storage, and purge of information. 28 CFR, Part
23 states that information stored in such a system must be “reviewed and validated
for continuing compliance with system submission criteria before the expiration of
its retention period, which in no event shall be longer than five (5) years.”160 It is
based on a “need to know” and “right to know,” which are not explicitly defined
terms. Rather, 28 CFR, Part 23, calls upon each project to establish their own written
definitions.161
In many ways, 28 CFR, Part 23, may be outdated and in need of evaluation
against the backdrop of the current threat environment. 28 CFR, Part 23, is focused
on traditional crime, not terrorism. As such, it has relatively short information
retention periods which may not necessarily be consistent with known terrorist
planning cycles and/or the need for historical data for terrorism threat assessment.162
Furthermore, this federal regulation was written before many of the data storage and
data-mining technologies were available. It is unclear whether some of the
technological devices available today, like those that allow users to query disparate
databases which are not directly connected, would fall under the jurisdiction of 28
CFR, Part 23. The regulations also promote a “need and right to know” standard,
which has been judged as one of the factors contributing to the (real or perceived)
“wall” between intelligence and law enforcement at the federal level that prevents
effective information flow. Finally, it could be argued that 28 CFR, Part 23, is too
vague in parts because it allows agencies to define their own terms, like “need to
know,” which could contribute to vastly different standards across jurisdictions and,
ultimately, ineffective information sharing.
159 Not all federal grant streams potentially used for funding such systems are included in
28 CFR, Part 23 - currently any systems funded in part by “all Crime Control Act funded
discretionary assistance awards and Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) formula grant
program sub-grants,”DOJ, 28 CFR Part 23: Criminal Intelligence Systems Operation
Procedures
, available from [http://www.it.ojp.gov/documents/28CFR_Part_23.PDF],
accessed on June 1, 2007, known hereon as DOJ, 28 CFR Part 23, - This includes “any
Office of Justice Programs (OJP) and Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) programs, such
as the Byrne Formula or Discretionary Grants Programs, the Local Law Enforcement Block
Grant (LLEBG) Program, and Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) grants”,
while others like HIDTA programs and apparently Homeland Security grant funds have
adopted it as policy, although it is not in statute.
160 DOJ, 28 CFR, Part 23, 4.
161 Ibid., p. 3.
162 Angel Rabasa et al., Beyond Al Qaeda: Part 1 — The Global Jihadist Movement,
(RAND, Santa Monica, CA, 2006), available from [http://www.rand.org/pubs/
monographs/2006/RAND_MG429.pdf], accessed on June 13, 2007, 63-71.

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Private Sector Purposes and Roles
in Fusion Centers
The relationship and role of the private sector is a function that most state
fusion centers have yet to fully define and/or embrace. A number of the fusion
centers surveyed have undertaken informational and security-related discussions with
some of the major critical infrastructure owners and operators and data-providers
within their respective jurisdictions. However, while acknowledging that a
comprehensive understanding of the risks to the state/region is impossible to attain
without a viable relationship and consistent information flow between the center and
the private sector entities within the center’s jurisdiction, the vast majority of centers
have yet to put the processes in place to support such an endeavor. Very few of the
state and regional fusion centers have an infrastructure sector representative detailed
to their organization and rely, in part, on open-source information, data provided by
the federal government, or contract data vendors for information about threats to a
critical infrastructure facility. Common reasons for the lack of a relationship between
the fusion center and private sector entities are
! prioritizing the infrastructure sectors to be represented in the center
based on risk;
! a lack of appreciation as to the role and information a sector
representative might provide; and
! the lack of a federal government strategy or recommendations
regarding how the fusion center should incorporate private sector
data into the analytic fusion process.
Information Sharing and Analysis Centers (ISACs)
Although representative ISAC organizations have different mandates and
provide different types of information and services, generally the entities provide its
members data related to threats, vulnerabilities, pending legislation, and issues of
concern to a specific infrastructure sector. ISAC organizations, originally envisioned
as a mechanism for the sharing of critical infrastructure information between
partnering corporations and with the federal government163 currently are not being
fully utilized by state and regional fusion centers as a resource for information. One
option for fusion centers is to enhance their relationship with private sector
163 The goal of Presidential Decision Directive (PDD) - 63 was to assure the security of the
United States’ vulnerable and interconnected critical infrastructures. With the signing of
Presidential Decision Directive - 63 in May, 1998, the private sector was encouraged to
establish numerous ISACs for the purpose of having a representative entity from which the
sharing of critical infrastructure information threat and vulnerability data would occur
between the federal government and the owners and operators of the nation’s life-sustaining
utilities. In December, 2003, PDD-63 was superseded by Homeland Security Presidential
Direct - 7 (HSPD-7), Critical Infrastructure Identification, Prioritization, and Protection,
however the federal government’s requirement to “continue the encouragement and
development of information sharing and analysis mechanisms” still exists.

CRS-56
organizations through the establishment of education and information-exchange
efforts with ISAC representative organizations. Some homeland security observers
suggest that the building of a productive relationship with private sector entities may
allow the fusion center to enhance information sharing efforts with operators of the
state’s critical infrastructure and assist in the preparation and prevention phase of
homeland security.
Protected Critical Infrastructure Information (PCII)
The Protected Critical Infrastructure Information (PCII) Program164 may also
be a venue that would allow a fusion center to be in the best possible position to
effectively assess risks within its jurisdiction and/or respond to a potential situation
at a critical infrastructure facility. If DHS is authorized by the private sectors engaged
in this effort to disseminate this information to state and regional fusion centers, it
may allow state and local officials to approach potential situations of concern with
knowledge of hazardous critical infrastructure vulnerabilities that may place the
state/region at greater risk. Should PCII data be authorized for sharing with state
fusion centers, the information may enhance state and local authorities plans for
incident response coordination efforts.
Privacy Concerns and Private Sector Data Use by the Federal
Government

As stated throughout this report some homeland security observers note that
increasing the universe of available information does not necessarily translate into
a better understanding of the risks to a geographic location or infrastructure sector.
Since 9/11, many programs have been established or enhanced for the purposes of
searching for signs of terrorist activity in a central repository to assist with
information collection, trend analysis, and spotting of anomalies.165 Of note, the
DHS Analysis, Dissemination, Visualization, Insight, and Semantic Enhancement
(ADVISE) program, which is being developed to “analyze large amounts of data,
such as the relationships among people, organizations, and events”166 when fully
functioning may have the ability to receive and provide information to the nation’s
fusion centers to assist with analytic strategic indications and warnings. Should
ADVISE or other data collection and analysis programs become fully functional and
accessible by fusion centers, some might see this as a devolution of national
intelligence capabilities from the federal government to state governments resulting
164 The DHS’s Protected Critical Infrastructure Information (PCII) Program is designed to
encourage private industry to share its sensitive security-related business information with
the federal government. DHS and other federal, state, and local analysts use PCII in pursuit
of a more secure homeland, focusing primarily on: analyzing and securing critical
infrastructure and protected systems, identifying vulnerabilities and developing risk
assessments, and enhancing recovery preparedness measures. See [http://www.dhs.gov/
xinfoshare/programs/editorial_0404.shtm].
165 See CRS Report RL31798, Data Mining and Homeland Security: An Overview, by
Jeffrey Seifert.
166 Government Accountability Office, Homeland Security: Continuing Attention to Privacy
Concerns is Needed as Programs are Developed,
March, 2007, p. 11.

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in the encroachment on individual civil liberties. Some are concerned that as fusion
centers and the IC agencies codify relationships, there is increased potential for
misuse of private sector data. It could be argued that such a relationship will allow
state entities to act as agents of the federal government in performing federal
intelligence community activities that violate federal privacy laws.
Fusion Center Challenges and Potential Options
for Congress
Given that fusion centers are entities established by states, localities and
regions to serve their own criminal, emergency response, and terrorism prevention
needs, and the sensitivities associated with federalism, there may not necessarily be
a federal remedy to every fusion center-related issue identified in this report.
Moreover, there is a direct correlation between federal remedies to issues affecting
fusion center development, and the extent to which Congress wishes to condition the
funds it authorizes and appropriates for such centers. As a result, there are at least
two categories of challenges and potential options: (I) those challenges for which
there are unique federal remedies and (II) those challenges for which there are no
unique federal remedies, and may be more oriented toward possible state or level
governmental intervention. Congressional remedies could potentially involve a
broad range of possible actions including, but not limited to, oversight of federal
agencies and entities engaged in interaction with fusion centers, requesting Executive
Branch action on any number of fusion center-related issues, establishing a statutory
basis for fusion centers, convening additional hearings which include state and local
fusion center leaders as expert witnesses, adjusting future funding levels for fusion
centers, and/or considering the extent to which, if at all, any future federal funding
may be conditioned on certain performance benchmarks being met.
I. Federal Challenges and Potential Options for Congress
Given the stated need to develop a national network of fusion centers, and
that a certain amount of financial and human resources have been devoted to assisting
the states and regions develop their fusion centers, the following represent challenges
and options that the federal government and, specifically, Congress may wish to
consider.
Option 1: Draft a National Fusion Center Strategy
Notwithstanding the fact that individual federal agencies and offices may
have their own strategies concerning their interaction with state and regional fusion
centers, there remains no definitive national strategy on fusion centers. One option
for Congress is to recommend the executive branch draft a cross-agency national
strategy with input from the FBI, DHS, ODNI - PM-ISE, DOD and other Intelligence
Community, and state and regional fusion center representatives. Should such a
strategy be determined desirable, it might address the following issues:
! Ownership and benefits. Who “owns” fusion centers and who
benefits from their work?

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! Federal versus SLT roles and responsibilities, to include
funding. What is an equitable division of labor and costs?
! Permanence — statutory basis and sustainment funding. If
fusion centers play an important homeland security role, should they
be provided a statutory basis at the federal level? If continued federal
funding is being contemplated, how might it be structured to yield
the most productive outcome for federal, state and local fusion
center clients?
! Ultimate goals and performance measures. What gaps do fusion
centers fill and how does the federal government measure
performance?
! Coordinated federal interaction with fusion centers. How does
the federal government ensure the various agencies engaged in
homeland security have a coordinated plan for fusion and efficient
interaction with fusion centers?
! Relationship between fusion centers and the Federal Intelligence
Center. How closely, if at all, should fusion centers be integrated
into the federal intelligence community? Are fusion centers
members of the intelligence community, adjuncts or partners with
the intelligence community, a proxy information source, or an
unrelated and parallel information effort?
Pros and Cons. There are many arguments in favor of the creation of a
national strategy for fusion centers. Such a strategy would likely create coherence
to what could be argued is currently a somewhat ad hoc and informal approach to
fusion centers. Some might argue that without such a overarching national strategy,
fusion centers will only provide limited benefits to limited consumers. Arguments
against this option might include disruption to ongoing activities, or that such a
strategy, while not formal, already exists in the form of the collective activities of
DHS, the FBI, Global Justice, and the Office of the Director of National
Intelligence’s Program Manager for the ISE. Furthermore, to be successful in
creating a cohesive structure for forty+ fusion centers across the country, a national
strategy may need to deal with several politically sensitive issues, such as the need
for a joint deployment strategy for the federal agencies that detail personnel to state
and regional fusion centers. However, if this issue and other sensitive topics are not
comprehensively addressed and resolved, fusion centers may have limited national
impact. The strategy’s potential for success is likely to hinge on the perception of
input by all-levels of government and sectors, and the means used to implement the
goals and objectives outlined in the strategy.
Option 2: Answer the Sustainment Funding Question
While respondent fusion center leaders had many high priority items
concerning their interaction with the federal government, the question of sustainment
funding was foremost in their minds. Should federal funding to fusion efforts be
continued? To what end? And how conditional does Congress want federal aid to

CRS-59
fusion centers to be? The current regime of HSGP funding includes some limited
conditions for funding fusion centers. However, the Fusion Center Guidelines
remain entirely voluntary even for recipients of federal HSGP funds. As a result, for
example, the federal government has no formal and systematic means of auditing
whether each center is appropriately protecting civil liberties, or using federally
funded intelligence analysts in a manner that is consistent with national goals and
objectives for fusion centers, should they be explicitly defined. As outlined above,
should Congress determine it wishes to take action on this option, a range of possible
legislative tools are available, as discussed below.
2a. Status Quo. The most obvious option is to continue the current manner
of funding — that is, using the HSGP grants as the federal mechanism to make
funding available for states and localities for potential allocation to state and regional
fusion centers. This process is reliant on state grant applications, and the flow of
federal funds to state/regional fusion centers is largely determined by the sub-federal
designees that make homeland security grant allocation decisions within each state
and/or municipality. Furthermore, fusion centers compete with a wide range of
homeland security initiatives for funding. While certain elements of HSGP funding
are geared toward supporting fusion center development, there is no targeted funding
stream directly allocated to fusion centers themselves.
If the approach to funding fusion centers remains the status quo, then
Secretary Chertoff’s statement that DHS has not “... signed on to fund fusion centers
in perpetuity....” will remain true. Without a dedicated funding stream, and/or
another large-scale terrorist attack within the United States, it is unclear whether
fusion centers will continue to receive federal funding, as well as sub-federal
resources, to continue their current functions as outlined in this report.
Pros and Cons. Arguments in favor of maintaining the status quo include
those who suggest such an option would result in a natural progression of the current
funding model. It would allow for a certain amount of continuity in funding streams
and methods of allocating funds. Such an option would likely result in minimal
HSGP program disruption. Arguments against this option might include that the
status quo would continue to leave the fundamental sustainability question — one
that is foremost in the collective mind of fusion centers — unanswered. Maintaining
the status quo may have a drawback as it might perpetuate uncertainty about
sustainable federal aid. This uncertainty might continue to hamper how fusion
centers plan their information technology and human resource needs for the future.
2b. Status Quo “Plus” — Enhance Flexibility of the Current
HSGP or Establish a Fusion Center Grant Program Within HSGP. Under
this potential option, the current grant program could be slightly altered to address
some of the oft cited hurdles that state and local officials believe impede the flow of
federal grant funds to fusion center projects. Two such alterations to be considered
include
! Increasing the duration of grant cycles in order to allow for enhanced
continuity and human resource planning, particularly for contract-
supported intelligence analysts.

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! Building some level of autonomy into the HSGP “80/20”
localities/state split of HSGP funding to allow state political
leadership some autonomy to re-allocate a portion of overall HSGP
funds to a single, designated state-wide fusion center. Such
flexibility could be conditioned on formal HSGP audits to ensure
accountability and that funds re-allocated within state HSGP awards
are consistent with the state’s fusion center mission and Federal
Fusion Center Guidelines. These audits would include input from
fusion center leaders, State Administrative Agents, and the state’s
Homeland Security Advisor.
A more significant adjustment to the existing HSGP that could potentially
alleviate some of the difficulty associated with facilitating the flow of federal
homeland security funds to fusion centers is the creation of a narrowly targeted
“Fusion Center” grant category, similar to the Port Security Grant Program (PSGP)
and the other four sub-categories included under the Infrastructure Protection
Program (IPP).167 If such a program were established and funded, arguably, it could
provide the federal government with increasing leverage to condition the funding on
a number of factors, not the least of which may be compliance with Fusion Center
Guidelines, or other, more specific fusion center performance metrics.
Pros and Cons. Arguments against this option might include the position
that such a program might set a precedent for other more narrowly tailored homeland
security oriented programs to advocate for a similar approach. It could also be
argued that such a program might undermine the current federal approach to fund the
functions which underlie homeland security — such as information sharing and
analysis. Alternatively, it could also be argued that there are several existing
programs that are narrowly tailored to ensure that risks and capabilities determined
by the federal government to be nationally critical are already funded in this manner
(such as the Buffer Zone Protection Program (BZPP), and other Infrastructure
Protection Program (IPP) grants). If the federal government determined that state and
regional fusion centers provide a critical homeland security function, both protecting
critical national infrastructure and transportation security, might it not be prudent to
have a fusion center grant program?
2c. Develop a Sustainment Funding Approach. If it is determined
that establishing a national network of fusion centers serves long-term, national
homeland security interests, it may be reasonable to design a system which provides
resources to state and local fusion centers commensurate with the national benefit
derived. This presupposes the development of (1) a cogent set of concrete national
interests served by fusion centers, (2) a set of metrics that can quantitatively capture
how well fusion centers are meeting these interests and goals, (3) standards for
“minimum levels of capability” and fusion center “maturity,”and (4) thresholds
linking levels of maturity to levels of federal funding. These standards and metrics
could be developed as part of a cooperative endeavor between federal, state, and local
167 Homeland Security Grant Programs - FY2007 Information available from
[http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/odp/grants_programs.htm#fy2007ipp], accessed on June 14,
2007.

CRS-61
representatives, possibly under the “Global” program. As with other options above,
the extent to which Congress could condition such an approach is an open question.
Pros and Cons. One of the primary arguments that could be made against
this option is that it is too complex and, as a result, would be difficult to implement
and may encourage states to “game the system” so as to remain immature enough to
retain federal funding. Alternatively, arguments in favor could be that Congress is
responding to fusion center requests for a long-term and explicit federal approach to
sustainable funding. While the states may not like the performance metrics
developed and/or the thresholds for funding phase-outs, these metrics and standards
would at least create an environment of certainty in which states could better plan
and target state and local funding streams to meet their ongoing funding needs that
the federal government has clearly informed them it will not meet. If this option is
pursued, metrics development and center evaluation would likely be most effective
if designed and undertaken with fusion centers and SLT agency sponsors to ensure
they are not resisted or rejected.
2d. Direct and Sustainable Fusion Center Functional Support.
Alternatively, Congress alone, or with input from DHS, the FBI, and the ODNI’s
PM- ISE, could determine that there are certain fusion center functions that provide
direct value and benefits to the federal government, and as such, warrant sustainable
federal financial support. For example, it might be determined the development of
state-wide intelligence systems, and information and intelligence analysis, are two
core fusion center functions that are clearly linked to the federal benefit derived from
fusion centers. As such, the federal government could determine that it would
support these functions directly and possibly in a sustainable manner. If such a
decision were made, a pilot program might be established and implemented at certain
fusion centers over a specified time period to ascertain empirical federal benefits
derived from direct support of such functions.
Pros and Cons. Arguments against this option might include that such an
approach goes beyond what some in the federal government have stated the
government will support, and could increase federal outlays beyond levels currently
being supported, and might create a sense of entitlement among fusion centers.
Arguments in favor of this option are that such an approach would provide fusion
centers with a sense of certainty about federal funding. If, for example, fusion
centers knew Congress would support funding for intelligence analysts, they would
no longer need to budget for such personnel. It could also be argued that such an
approach would be relatively simple — after a period in which seed funding is
provided and centers reach maturity (as judged by the federal government), centers
would get some level of sustainment funding for a relatively specific function or set
of functions subject to a pilot program’s assessment of output that benefits national
interests. Some lessons could be learned from the federal government’s other grant
program experiences, including the Community Oriented Policing Program model.168
168 Analogies to other Federal programs do, however, have limitations, as any pilot program
would have to assess the potentially unique national interests served by fusion centers. For
example, while hiring local police to prevent crime may serve the national interest, does the
(continued...)

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It could be argued that federal support and cultivation of the relevant skills and
capabilities within fusion centers that provide direct benefit to the federal
government may result in state and regional fusion centers acting as a “force
multiplier” for federal efforts.
Option 3: Training
Given that effective information/intelligence fusion and proactive approaches
to all-hazard prevention and preparedness depends on a common understanding of
intelligence and information and the potential uses thereof, an argument can be made
for enhanced and uniform fusion center training. Research indicates that the diversity
of types of professionals serving in fusion centers can lead to differing perspectives,
or possibly, competing visions for the fusion center. Retired military intelligence
officers may approach intelligence differently from, for example, state first responder
personnel. While neither approach may be “best” and the center might benefit from
diversity of opinions, a common understanding of and lexicon for intelligence and
its benefits and limits amongst all level of fusion center personnel can go a long way
toward ensuring cohesiveness, clarity of vision, and productivity of a fusion center.
In addition to intelligence training, some homeland security observers note
that fusion centers may benefit from additional and standardized civil liberties
training. Most fusion centers surveyed claim to have institution-wide civil liberty
training and awareness activities that ensure all employees are aware of how personal
and corporate information can be collected, received, stored, and combined with
traditional intelligence community information toward producing a risk assessment
for a given issue of concern. However, this training is often agency-specific and there
may be differences between state activities and federal expectations. As such, the
federal government may wish to require a part of all funding allocated toward a state
fusion center be used for nationally consistent civil liberties training with special
attention to concerns surrounding the use of private sector data. Another option
would make such training a precondition for receiving federal grants. Should
Congress wish to pursue this option, a range of possible legislative tools are
available, including designating a federal government entity (See Option 4f) to
provide oversight of these efforts, amongst others, as discussed below.
3a. Philosophy — Develop National Intelligence and Information
Lexicon and Standards for Fusion Centers. Congress may consider
requiring the Intelligence Community to work with law enforcement (State, Local,
and Tribal (SLT) and federal) to develop a common lexicon and definitions for
intelligence, information, situational awareness, and other key concepts to ensure all
entities, at all levels of government, that are engaged in homeland security are
working from the same play book. These basic definitions and standards may be
applicable whether the information/intelligence is national security-related or
criminal in nature. The PM - ISE, which is currently working to reconcile different
sensitive but unclassified security designations and handling instructions, might be
168 (...continued)
prevention of terrorist attacks (another crime) serve the national interest more or less than
general violent crime prevention at the State and local levels?

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a natural coordinator for such an effort. The creation of enhanced and standardized,
national fusion center training could help promote this common “dictionary of
intelligence.”
Pros and Cons. Arguments in favor of this option might include that the lack
of clarity between a “pure” intelligence and criminal intelligence role leads to over-
aggressive or under-aggressive intelligence postures in fusion centers. In short,
clarity would lead to greatly enhanced information sharing. Arguments against this
option could include a fundamental disagreement with the belief that there is a
difference between “pure” intelligence and criminal intelligence — both seek to
prevent man-made threats, including crime and terrorism. Therefore, no additional
training is needed — fusion centers understand the legal regimes under which they
operate. Another argument against creating these standards and common definitions
is that it is likely to be a difficult undertaking given the sheer number of agencies
involved and remnants of ownership culture that still persist within the federal
Intelligence Community.
3b. Enhance Civil Liberties and Privacy Training. Given the
potential for privacy and civil liberties violations to substantially undermine the
public support for fusion centers, enhanced and periodic re-fresher training in civil
liberties may be a valuable tool for fusion center personnel. While all respondent
fusion centers were cognizant of the need to protect civil liberties and provided initial
training on privacy and civil liberties protection, in general, this was one time, static
training. Enhanced training might include in-state or national instances in which
violations of privacy and/or civil liberties occurred and possible lessons learned from
those instances. Moreover, annual re-fresher training that emphasizes how First
Amendment protected activities differ from speech which incites violence or
sedition, may be useful. In addition, the adoption of national standards and/or
guidelines in this area would support this effort. There have been some efforts in this
area - PM-ISE issued privacy guidelines for the information sharing environment in
December 2006, which are available to the public and could be utilized by fusion
centers.169 It could be argued, however, that these guidelines aren’t likely to have a
significant impact on state and regional fusion centers in their current form, as they
are too vague, only focused on federal agencies, and entirely voluntary.
Pros and Cons. Arguments against this option may be resource-based —
that is, training resources may not allow for such training. Arguments in favor of this
option may include an understanding of history. The lessons of COINTELPRO, the
period of domestic intelligence abuses in the late 1960s and early 1970s, necessitate
such training. It may also be worth examining the training related to 28 CFR, Part
23, which was adopted in response to COINTELPRO abuses.
169 PM-ISE, Guidelines to Ensure that the Information Privacy and Other Legal Rights of
Americans are Protected in the Development and Use of Information Sharing Environment,
December 2006, available from
[http://www.ise.gov/docs/ise%20privacy%20guidelines%2012-4-06.pdf], accessed on June
27, 2006.

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3b-Part II. Enhance Training of 28 CFR, Part 23. With regard to
training on 28 CFR, Part 23, the federal regulation governing multi-jurisdictional
intelligence systems, many law enforcement agencies involved in fusion centers
(often because the latter were an outgrowth of the former) reported that they had
received some training from DOJ and/or other contractors on the regulation when
they first began operating an intelligence management system. In many cases, that
training took place many years ago and the agencies in question have had little to no
follow up training. Many didn’t know who at DOJ to contact in the event that the
fusion center had a 28 CFR Part 23-related question or what office fielded additional
training requests. Almost all fusion centers interviewed for this report facilitated 28
CFR Part 23 training for their staff either through the center directly or via the state
police or bureau of investigation. As this is taking place at the state and local level,
it is unclear if there is a consistent application of 28 CFR. Currently, fusion centers
are in the difficult position of being urged to be proactive to help prevent future
attacks, while simultaneously being warned about being too aggressive.
Additional and periodic training to fusion centers might be considered, even
if their parent state police/bureau of investigation agency and other law enforcement
participants have already received such training at some point in their development.
Consideration may also be given to providing legal resources for fusion centers that
want an external legal opinion on their collection, storage, and dissemination
activities.
Pros and Cons. Some might argue that the advantage to this type of
additional and periodic training is that it might help eliminate questionable
intelligence practices, clarify legitimate activity, and ensure the protection of civil
liberties. The availability of additional legal resources to fusion centers and SLT law
enforcement agencies may result in better and consistent legal advice and assist
resource-strapped entities that are currently suffering a fiscal crisis. Arguments
against such training might be resource-based. Furthermore, if 28 CFR is going to
be revised (Option 6a, page 69), training on what could be viewed by some as the
“old regime” may not seem productive.
3c. Establish a Fusion Center Mentor Program. As mentioned above,
when fusion centers have had an opportunity to avail themselves of the DHS/DOJ
Technical Assistance Program attest, the program seems quite beneficial. However,
the support is provided over the course of a few days and many fusion center
respondents desire longer-term and sustainable assistance, the type characteristic of
traditional mentoring programs. While some fusion centers have created informal
mentoring programs of their own, a more formal program could be designed that
would flexibly pair centers of varying levels of maturity with one another to share
best practices and means of surmounting what may be common obstacles to fusion
center development.
Pros and Cons. Arguments against this option may be that it is essentially
superfluous as informal mentor relationships are already being established by the
proactive outreach of fusion center leaders either informally within their region, or
at fusion center conferences. Moreover, fusion center conferences and the DHS

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“Lesson Learned” website170 provide an opportunity for centers to conduct liaison
and share best practices formally and informally. Arguments in favor of this option
include the position that such a program would constitute a relatively minor addition
to the Technical Assistance Program in terms of resources. The program could
facilitate the pairing up fusion centers they believe could learn from one another.
While official guidelines for the mentor relationships may not be necessary, the
federal government might require any new lessons learned be added to the DHS
Lessons Learned Information Sharing database.
3d. Enhance Private Sector Outreach and Information. Some
homeland security observers view the relationship between state fusion centers and
the private sector as one of both unlimited potential and great concern. Currently,
most fusion centers describe an interest in expanding their relationship with the
private sector in their jurisdiction, but consistently, most fusion centers were
admittedly behind in developing those relationships. Information sharing with the
private sector was often ad hoc and inconsistent. Furthermore, it is important to note
that fusion centers did not appear to be systematically importing and incorporating
private sector data into their information/intelligence fusion efforts, although some
expressed an interest in better utilizing private sector data in some form.
It is important, however, to identify the opportunity to introduce new types
of data, including those from private sector sources, into the intelligence fusion
process to allow for a comprehensive risk assessment to a given geographic
environment or infrastructure facility. It may be that the data pointing to a pending
attack cannot be understood in context unless all knowable information is available
for assessing. On the other hand, absent strenuous civil liberty protections and
safeguards the possibility for misuse of personal or corporate data looms over many
fusion center activities the state may undertake in partnership with or support of
private sector organizations. Furthermore, it could be argued that massive private
data collection and analysis efforts are wasteful and a better use of resources would
be to follow known criminal leads rather than sifting through an enormous amount
of data looking for possible signs of terrorism.
Pros and Cons. Arguments in favor of increasing interaction between fusion
centers and the private sector focus mostly on increasing the availability of possible
terrorism-related information. Should the federal government and private sector
routinely share information some believe this will lead to a better understanding of
the threat environment which in turn may deter or defeat future terrorists attacks.
Others argue that the sharing of significant amounts of private sector data with the
nation’s fusion centers will do little to increase security as crucial pieces of terrorism-
related information will not be discernible due to being included in databases
containing large quantities of irrelevant information. These homeland security
observers suggest that the possibility of civil liberty abuses of private sector data
residing in a state’s fusion center far outweighs the possible benefits that may occur
170 Form more information on the Lessons Learned Information Sharing (LLIS) website visit
[http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/odp/docs/LLIS_FactSheet.pdf] and [http://www.llis.gov], both
accessed on June 14, 2007.

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when combining private sector data with other suspected terrorism-related
information.
3e. Enhance Public Sector Outreach. Some respondent fusion centers
had a relatively pro-active public outreach strategy that included a website, brochures
and billboards, and/or a 1-800 “tip” line that encouraged the public to call into the
center directly. More often, fusion centers had minimal level of interaction with the
public by design171 and due largely to resource constraints. While not violating the
precept that “one size does not fit all fusion centers,” it could be argued that, if
resources allow, centers should be encouraged to have a public message and image
consistent with their public mission. Public support and understanding of what these
centers can and cannot do may be essential to their long-term viability. Moreover,
the law enforcement elements of fusion centers are responsible for knowing their
communities and being able to spot anomalies. Public outreach can facilitate calls
into fusion center tip lines when they witness behavior that “just does not seem
right.”
Pros and Cons. Arguments against this option are likely to be largely
resource-based. Centers with fewer personnel do not have the necessary staff to
operate these programs, for example, a phone bank necessary for a tip line. If the
federal government is considering requiring such outreach as a condition of accepting
funds, it may need to provide additional funds, and/or re-programming of existing
funds. Arguments in favor of this option include a fundamental belief that these
centers serve a public mission and should be not perceived as secret or clandestine
entities that are spying on law-abiding citizens. If the centers do not define
themselves to the public, they may be defined by other groups who may not
necessarily have primary source knowledge about the center and its activities.
3f. Additional Training for SLT Cleared Personnel. Some may argue
that clearing SLT personnel, which remains an obstacle to effective information
sharing, (Option 6e) without providing them training on how to handle classified
intelligence and how to use it without disclosing sensitive information to their staffs
may be unfair and ill-advised. Congress may wish to consider funding additional
intelligence training for the SLT personnel assigned to fusion centers. It may also be
possible for the federal agency detailees at fusion centers to assist with this process.
Congress may wish to consider urging DHS, the FBI, and other agencies with
detailees at fusion centers to train their staff to assist fusion center leadership with
using classified intelligence and tasking personnel based on threat information,
without divulging classified information.
Pros and Cons. Arguments in favor of such a training program include that
it may help facilitate necessary information sharing, while ensuring classified
information remains secure. However, federal agencies may reject the idea of having
field personnel assisting in such an effort and may wish to retain such authority at
headquarters.
171 This was sometimes due to a general law enforcement approach when dealing with
sensitive issues - in a few cases, it was due to some of the resources or partners with which
the center was collocated (e.g., an FBI field office).

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Option 4: Build Additional Linkages to the Federal
Intelligence Community

DNI Michael McConnell’s “Focus Area 5: Accelerate Information Sharing,”
in the 100 Day Plan for Integration and Collaboration, stipulated, “The Plan
includes objectives related to enhancing information sharing within the IC as well as
the formalization of fusion centers that are in the process of being developed.”172
Formalization and linkages between the fusion centers and the federal intelligence
community could have many interpretations and concrete manifestations. As
outlined above, should Congress determine it wishes to take action on this option, a
range of possible legislative tools are available, as discussed below.
4a. Formalizing, Creating a Statutory Basis For, and
Strengthening the Interagency Threat Assessment Coordination Group.
The concept of the Interagency Threat Assessment Coordination Group (ITACG) was
first raised in November 2006 in the PM-ISE Implementation Plan, and then
subsequently in January 2007 in S. 4., the “Improving America’s Security By
Implementing Unfinished Recommendations of the 9/11Commission Act” of 2007.
Under the terms of the Act, the ITACG, which has been alternatively called the
Federal Coordination Group, is intended to “... facilitate the production of federally
coordinated products derived from the information within the scope of the (ISE).”173
Since the establishment of the Intelligence Community there has been little reason
or mandate for federal Intelligence Community agencies to have direct or sustained
interaction with state and local law enforcement and public safety personnel.174 What
little interaction there was, generally took place between the FBI, a statutory member
of the Intelligence Community, and state and local law enforcement entities. It could
be argued that the nature of the threat today requires a broader range of interaction.
In 2007, the executive branch established the ITACG and the organization was
placed a the National Counter Terrorism Center (NCTC). To date few state
employees are assigned to the center and most fusion center leaders were unaware of
the organization or its mission to provide timely and relevant information to state and
local homeland security entities.
Pros and Cons. The arguments against the ITACG, as currently envisioned
in S. 4, might include (1) the name itself is misleading, as the group will be unlikely
to engage in formal “threat assessment” analysis while at the NCTC, (2) security
concerns — back channel and un-authorized communications between state and local
172 See Office of the Director of National Intelligence, 100 Day Plan for INTEGRATION and
COLLABORATION,
p. 9.
173 See S. 4.RS, Section 131 (b).
174 Pursuant to EO 12333, United States Intelligence Activities (1981), the Central
Intelligence Agency is prohibited from performing any “internal security” functions [1.8(c)].
However, agencies within the Intelligence Community are authorized to “Unless otherwise
precluded by law or this Order, participate in law enforcement activities to investigate or
prevent clandestine intelligence activities by foreign powers, or international terrorist or
narcotics activities....” [2.6(c)]. Executive Order 12333 is currently being re-written. See
Katherine Shrader, “Intel Chief Changing 1981 Security Order,” in MiamiHerald.com, June
12, 2007, (accessed June 14, 2007).

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representatives to the ITACG could undermine existing intelligence dissemination
channels and further complicate the cohesiveness of federal threat assessments to
state and local consumers, and (3) the detailing of a handful of state and local
personnel to the burgeoning NCTC, while useful, may not be enough personnel to
have a substantial impact.
Alternatively, one of the primary arguments in favor of such a center include
a recognition of the importance of cross-training and mutual learning. It is
sometimes the case that federal intelligence officials and state intelligence officials
speak past one another because they each have a limited understanding of respective
consumer demands, use different terms and standards, and the don’t always recognize
the inherent limitations of intelligence. By participating in the production of
federally coordinated products at the national level, it could be argued, state and local
fusion center personnel will learn about the volumes, specificity, and inherent
limitations of the numerous “INTS”175 collected by the Intelligence Community.
Moreover, through interaction with state and local fusion center personnel, federal
Intelligence Community officials will learn what is most valuable to state and local
personnel, and as such, will be better prepared to create products tailored to their
needs.
4b. Intelligence Analyst Exchange — Fusion Centers and NCTC
Directorate of Intelligence. While the proposed ITACG would work on
developing federally coordinated intelligence products for dissemination to state and
local fusion centers for further dissemination, ITACG members are unlikely to be
engaged in formal analytical threat assessments. It could be argued that further
analytical cross-training could be achieved through significantly increasing state
fusion center intelligence analysts who are not federal employees to the NCTC’s
ITACG or Directorate of Intelligence, and offering NCTC analysts an opportunity to
work at a fusion center. Congress may wish to consider enhancing support for the
ITACG’s efforts to enhance information exchange with state and regional fusion
centers and facilitate analytical cross-training with state and local representatives
detailed to the organization.
Pros and Cons. One central argument against such an exchange is that there
may be limited utility. If analysis is a discipline that has at its core a fundamental set
of skills, including, but limited to, critical thinking, hypothesis generation and testing,
written and oral communication skills, and an ability to ascertain salient trends from
voluminous data sets, why does it matter if these skills are exercised at the state or
federal level? Furthermore, there are very few fusion centers and/or public safety
agencies at the state and local level with the resources and existing capacity for this
type of strategic analytical assessment. Another argument against such an option is
that fusion center analysts and NCTC terrorism threat analysts, arguably, serve
different consumers and, as result, do not necessarily need to understand one
another’s positions. Arguments in favor of such an option might include that the
NCTC is a client of the fusion centers, and the fusion centers are a client for the
175 “INTS” refers to intelligence collection disciplines, for more information see FBI, “INTS
t h e I n t e l l i g e n c e C o l l e c t i o n D i s c i p l i n e s , ” a v a i l a b l e f r o m
[http://www.fbi.gov/intelligence/di_ints.htm], accessed on June 27, 2007.

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NCTC’s Directorate of Intelligence. As a result, “walking a mile” in your client’s
shoes can help you understand what is valuable to them. Another argument in favor
of such integration could be that threat analysis at the federal level may be more well-
developed than at some fusion centers, and cross-training may be very instructive for
fusion center intelligence analysts who could also take advantage of other Federal
Intelligence Community analytical training session while detailed to Washington,
DC.
4c. Draft a National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) Concerning the
Potential Nexus Between Criminal Activity and Terrorism. It is an
underlying assumption, supported by some terrorist cases within the United States,
that some terrorists have engaged in criminal activity or terrorism precursor crimes,
to support their activities.176 One way to prevent terrorism is, therefore, to use all
existing law enforcement tools aggressively. Fusion centers can assist law
enforcement agencies in directing their resources to areas of greatest threat.
However, as mentioned above, one can reasonably question if sophisticated terrorists,
those who have received formal terrorism training from established international
groups and may be planning catastrophic attacks, engage in criminal activity prior to,
and in support of, a terrorist attack. Will following all criminal leads and terrorism
tips lead to the disruption of sophisticated terrorist plots?
Should such an NIE not exist, it may be useful to draft one focused on the
nexus between terrorism and crime. The DNI’s National Intelligence Council could
draft it and potential clients might include the Homeland Security Advisory Council,
National Security Council, all members of the Intelligence Community, and state and
regional fusion center leaders. Importantly, research and analysis for the report might
incorporate input from the fusion centers to determine the extent to which criminal
cases in the United States demonstrate meaningful linkage between precursor
criminal activity and terrorist activity. Such data sets could be compared and
contrasted to the activities of terrorist groups overseas to determine any
commonalities. Any such findings or trends overseas could be applied to the
domestic arena, through fusion centers, to align protective resources accordingly.
Pros and Cons. Arguments against such an option might include the
hypothesis that existing cases in the United States have already demonstrated a link
between terrorism, at least with respect to “aspirational” terrorist groups, and crime.
Therefore, there is no need for a specific NIE on the subject, as it would require
extensive resources needed elsewhere. Arguments in favor of such an option might
include the reasoning that if such a study has not been done, it represents an example
of how international trends may inform our national counterterrorism efforts, which
include, in part, the contributions of a national network of fusion centers.
Furthermore, such an NIE would provide fusion centers with specific trends and
potential threats that they could be used to create their own collection requirements
as well as enhance their strategic understanding of potential terrorism precursor
crimes.
176 See CRS Report RL34014, Terrorist Precursor Crimes: Issues and Options for Congress,
by Siobhan O’Neil.

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4d. Enhance Mechanisms for Fusion Centers to Task the IC for
Information and Receive “Feedback”. Currently, fusion centers are limited to
going through a relatively slow “request for information” process in order to acquire
information tailored to their needs from the federal Intelligence Community. If there
is a movement, as DNI McConnell stated, to formalize information sharing with
fusion centers, which implies a bi-directional flow of information, there will be a
need to develop a robust feedback loop where information shared is assessed and
requests for information are handled expeditiously. While not all respondent fusion
centers had developed intelligence collection requirements, some not only developed
requirements but had collection plans designed to fill those requirements. For
example, some fusion centers might ask, how might a simultaneous al Qaeda attack
manifest itself in fusion center areas of responsibility, or why might fusion centers
be more concerned with thefts of chlorine gas than diesel fuel? Some of this general
information reaches fusion centers now, although many argue that federal agencies
are still not as proactive and sufficiently wide in scope in what they choose to share
with SLT agencies, but it is the follow-up requests that are not met in a timely
fashion.
Respondent fusion centers often indicated that information they provided to
the federal Intelligence Community, largely through the FBI or DHS went into a
“black box,” with little feedback as to the value of the information or how it may
have been used. Frequently, fusion centers are told that they can’t receive follow up
information because it is part of an open investigation. Fusion centers are often in
a position of not knowing if the information they passed was noteworthy or
worthless. They don’t know if they should be actively looking for similar
information to pass onto the federal community. Moreover, the lack of feedback
creates resentment towards federal agencies. State and regional officials reported
being further disheartened to learn that locally gathered information they provided
to DHS for risk assessment and subsequent grant allocations, was not used in any
systematic and meaningful manner.177 It is important to note that the lack of feedback
and forthcoming information from the federal government is frequently cited as one
of the predominate reasons many fusion centers were established initially. Critics
might ask, if fusion centers do not have access to feedback, can they ever expect to
fully participate in the intelligence cycle and achieve true fusion?
Two bills pending before Congress, S. 4 and H.R. 1, include language, under
the sub-title “Homeland Security Information Sharing — Establishment of Business
Practices,” that would require the Secretary of DHS to “...develop mechanisms to
provide (analytical and operational) feedback regarding the analysis and utility of
information provided by any entity of state, local or tribal governments or the private
sector that gathers such information and provides such information to the
Department.”
Pros and Cons. An argument against enhancing the feedback loop would
include what some might view as a reasonable amount of time for the federal
177 See CRS Report RL33858, The Department of Homeland Security’s Risk Assessment
Methodology: Evolution, Issues and Options for Congress
, by Todd Masse, John Rollins,
and Siobhan O’Neil.

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government to respond to fusion center requests. Some fusion centers, as a result of
collocation with the FBI or having federal detailess integrated into their centers,
might get fairly rapid responses to certain requests for information. However, even
some fusion centers with established relationships with FBI JTTFs and FIGs found
the FBI still held tightly to certain sets of ongoing case data. An argument in support
of such an option, would be if the nation is truly going to use fusion centers as a
national network to prevent and respond to man-made and natural disasters, without
a timely and effective information sharing and feedback mechanism practiced daily,
in times of crisis, the network may prove ineffective.
4e. Establish a Mechanism for Fusion Centers to Have Input into
the NIPF. The National Intelligence Priorities Framework (NIPF) outlines the
process and results for determining where intelligence assets are directed against
prioritized threats. As one would expect, intelligence priorities are linked to
assessments of threats to national and homeland security. Yet, today there are few
direct mechanisms which allow fusion centers, individually or collectively, to
provide their assessments of threats facing their communities into the NIPF.
Pros and Cons. Arguments against this might include the perspective that
unless it is a national trend which presupposes a collective sense of existing fusion
centers, a threat does not belong in the national (emphasis added) Intelligence
Priorities framework. One argument in favor of such input could be that the trends
being seen at the state and local fusion center level may represent national trends,
and/or may include trends not yet identified by federal agencies, even if there is no
“national fusion center” currently in existence that integrates all the trends being seen
by individuals centers.
4f. Civil Liberties and Privacy Protection — A Role for the IRTPA-
Established Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board. While fusion
centers were created by state and local governments, with participation and support
from federal entities, at what point, if at all, does the federal government become
responsible for privacy and civil liberties issues associated with fusion center
activities within the states? Where does the federal responsibility to protect civil
liberties and privacy stop and where does state responsibility to protect these social
goods begin?
It could be argued the more federal financial and human resources provided
to the centers, the more the centers are perceived as hybrid federal-state entities.
Therefore, the federal government could be perceived as being partly responsible for
any potential violations of privacy or civil liberties. When Congress passed the
Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (P.L. 108-458), it
established the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board to, among other
functions, “...review the implementation of laws, regulations and executive branch
policies related to efforts to protect the nation from terrorism including the
implementation of information sharing guidelines....”178 If fusion centers are to
become true partnerships, it could be argued, that there is shared responsibility to
protect civil liberties. In terms of the modalities of the Oversight Board’s role, it
178 See IRTPA, Sec. 1061, codified at 5 U.S.C. 601 Note.

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might work with state agency general counsels to ensure that the fusion centers have
requisite policies and practices in place consistent with the Fusion Center Guidelines.
Moreover, the Oversight Board might assist in designing an oversight or inspection
regime for privacy and civil liberties protection at fusion centers.
Pros and Cons. Arguments against this option might include a belief that as
fusion centers are creations of state and regional communities, the federal
government has minimal responsibility to exercise oversight with respect to them.
Some might argue that legally, the federal government has no right to direct fusion
centers on protection of privacy and civil liberties. With respect to privacy rights, it
might also be argued that the differing standards for privacy across states would
complicate any effort to implement a consistent approach in this area. Arguments in
favor of this option might include the claim that even if the federal role in exercising
oversight of fusion centers is limited, federal financial and human resources support,
as well as support for formalization of the fusion center, requires some level of civil
liberties oversight. Some might argue, the current voluntary implementation of civil
liberties and privacy protection may be insufficient. Has the federal government
conducted audits of fusion centers to determine if they are in compliance with even
the voluntary standards as set out in the Fusion Center Guidelines? Moreover, it
might be argued that without federal oversight, litigation is likely to serve as the only
significant oversight mechanism. Litigation, however, may not necessarily be the
most effective oversight tool, due to the length of time it takes for the judicial system
to adjudicate such cases. Moreover, by the time an issue has made its way into the
courts, there is likely to be considerable skepticism amongst the public regarding
fusion center activities.
4g. Create a Statutory Basis For an Intelligence “Confidence”
Ranking System for All Federal Intelligence Products. In at least two
reported instances, federal threat information reportedly provided to state and local
fusion centers and/or state/local officials manifested competing assessments of
source reliability and validity and, by extension, the nature of the threat. In the two
incidents, which took place in Boston in January 2005 and in New York City in
October 2005, the FBI and DHS provided local officials with competing assessments
of source reliability and/or the urgency of the threat.179 Federal officials have since
testified that coordination mechanisms have been put in place to prevent such future
occurrences.180 However, in order to assist state and local fusion centers to determine
how imminent and/or valid a potential threat may be, Congress may wish to consider
the creation of a universal confidence ranking for federally produced intelligence
products that would rank an agency’s confidence in the reliability of the sources —
reflecting the source’s reporting history and corroboration with other intelligence
sources, etc.
To some extent, the failures associated with certain elements of pre-war
intelligence on Iraq have served as a catalyst for an intelligence confidence and
179 Lara Jakes Jordan, “Bogus Boston Terror Tip Highlighted Information-Sharing Woes,
Ridge Says,” in Associated Press, January 28, 2005.
180 See transcript of John Pistole, Deputy FBI Director, and Charles Allen, DHS Chief
Intelligence Officer, Before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, January 25, 2007.

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transparency initiative underway at the national level and with respect to National
Intelligence Estimates. Thomas Fingar, Deputy DNI for Analysis, stated a
recognition of the need to “show(ing) our homework — greater transparency about
sources, which allow analysts to better assess the quality of intelligence reporting.”181
Former Deputy Director of the CIA’s Directorate of Intelligence stated in a speech
to all CIA analysts “... that when you are ‘calling it as you see it’, you must give the
policymaker full transparency into your confidence in the judgments you are
making.”182 An important question concerning these recognitions, however, is the
extent to which this confidence system is formal, and is being extended into products
and judgements regularly provided to fusion centers. Congress may wish to consider
oversight hearings to determine the progress of this initiative as it pertains to fusion
centers.
Pros and Cons. A credibility ranking system might reduce the need to
include sources and methods information in intelligence products, thus making the
creation of declassified and “less classified” versions of intelligence products easier.
Such a ranking would provide state and regional fusion centers better information to
use in making informed decisions about the threat to their communities and related
responses. An argument against this option suggests it may be difficult to get
multiple federal intelligence and law enforcement agencies to agree on common
“credibility” criteria. Getting consensus on assigning a particular ranking to a
intelligence product could potentially be a lengthy process that could potentially
delay intelligence dissemination. On the occasion that one or more agencies disagree
with the majority consensus, a system for “line-item” analytic comments may be
necessary (as is currently utilized for National Intelligence Estimates). It should also
be noted, that the credibility ranking system described above is unlikely to have a
positive impact on state and regional fusion center analysis and assessment unless it
is preceded by training on intelligence, related terminology, the intelligence cycle,
etc. to give context to the system.
Option 5: Consider Structural Issues
As mentioned throughout this report, there is no “cookie cutter” approach to
fusion centers. Although the centers may all have some core functions, the financial
and personnel resources they have to dedicate to those functions differ widely.
Structurally, the continued development of the fusion center concept could progress
along any of the following, albeit non-exhaustive, paths. Should Congress determine
it wishes to take action on this option, a range of possible legislative tools are
available that might influence that path of development, as discussed below.
5a. Support the Current Path of Development. Under the current path
of development, states and localities continue to make decisions about the number
of fusion centers. There is little to no federal input into these independent decisions,
181 See Maura Reynolds, “Intel Office Gives Dissenters Their Due,” in Los Angeles Times,
April 14, 2006.
182 See DDI’s State of Analysis Speech, All Hands Meeting, CIA Auditorium, Feb 11, 2004.
Available at [http://www.fas.org/irp/cia/product/021104miscik.pdf] (accessed June 20,
2007).

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as the centers are created and largely funded by the states and localities. This has
reportedly resulted in several seemingly unusual homeland security purchases and
funding decisions according to fusion center officials who noted the creation of
competing fusion centers in some states.
Pros and Cons. An argument in favor of this option is the position that it
would respect states rights and the ability of states and localities to make independent
determinations about the structure of fusion centers that best fits their needs. An
argument against this option suggests the increasingly complexity, from a federal
perspective, of funding numerous fusion centers within one state. A proliferating
amount of fusion centers in a single state can lead to competition for resources that
may lead to an allocation of existing funds that does not necessarily best advance the
fusion function.
5b. Support the Designation of One Lead Fusion Center Per
State. Under this option, the state’s Homeland Security Advisor, acting on behalf
of the governor, might dedicate one fusion center as being the lead center for the
state.183 Federal financial resources could be provided to that center, which would
have the ability, acting through the state Administrative Agency, to re-allocate a
portion of those funds to “satellite” fusion centers across the state.
Pros and Cons. Arguments in favor of this option might include the belief
held by some fusion center respondents that the competition for limited federal
resources does not serve fusion centers well. That is, particularly if there are
relatively few highly qualified intelligence analysts, having them at one central
location where they have easiest access to the flow of information coming into the
center may best serve the interests of fusion centers. Arguments against this option
may include that fusion centers are essentially state and local entities, and as such,
they should be designed in whatever configuration, to include multiple centers if
desired, if that is determined to serve the state or locality’s interests. For example,
some large states have several large cities and having one central fusion center serve
as the recipient of federal grants might undermine “satellite” fusion center operations.
5c. Expand the FBI FIGs to be the Federal Strategic Analysis
Fusion Centers. Although provocative and radical, fusion center critics might
argue that fusion centers are superfluous insofar as the primary federal benefit they
seek to provide is prevention of manmade (terrorist) attacks (a traditional federal
agency role) and/or destabilizing crime (gangs, narcotics, etc. — both a federal and
SLT responsibility). Those who subscribe to this school might argue that state and
regional fusion centers could be eliminated and federal agencies take over all the
functions those centers once performed, with intelligence and counterterrorism-
related work going to the FBI, and the all-hazards functions adopted by some fusion
centers turned over to FEMA or the state/local agencies that traditionally handle
natural disasters. The counter to this argument is that a changed threat environment
183 The PM-ISE Implementation Plan (November 2006, p. 119) included as part of its “PM
Recommendations and Summary of Actions,” that “DOJ and DHS will work with Governors
...to designate a single fusion center to serve as the statewide or regional hub to interface
with the Federal government.”

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requires non-traditional thinking — designed to prevent and respond to terrorist
attacks and respond efficiently and effectively to substantial natural disasters.
Nevertheless, the argument that fusion centers may represent an organizational
solution to a functional information sharing and analysis problem can still be made.
A less radical, albeit still drastic, version of this option would suggest that the
FBI take over all strategic analysis and assessment roles and that state and regional
fusion centers focus solely on tactical analysis of criminal intelligence. Under this
option, the FBI’s Field Intelligence Groups (FIGs), whose primary purpose is to
manage the FBI’s intelligence process at each of the 56 FBI field offices, would
assume a broader set of responsibilities. One version of this option would have the
FIGs conducting this analysis, using FBI analysts, to be shared with SLT agencies.
Another approach would have SLT personnel previously assigned to fusion centers
be re-detailed to the FIGs to assist with the analytic process, although that process
would be run and directed by the FIG. Either way, the FBI might be able to conduct
the types of analyses that could assist state and local law enforcement, public safety,
and private sector potentially to direct their protective resources into the areas of
greatest criminal and homeland security threats if the FBI had:
! Direct access to all the state and local criminal intelligence and
information that fusion centers have.
! Established relationships with even rural law enforcement personnel,
private sector personnel, and other related homeland security
stakeholders.
! Information systems which could facilitate the sharing and analysis
of unclassified and classified information across all homeland
security stakeholders in the country in a timely and effective manner.
This option does not presuppose that existing state and local fusion centers
would be supplanted. However, federal financial resources could be re-directed
toward the establishment of state-wide intelligence systems that are interoperable and
to which the FBI FIGs would have direct access as an input into strategic analysis.
Relieved of the strategic analysis burden, fusion centers could focus on tactical
analysis in support of constituent member or fusion center cases and/or situational
awareness.
Pros and Cons. Arguments against expanding the role of the FIG relative
to fusion centers might find that it represents a thought process that is part of the
problem — that is, that homeland security is essentially a federal function, with a
minimalist role for state and local law enforcement and public safety personnel.
Such an approach might marginalize the important role that state and local homeland
security stakeholders can play. It may also result in the failure to fully utilize the
resources and institutional knowledge of SLT agencies, the stakeholders who know
their own communities more intimately than any federal agency. Moreover, it could
also be argued that the FBI is being asked to do so much in the post-9/11 world —
to be the foremost counterterrorism and counter-criminal organization in the United
States — that this somewhat expanded role may be asking too much. Lastly, from

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an analytic perspective, tactical and strategic analysis are mutually supportive and it
may not be prudent to separate the two.
Arguments in favor of this option might find that such a role for the FBI does
not involve supplanting existing fusion centers. It would merely federalize the
strategic analytic function, one that many fusion centers have difficulty dedicating
personnel to because their clients do not necessarily demand these types of products.
Lastly, it is not a great expansion of FBI responsibilities, it only involves analysis of
an enhanced set of raw data that is relatively under developed due to the nascency of
state-wide criminal intelligence systems. State-run emergency management agencies
or the fusion centers in cooperation with these agencies would continue to respond
to natural disasters as the FBI fulfills its traditional investigative mission.
5d. Establishment of a National Fusion Center Representative
Organization. Today, there are more than 40 plus fusion centers operating, largely
independently, around the country. It can be argued that the next fusion-related
development should be “2nd generation fusion” or “fusion of the fusion centers.”
Informally, this has started to happen to some degree. Post-9/11 demands for
increased domestic security served as a catalyst for some state fusion centers to
collaborate with each other to facilitate the flow of information and intelligence. The
means and the ends of that collaboration are important. First, the means - at times,
these informal center-to-center or more formalized regional group relationships have
been used to share threat information specific to investigating a past or ongoing
incident of concern.184 To achieve the next step in fusion center collaboration, from
ad hoc relationships to a more formalized, structured relationship between fusion
centers that would create a representative voice to address mission and resource
related issues with the federal government, there are several organizational network
models that could emerge, as well as a hybrid of several models:
Figure 1. Organizational Network Models
Source: CRS-generated graphic.
184 Interview with fusion center leader, May 22, 2007.

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It is important to note that the depictions in Figure 1 represent “pure”
theoretical models.185 Elements of these aggregate models exist today, although the
models could be formally adopted in an effort to bring more structure to the existing
fusion center network structure. For example, all the fusion centers interviewed for
this report have some direct linkages with other fusion centers, although an
individual center may not have established links with every other center in the
country, nor are those links of the same strength. It is also common for fusion centers
to have stronger links and more constant contact with nearby fusion centers or those
centers at similar levels of maturation. To the former point, there are examples
where fusion centers in a particular area have set up regional fusion center coalitions,
like Southern Shield in the southeast,186 to facilitate information sharing. Each option
has its own advantages and disadvantages. Moreover, like fusion centers themselves,
it is not clear that one model would work for all stakeholders involved in the
network. In reality, any fusion center configuration is likely to be a hybrid of some
or all of the models represented above. However, some homeland security observers
argue that significant success in maturing a national fusion center constellation may
be assisted by the creation of nation fusion center representative entity that provides
the federal government prioritized mission and resource issues of interest.
Second, the ends — an often stated concern by state homeland security
leaders is a lack of understanding how the federal government prioritizes funding,
personnel, and technical support provided to the nation’s fusion centers. Conversely,
many homeland security observers note that federal government leadership has
difficulty in responding to the needs of the fifty state fusion centers in a prioritized
and logical manner. To facilitate a more comprehensive approach to putting forth the
needs of state fusion centers in a given region, some state leaders have established
regional fusion center representative organizations.
At present individual state fusion centers request services and support from
DHS that are relevant only to the organization’s operations. It is the perception of
fusion center leaders that DHS responds to the needs of a single center without the
consideration of the priority of the request with respect to the needs of others centers
that may be in locations deemed higher at risk, or the needs of all of the nation’s
fusion centers. A coordinated national or regional representative fusion center
organization that can propose to the federal government prioritized common issues
of concern may assist DHS and FBI submit, manage, and allocate fusion centers
budgets based on strategy rather than the perceived need by a single center.
185 A hub and spoke model consists of multiple nodes (fusion centers) that are all connected
to same central node (a national fusion center or other coordination group). A regional
network includes regional groupings of nodes (fusion centers) - with/or without a central
node (a national fusion center, etc. ) connected with each grouping. An all channel network
has each individual node (fusion center) directly linked to every other individual node
(fusion center) - with/or without a central node (national fusion center, etc).
186 Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Investigative Division Annual Report 2005, available
from [http://www.ganet.org/gbi/05annual/Investigative_FY05.pdf], accessed on June 15,
2007.

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Pros and Cons. An argument in favor of the establishment of national fusion
center representative organization entails increasing the nation’s contextual
understanding of threats and vulnerabilities through increased collaboration by state
fusion centers. Such an organization may assist the federal government in
ascertaining the risks to the nation and understanding the resources needed to support
the federal-state information sharing environment. An argument against such a
structure is the possibility of the inadvertent creation of a “group-think” environment
whereby centers, in an effort to support unity of effort and collaboration, may
compromise their independent analysis of risks to the region in favor of supporting
the representative organization.
5e. Move Toward Regional Fusion Centers. A second option for
addressing the need for 2nd generation fusion is the creation of regional fusion centers
to coordinate disparate fusion efforts at the state and regional level. This option is
likely to be supported by those homeland security observers who question the
viability of each state having its own homeland security fusion center (or several in
some cases). There are some indications that federal intelligence community
agencies are already considering developing a regional architecture to promote
information sharing.187 Under this option, fusion centers could move to a regional
model based on any number of federal regional designations (HIDTA, FBI FIG,
FEMA, Drug Enforcement Agency Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces
etc).188 Increasing center-to-center and regional collaboration on issues of common
concern may help garner support for such a proposal. A regional approach — in the
several forms it could take — may help facilitate information sharing, effective
resource dispersal, and help transform the current localized, reactive, and tactical
approaches to threat analysis to a more proactive and strategic posture. One possible
approach to regionalization could be the combining of numerous state fusion centers
into a regional homeland security center. Such a strategy may become more popular
if there are no large-scale terrorist attacks or disasters in the United States, which
result in less homeland security-related funding and a lack of political support to
sustain fusion efforts. Such an occurrence may be predicated by the following
situations:
! Existing state fusion centers detailing personnel to bordering state
organizations thus developing a notional regional network within
existing organizations.
187 Jason Miller, “White House Council Puts Cybersecurity in Focus.” FCW.com, July 2,
2007. [http://www.fcw.com/article103121-07-02-07-Web].
188 FEMA is currently composed of 10 regions, there are 28 High Intensity Drug Trafficking
Areas (HIDTAs) and there are nine Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force regions.
See [http://www.fema.gov/about/contact/regions.shtm] for the ten FEMA regions,
[http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/hidta/index.html] for the 28 HIDTA areas, and
[http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/programs/ocdetf.htm] for nine OCDETF regions. All websites
accessed June 12, 2007. The FBI’s JTTFs, of which there are over 100, or field offices, of
which there are 56, are other regional representations.

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! Barring a future terrorist attack or catastrophic natural disaster, the
elimination of state fusion centers may lead to the establishment of
large regional centers staffed by surrounding state personnel.
! Modeled after numerous existing organizations located throughout
the Nation (HIDTAs FBI FIGs [see option 5c above], FEMA), a
federal government-led regional fusion center is established in
partnership with state employees focused on strategic analysis and/or
response efforts in support of federal, state, and local missions.
Pros and Cons. An argument against this option includes the reasoning that
by adopting regional fusion centers, the new fusion entities will no longer provide as
many benefits to local communities and as such, they will have difficulty maintaining
buy-in and detailees from local agencies. An argument for regionalization is the
claim that by pooling resources, expanding their scope, and establishing regional
spokespersons, regionalization may assist with the resource dilemma and facilitate
both more strategic approaches to analysis and effective communication with the
federal government.
Option 6: Enhance Information Access and Management
There are numerous measures which Congress might consider in this area to
assist fusion centers. Should Congress determine it wishes to take action on this
option, a range of possible legislative tools are available that might influence that
path of development, as discussed below.
6a: Federal Regulations of SLT Criminal Intelligence Systems —
28 CFR, Part 23. As highlighted above, 28 CFR Part 23, the federal regulation
which governs state and local criminal intelligence systems, was written, in part, as
a response to the domestic intelligence abuses of the late 1960s and early 1970s
related to COINTELPRO. While the concerns raised then about civil liberties
violations remain demonstrably present today and must be vigilantly guarded against,
so too has the threat environment changed. Along with changes in the threat have
come substantial technological changes, including the ability to exploit voluminous
amounts of commercially available data. As a result, it could be argued that 28 CFR,
Part 23 might be revised to include updated information retention time frames and
mechanisms to include available technologies.
Pros and Cons. Arguments in favor of such a revision include that a
reexamination of 28 CFR Part 23 would potentially result in a new balance being
struck between protecting civil liberties and effective and proactive security efforts.
Such a revision might also contribute to the creation of national standards for
information collection and exchange. Furthermore, changes that address
technological advances and the realities of the current threat environment may clarify
the limits of how such technologies can be used by fusion centers. An argument
against such a revision might include civil liberties advocates being critical of any
alterations to 28 CFR Part 23 that may be seen as loosening requirements and/or
expanding existing law enforcement powers. Any changes made without SLT
consultation and/or that narrow SLT-level leverage are likely to be met with
resistence from fusion centers and SLT law enforcement.

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6b. Require All Federally Funded Systems to be Interoperable.
Peer-to-peer communication has been a priority for the Administration and Congress
as demonstrated in the IRTPA instructions to the ISE. Congress may wish to
consider further steps to enhance such communication between fusion centers —
dubbed by some in the fusion business to be “2nd generation fusion.” Congress could
consider several initiatives in this area, to include requiring fusion centers and states
that wish to use federal funds to purchase information management systems to ensure
their systems are able to “speak” to other systems. This would enhance the potential
to make connections between disparate data points and reduce information silos at
state and/or regional levels. This may limit the number of systems fusion centers can
purchases in the short term, but in the long term, such a move is likely to force the
companies that sell these systems to work in XML or create the appropriate loaders
to translate between XML and its proprietary language.
Pros and Cons. There are several arguments for implementing this option,
including the need to ensure federal funds don’t contribute to further “silo-ization”
of information streams, as well as the potential to encourage more effective
information sharing and better data analysis. Arguments against this option may
highlight concerns about the immediate limiting impact on systems choices and
potential financial costs for state and regional fusion centers and related agencies.
6c. Standardize Reporting Formats. Another option that may enhance
peer-to-peer communication among fusion centers and between fusion centers and
the federal community is standardized reporting formats. Currently, while there are
common “top-down” standardized federal reports, including Intelligence Information
Reports (IIRs), Intelligence Bulletins, and Intelligence Assessments, no such standard
set of products exists for “bottom-up” reporting from fusion centers to the federal
community.189 The creation of common lexicon and standards is likely to contribute
to this end. DHS has given its roughly 15 fusion center detailees reports officer
training to facilitate this effort, but it is clear it needs to be done on a grander scale
and in coordination with the FBI and other federal recipients. If this is to be
successful, coordination with fusion center staff is likely to be essential to ensure that
fusion centers are not overburdened with a multiple reporting formats, required to fill
out duplicate copies, and upload through various information systems (Option 6d),
thus thwarting effective information sharing. A standardized format will also
189 According to the ISE Guideline 2, “Fusion centers should continue to maintain and/or
develop a capability to support a number of critical counterterrorism, homeland security and
homeland defense-related activities, including...(1) state-wide, regional, site-specific, and
topical risk assessments, (2) alerts, warnings, notifications, advisories, and bulletins
regarding time sensitive or strategic threats, (3) situational awareness reports, and (4)
analytical reports regarding incidents or specific threats.” See ISE Guideline 2, Develop
a Common Framework for the Sharing of Information Between and Among Executive
Departments and Agencies and State, Local, and Tribal Governments, Law Enforcement
Agencies, and the Private Sector
, pp. 19-20. As indicated throughout this report, a central
element missing amongst most fusion centers is a baseline threat assessment. Baseline
assessments, arguably, should be a relatively high priority for fusion centers. Standardized
product sets, of the type mentioned above, may enhance information sharing across all levels
of governments and with the private sector, and could also contribute to the research and
drafting of baseline assessments.

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reinforce efforts to instill the use of a common lexicon and definitions nationally.
Such formats should likely include input from state and local law enforcement and
fusion centers to ensure consistency and buy-in, and find ways this requirement can
fit within existing standard operating procedures rather than creating additional work.
Pros and Cons. A potential impediment associated with this option is the
likely difficulty of getting federal and SLT agencies to agree on a standardized report
format. Furthermore, it will likely be equally difficult to devise a way to create a
common report form and process that does not create additional work for fusion
centers. It can be argued that to be effective and efficient, such an option is
inextricably tied to the consolidation of federally run information systems (Option
6d, below) and without a serious effort to consolidate information flow between
federal and fusion center entities, a standardized reporting format may still be
unwieldy. An argument for this option is the assertion that without standardized
reporting, the current range of standards and formats being used is likely to impede
effective information sharing and analysis, which has been deemed crucial for our
nation’s homeland security efforts.
6d. Consolidate Federal Information Sharing Systems. Congress
might consider compelling federal intelligence and law enforcement agencies to
consolidate existing federally owned and operated information sharing systems.
Designating a single system as the primary system through which all information
from the federal government would be sent to state, local, and tribal agencies may
also be an option to consider. Congress may wish to continue to exercise rigorous
oversight of the progress the ISE has made toward creating the necessary “policies,
procedures, and technologies linking the resources (people, systems, databases, and
information) of federal, state, local, and tribal entities and the private sector to
facilitate terrorism information sharing, access, and collaboration.”190
Pros and Cons. Prioritization and/or consolidation of federally run
information systems would likely reduce the stress on fusion centers and enhance the
flow of intelligence between SLT and federal agencies. However, it could also be
argued that such changes are likely to be opposed by the federal agencies whose
respective systems are not promoted as the single information sharing architecture.
“Ownership” of intelligence and information systems appears to remain an obstacle
in sharing information with sub-federal entities.
6e. Consider Increasing the Number of Cleared SLT Personnel at
Fusion Centers. Congress may wish to consider urging the FBI and DHS to
increase the number of clearances they provide for state and local personnel,
especially those currently assigned to and/or slated to work at state and regional
fusion centers. Congress may also wish to examine the classified intelligence
reciprocity issue which prevents a holder of a DHS-cleared fusion center, for
example, from accessing DOD-origin classified systems and intelligence. While a
perennial issue within the federal community, the continued lack of reciprocity
190 Program Manager Information Sharing Environment website, available at
[http://www.ise.gov/], accessed on June 5, 2007.

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creates needless bureaucratic and logistical hurdles that continue to thwart effective
information sharing.
Pros and Cons. An argument in favor of this option would be that it allows
additional personnel at the centers to receive threat information and direct it to
appropriate personnel for action. This may reduce some of the obstacles that
currently inhibit the flow of federal intelligence assessments that fusion center
analysts can “fuse” with locally focused, grassroots-collected information. With
better access to classified information, fusion centers may increase their capacity for
“true fusion” by marrying strategic and long-term threat assessments generated by
federal agencies with locally focused, grassroots-collected information.
An argument against this option could include the contention that, while
seemingly positive, it does nothing to address the over-classification of intelligence,
and in fact, could further promulgate a culture of classification. Clearing fusion
center personnel, especially management, and not the “boots on the ground”
personnel puts the former in a difficult position. They are usually incapable of
deploying resources or directing collection based on the classified intelligence they
have received. As such, it may be more beneficial to enhance the declassification
process — and the capability to create SLT-relevant intelligence products (Option 4a,
page 59) — at the federal level then overemphasizing the importance of clearing
additional SLT personnel. Furthermore, an increased number of cleared personnel at
the state and local level will not be beneficial to fusion centers unless it is
accompanied by equipment to receive and store such information, training on how
to use intelligence, and guidance on how to identify gaps or generate collection
requirements from that intelligence.
6f. Urge Compliance with Intelligence Reform Act and 9/11
Commission Regarding Over-Classification . Congress may wish to examine
classification issues and urge more progress on efforts to declassify existing products,
as well as produce less sensitive or tear-line versions of classified intelligence
reports. This could be done by urging the compliance with the requirements and
deadlines laid out in the IRTPA (P.L. 108-458), many of which have not been met.
Congress may also wish to consider this and other incentives for facilitating the
creation of declassified or “less-classified” versions of intelligence threat reports to
ensure fusion centers can receive, store, and utilize threat reporting.
Pros and Cons. A federal government-wide effort to declassify relevant
intelligence products could potentially assist SLT agencies and fusion centers to
identify potential threats and trends within their respective jurisdictions. Alone,
some critics might argue, declassified products based on federal intelligence will not
meet the information needs of fusion centers and SLT agencies. Rather, intelligence
products need to be created based on SLT information requirements and operational
considerations to ensure they are relevant to the recipients. A potential negative
tradeoff of a concerted effort to declassify intelligence for fusion centers and SLT
agencies might be an increase in the amount of time it takes to get important
information from federal agencies to the SLT-level.

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Option 7: Create a True Trusted Partnership
In recent years, much has been said about the partnership between SLT
agencies, state and regional fusion centers, and federal agencies to tackle homeland
security challenges. While there are many agencies, initiatives, and individual
leaders who are working to advance the level of cooperation between a wide
spectrum of public sector agencies at all levels of government, there are indications
that the “partnership” between them is not as strong and dynamic as it is frequently
described. It could be argued that the federal government will be hard-pressed to
view SLT agencies and entities, like fusion centers, as true partners. Rather, the
federal government will likely approach the later as a “consumer” of their work, but
not necessarily a common and equal “partner.” It is also important to recognize that
this tension goes beyond the level of government divide — there is also a significant
gap between traditional intelligence and law enforcement agencies (see Appendix
A
), and between first responders and law enforcement.
The relationship between SLT and federal agencies can be tension-filled; they
each operate from different historic roles and responsibilities, resources, and
jurisdictions. In some locations there appears to be some residual resentment of the
FBI and some other federal agencies amongst SLT entities after years of being treated
as inferior and an information source — not necessarily as a consumer. On the
federal side, there is often a distrust of SLT entities, a concern about the erosion of
federal jurisdiction, and, in some cases, a resistence to accepting an enhanced SLT
role in some homeland security areas.
Although relationships vary across the country, in some locations the two
groups do not have the necessary understanding and familiarity with each other,
despite some continued contact (i.e. state and local interaction with the FBI via
JTTFs). Several fusion center officials cited their perception about the failure of
federal agencies to understand their needs. In January 2007, Washington, DC, Police
Chief Kathy Lanier testified to the cultural differences and lack of understanding
between SLT and federal communities:
the Department of Homeland Security is not a law enforcement agency like
the FBI ... is a law enforcement agency.... So it’s very difficult for them to
understand what my need to know is, if they don’t know what it is that I do.
If they’re not familiar with what I do on a daily basis, what resources I
have, and how I can reduce vulnerabilities through the daily activities of
more than 4,500 employees here in Washington, D.C. ... So a lot of
information doesn’t get to me, because they don’t believe I have a need to
know.... I think it’s just a lack of understanding. And this is not in all
DHS’s fault ... local law enforcement’s just as much at fault. The
Department of Homeland Security is not completely aware of what our
operational capabilities are and how the information, if passed on to us,
could be used to reduce the vulnerability.... So information that may be
shared with us is not shared with us because they don’t think it’s something

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that we can do anything with or that we can use to help reduce that
vulnerability.191
As mentioned above, this lack of understanding can lead to unrealistic
expectations. In talking with state and local officials who are relatively new to the
intelligence discipline, it is often apparent that they believe that the federal
government knows far more than it tells them, and that the intelligence the “Feds”
have is usually clear and specific regarding the “who, what, where and when” of a
threat. This is often not the case, but it leads to latent distrust instead of open
discussion. As previously stated, the two sides operate using different language and
standards. The lanes in the road are often unclear and in some cases there remains a
degree of competition between various agencies and levels of government. In short,
while there is an enhanced level of trust between the federal and state and local
communities, according to some fusion center respondents, they would not
necessarily characterize the relationship as a true partnership.
Pros and Cons. Arguments against this option are likely to focus on the
difficulty of creating a plan and implementing a strategy for enhancing SLT-federal
partnership, something that can be difficult to define and measure in tangible terms.
Those who wish to maintain the status quo are unlikely to support such an option.
On the other hand, supporters of this option may opine that regardless of logistical
challenges, the importance of enhancing the relationships between levels of
government and various homeland security stakeholder communities is so essential
to post-9/11 U.S. security, that it cannot be ignored.
As outlined above, should Congress determine it wishes to take action on this
option, a range of possible legislative tools are available. One concrete manner of
working toward this true partnership and mutual understanding is through personnel
exchanges.
Option 7a. Enhance Coordination Efforts Through Personnel
Exchanges. It could be argued that the more interaction and detailing of personnel
between state and local fusion centers and federal agencies, the better. While
periodic conferences are helpful in building relationships, living in your partners
environment and understanding the demands and limitations of that environment is
essential to building mutual trust and understanding. Potential details of personnel
to a Interagency Threat Assessment Coordination Group (Option 4a, page 59) and to
the NCTC (Option 4b, page 60), options mentioned above, may be concrete measures
which could enhance partnerships and mutual understanding.
Pros and Cons. Additional clarity about each communities’ roles,
responsibilities, and resources is likely to reduce duplication, clarify the “lanes in the
road,” influence intelligence sharing selections, and potentially could lead to
enhanced coordination. In some cases these issues have been avoided because of
191 Cathy Lanier, “Intelligence Reform: Federal Bureau of Investigation and Department of
Homeland Security,” Testimony before a Hearing of the Senate Select Committee on
Intelligence, January 25, 2007, reported by Federal News Service, available from
[http://www.lexis.com], accessed on June 12, 2007.

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sensitivities regarding jurisdictional issues, which could come to a head during such
an exercise.
II. Fusion Center Options With No Unique Federal Remedy
There are some issues associated with fusion centers for which there are no
unique federal remedies. This is largely due to issues associated with federalism.
State Legal Authorities. There were a number of legal issues discovered
in the course of research. Because they involve state law, there is likely no federal
remedy, unless constitutional issues are involved, a situation that would have to be
assessed on a case-by-case basis.
State Option 1: Add or Revise State Legal Authorities. While
acknowledging that the majority of state programs are not recognized by legislation
or a governor’s executive order, many homeland security observers are concerned
that an uncertain funding line coupled with unreasonable mission expectations may
lead to the elimination of fusion centers in the future. One near-term priority of
fusion center leadership might be to coordinate efforts with the state’s homeland
security advisor, the governor’s office, and state legislators to recognize the center,
define its mission, and devote suitable long-term state funding to its operations.
With future federal funding levels uncertain, a situation may be developing
that could be detrimental to the future needs of the state. Should a state not recognize
or devote dedicated funding to its fusion center, the ability to provide strategic
forward-looking threat assessments or tactical operational prevention and response
activities may suffer. There are concerns that if the federal government increases
funding to fusion centers, mission and administrative conditions may accompany
these resources. Such a situation might detract from the state-focused mission and
possibly result in the center failing to meet the expectations of state leadership.
State Option 2: Consider Revising Statutory Language Impeding
Information Sharing. A number of fusion centers had state laws which had the
unintended effect of impeding information sharing. In one instance, a state law made
it a Class A misdemeanor if any person knowingly released criminal intelligence
information (as defined in statute) to an agency or person other than a criminal justice
agency.192 According to one fusion center leader,193 one of the unintended
consequences of this law was that any intelligence the fusion center received from
the federal community could not be shared directly with any non criminal justice
entity or person that may be a target of the threat and/or have resources essential to
preventing or preparing for an event.
State Fusion Center Personnel and Management Issues. Research
also indicated a number of potentially problematic issues related to state fusion center
192 Interview with fusion center leader, March 23, 2007.
193 Ibid.

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personnel which, again, do not necessarily have any unique federal remedy. These
issues include:
Personnel Option 1: Selection of Fusion Center Leaders. As the
fusion centers continue to mature and the security role and functions of the
organization attempt to align with the realities of the threat environment, some
homeland security observers hypothesize that state leadership may wish to reconsider
the attributes required of fusion center leaders. In response to the evolving homeland
security environment some centers have started ensuring that the core leadership
team of the organization have representative experience and knowledge of the four
phases of homeland security: preparation, prevention, response, and recovery. For
example, fusion centers that focus on all-hazards may look for leadership that have
both criminal and emergency responder experience. Some state homeland security
observers are concerned that one implication of a possible significant increase in
federal funding to state fusion centers might entail the federal government’s desire
to be consulted regarding personnel selected by state leadership for positions that are
responsible for managing state fusion center funds.
Personnel Option 2: Assignment and Performance of Fusion
Center Personnel. One concern often voiced during the interviews with fusion
center leadership was the ability to select and manage the personnel assigned to the
center. There is a general concern about the quality of detailess. Given resource
constraints within partner agencies, fusion center leadership are concerned that those
agencies may seek to detail personnel who fail to perform. Considering the
immaturity of many of the nation’s fusion centers and their need for personnel,
centers often unknowingly accept individuals with skills that do not support the
mission.
There are also issues regarding clarity of roles and responsibilities. Despite
memorandums of understanding (MOU) signed by the fusion centers and the
detailing organization, there is often a lack of definitive understanding of the roles
and functions the detailee is to undertake in support of the fusion center. With regard
to federal agency detailees, this lack of clarity could result in unmet expectations,
reduced federal-state coordination, and agency representatives departing the center
prior to the conclusion of the assignment. Unlike the lack of specifics of the
functions to be performed and the role of the individual in the organization, the
MOUs often specify that salary, training, and annual performance reviews will
continue to be provided by the parent organization. It is often argued this
programmatic arrangement is necessary to quickly detail individuals to the
organization; however, such a process does not appear conducive to the effective
management of individuals detailed to the fusion center.
While it is true that fusion center leaders are on occasion asked about the
performance of detailees, many suspect the arrangement does not have a lasting
impact on detailee work productivity. Barring dismissal from the center, the
organizational relationship limits the leverage a center leader may have in increasing
the performance of detailees that may have suspect qualifications or lack of
knowledge of the assigned mission. Such an organizational dynamic may negatively
affect the center’s mission effectiveness and compel center leadership to question the
parent organizations commitment to the fusion center.

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Personnel Option 3: Employee Performance Metrics. Several
fusion center officials mentioned concerns regarding the lack of tools to measure
personnel performance. During times of fiscal crisis, which is especially acute in
some states, fusion center officials are being pressured to justify their existence in
light of other cuts to law enforcement and public services. Without well established
entity-wide and personnel specific metrics, fusion centers reported difficulty
demonstrating their importance to those officials responsible to budgets and grant
allocations. To address this situation, one fusion center was creating their own
metrics to evaluate individual performance, based largely on the military performance
evaluation system.194
Option 4: Sub-State Competition and Lack of Planning. As
previously mentioned, many states and municipalities are currently in fiscal crisis.
There are numerous agencies and projects competing for limited state budget dollars
as well as federal grant resources. Numerous fusion center officials cited the lack of
strategic planning for resource distribution within their state. In some states, non-
intelligence focused agencies and personnel are responsible for dividing federal grant
funds among state/local initiatives. Some fusion center leaders believe a lack of
understanding of the role of fusion centers has put the centers at a disadvantage for
receiving federal grants from the decision making bodies. In at least one case, a
fusion center was told by those making grant distribution decisions that “fusion
centers benefitted the federal government, so the federal government should fund
them directly” — an indication they did not think the homeland security grant funds
should be used to fund that state’s fusion center.195
Another complaint focuses on the lack of strategic coordination. In some
states, regional councils or municipalities themselves can determine what to spend
federal homeland security grants on, without proving that such expenditures fit
within a strategic state-wide effort to reduce risk. In one state, regional councils that
distribute funding choose to fund local fusion centers, even though there was already
one established for the state, potentially creating duplication of effort, wasting
resources, and stirring competition.196 One example of poor planning included the
authorization by one council for 500 megahertz radios, while another council
approved and funded ones that were 800 megahertz, thereby perpetuating a lack of
interoperability.197
Option 5: How States Can Achieve Enhanced Buy-In. Another
potential hurdle to fusion center development is creating buy-in at the sub-state level.
In many states there are indications that small police departments and public sector
agencies are not thoroughly convinced of their fusion center’s worth, and if and how
the center will benefit them. Creating buy-in is a difficult process. Expanding from
a solely counterterrorism focus to an all-crimes approach appears to have helped
some fusion centers create buy-in. As previously mentioned, providing investigative
194 Interview with regional fusion center leadership, May 1, 2007.
195 Interview with regional fusion center leadership, May 3, 2007.
196 Interview with state fusion center leadership, April 25, 2007.
197 Ibid.

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resources to small agencies that need them has assisted another in this regard.
However, these services are not often “fusion”-related, and thus it begs the question,
how can fusion centers convince local law enforcement agencies that they should
expend resources and time to working to enhance the fusion process?
Moreover, non-law enforcement agencies are often skeptical about fusion
centers. First, all-crimes and counterterrorism-focused centers have a more difficult
time than all-hazards centers marketing themselves to public health, environmental
protection, fire fighters, etc. These entities tend to have had far less intelligence
experience and enjoy a reduced level of comfort with the intelligence cycle than law
enforcement. In addition to apprehension with the subject, non-law enforcement
public sector agencies are unclear about what role they should play and how to play
it. Furthermore, some non-law enforcement fusion center officials complained about
what they perceive as conflicting messages from the federal government about the
role of agencies like theirs in the fusion process.

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Appendix A. Philosophies of Intelligence
To better understand the potential philosophical, cultural, and logistical
barriers to effective integration of intelligence and information fusion centers with
existing federal intelligence and terrorism/crime prevention efforts, it is helpful to
examine the different conceptions of intelligence within the federal Intelligence
Community and the law enforcement community.
Intelligence Community and Law Enforcement Community Approaches to
Intelligence. The absence of a common lexicon between the Federal Intelligence
Community and law enforcement intelligence is one area in need of further
explanation, as it is manifested in approaches fusion centers take to their work. The
majority of fusion centers examined for this report deal with a combination of
intelligence, information, and situational awareness. Most centers that described
themselves as having a response role or support function for another response-
oriented entity were more concerned with situational awareness. However, in a few
cases, it was not clear if the fusion center leadership had a thorough understanding
of the differences between intelligence and information. This is somewhat
understandable: People often use the term intelligence interchangeably with
information, but there is an important distinction.
Intelligence Community Conception of Intelligence. Mark Lowenthal, an
expert on intelligence issues, differentiates intelligence from information in the
following way:
Information is anything that can be known, regardless of how it is
discovered. Intelligence refers to information that meets the stated or
understood needs of policy makers and has been collected, processed, and
narrowed to meet those needs. Intelligence is a subset of the broader
category of information. Intelligence and the entire process by which it is
identified, obtained, and analyzed respond to the needs of policy makers.
All intelligence is information; not all information is intelligence.198
Intelligence is the product of the intelligence cycle (see figure 3 below), a
process that begins with Step 1 - planning and direction, which leads to Step 2 - the
setting of collection requirements based on threats in the form of questions and
identified gaps in existing knowledge, and which is followed by Step 3 - the
collection of intelligence based on known gaps. Step 4 includes synthesis and
198 Mark M. Lowenthal, Intelligence: From Secrets to Policy, Third Edition (Washington
DC: CQ Press, 2003). pp.1-2. Lowenthal draws on Sherman Kent’s (the “father of
intelligence,”) conception as intelligence as process, product, and organization. Intelligence
as process is a means by which certain types of information are required and requested,
collected, analyzed, and disseminated, and as the way in which certain types of covert action
are conceived and conducted. Intelligence as product is a product of these processes, that
is, as the analyses and intelligence operations themselves. Finally, intelligence as
organization can be thought of as the units that carry out the various functions. See Loch
K. Johnson and James J. Wirtz, ed., Strategic Intelligence: Windows into a Secret World,
An Anthology
(Los Angeles: Roxbury Publishing Co., 2004), p. 2.


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analysis of collected intelligence and results in the creation of an intelligence product,
which in Step 5, is disseminated to policymakers and those responsible for taking
action based on that analysis. Step 6 is the feedback loop from the customer to
evaluate the utility of the product and facilitate another round of the cycle by
assisting with Step 1 - planning and direction.
Figure 2: The Intelligence Cycle
Source: CRS — derived from multiple sources.
It is important to explain that there are different definitions of “intelligence,”
and those used by the fusion centers often differ from the more “pure,” conception
of “intelligence” outlined immediately above.
Law Enforcement Conception of Intelligence. In law enforcement, the term
intelligence has been defined slightly differently than within the halls of federal
intelligence agencies engaged in all-source, strategic intelligence. David Carter, a
criminal intelligence expert states:
In the purest sense, intelligence is the product of an analytic process that
evaluates information collected from diverse sources, integrates the
relevant information into a cohesive package, and produces a conclusion or
estimate about a criminal phenomenon by using the scientific approach to
problem solving (i.e., analysis). Intelligence, therefore, is a synergistic
product intended to provide meaningful and trustworthy direction to law

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enforcement decision makers about complex criminality, criminal
enterprises, criminal extremists, and terrorists.199
Law enforcement intelligence (LEINT) is thus “the product of an analytic
process that provides an integrated perspective to disparate information about crime,
crime trends, crime and security threats, and conditions associated with
criminality.”200 Carter’s definition appears akin to what the Intelligence Community
would consider “finished” intelligence — intelligence that has been synthesized and
analyzed. One might argue that criminal intelligence, as conceptualized above, is
reactive — information becomes intelligence after it is analyzed, as compared to
more pure concepts of intelligence, which are more proactive, in that pre-identified
intelligence gaps based on policymaker needs are the starting point for intelligence
collection. This would be in line with traditional approaches. It could be argued that
the Intelligence Community tends to be proactive in dealing with national security
matters, while law enforcement in the United States has traditionally been reactive,
post-event, and prosecution focused. Some might argue that the use of law
enforcement tools such as the enterprise theory of investigation have indeed been
proactive in the collection of intelligence, although not necessarily through the formal
implementation of the intelligence cycle. Carter believes intelligence can be used for
both prevention and planning/resource allocation within law enforcement.
The primary differences, then, between pure or traditional conceptions of
intelligence and law enforcement intelligence lie in the following three areas: (1) the
predicate for the intelligence activity itself, (2) intelligence clients and consumers,
and (3) the legal regimes under which intelligence is collected. Whereas the pure
intelligence community uses a known intelligence gap as the starting point for
collection, it is less likely that a law enforcement intelligence group will have a
developed set of intelligence collection requirements and, as a result, a criminal event
or case is the starting point for intelligence collection. With respect to consumers,
while the Intelligence Community serves action-oriented officials within the military
199 David L. Carter, Law Enforcement Intelligence: A Guide for State, Local and Tribal Law
Enforcement Agencies
, (Washington, DC: US Department of Justice, Office of Community
Oriented Policing Services and Michigan State University, 2004), p. 7.
200 Ibid, 10. Alternatively, law enforcement information can be defined much more broadly.
For purposes of the ISE, law enforcement information means “any information obtained by
or of interest to a law enforcement agency or official that is both (A) related to terrorism or
security of our homeland and (B) relevant to a law enforcement mission, including, but not
limited to information pertaining to an actual or potential criminal, civil, or administrative
investigations or a foreign intelligence, counterintelligence, or counterterrorism
investigation; assessment of or response to criminal threats and vulnerabilities; the
existence, organization, capabilities, plans, intentions, vulnerabilities, means, methods, or
activities of individuals or groups involved or suspected of involvement in criminal or
unlawful conduct; the existence, identification, detection, prevention, interdiction, or
disruption of, or response to, criminal acts and violations of the law; identification,
apprehension, prosecution, release, detention, adjudication, supervision, or rehabilitation of
accused persons or criminal offender; and victim/witness assistance.” See ISE Guideline
2, Develop a Common Framework for the Sharing of Information Between and Among
Executive Departments and Agencies and State, Local, and Tribal Governments, Law
Enforcement Agencies, and the Private Sector
, p. 13.

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and federal intelligence communities, it largely serves the needs of national
policymakers. In the law enforcement community, the consumers are largely law
enforcement officers investigating a crime or criminal groups, prosecuting attorneys
and law enforcement executives seeking to align protective resources. From a legal
regime perspective, national intelligence collection, arguably operates under a less
restrictive legal regime than law enforcement intelligence, an issues which is largely
driven by the subjects of intelligence collection — U.S. persons or non-U.S. persons.
The conceptual differences between these two closely related communities
and disciplines has implications for fusion centers. Under which model and legal
regime are they operating? As mentioned above, how proactive can the centers be in
intelligence collection without violating civil liberties? A lack of clarity on these
issues can lead to fusion centers either taking a too conservative or too aggressive
approach, either of which undermines their full productivity, and serves as an overall
risk to the fusion center concept.


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Appendix B. Map of Current and Planned Fusion Centers
Figure 3: Map of Current and Planned Fusion Centers