Information & Intelligence (Including Terrorism) Fusion Centers

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