Fusion Center Case Study

1301 Words6 Pages
After September 11, 2001, the United States Intelligence Community (IC) recognized that their ability to share information and intelligence between IC member agencies and departments was lacking.6 Since then, the IC has invested large amounts of resources and efforts towards creating Fusion Centers that function as collaborative intelligence hubs, collecting, analyzing, and distributing information and intelligence that could propel the U.S. into a nation that can proactively thwart terrorist attacks vice reacting to them. Fusion Centers bring together information from the Federal Government, State and Local governments, and private sector actors within the IC and law enforcement community with the intention of maximizing the flow of valuable…show more content…
The Department of Homeland Security Inspector General reported in 2008 that budgetary constraints were greatly hindering Fusion Center operations because they could not afford to send employees to training or assign DHS employees to the centers.5 This barrier also presents an issue of timeliness. If Fusion Centers cannot perform their intended functions due to budgetary constraints, their potential for thwarting terrorist attacks on American soil becomes diminished. Unfortunately, agencies and Fusion Centers may experience budget cuts if a terrorist attack does not occur or there is a low terrorist threat in the region in which a center is located.4 This is also an issue of complacency and is an indicator that the U.S. Government can only afford to be reactive in regards to domestic terrorist activity. The purpose of Fusion Centers is to be proactive, but this ideal is clearly hindered by a lack of funding. This lack of funding may also cause complacency among those already employed by the fusion centers, especially if it has an impact on their

More about Fusion Center Case Study

Open Document