Fusion Centers And Feature Of Their Work - Research Paper Example

Fusion Centers And Feature Of Their Work Introduction Terrorism has been the most alarming challenge before the government agencies and criminal justice systems of almost all countries in the world for quite a long time. As Spindlove and Simonsen (2013, pp. 54-55) point out, with the rising number of attacks across many nations during the past decade, the need for incorporating strategic devices to fight terrorism became a compulsory requirement for wealthy nations. As part of improvising the homeland security, America has designed the operation of fusion centers to monitor the safety of its citizens. Fusion centers work as a connecting point between various lawmaking agencies and coordinate the functions of different department of the government with regards to fighting terrorism. These centers essentially focus on information sharing regarding intelligence activities and assisting the investigation of terrorist attacks taking place under their jurisdiction. This paper will describe the organizational structure and protocols of fusion centers and evaluate their role in the battles against terrorism. History and Structure The need for integrating intelligence across different states of America became pivotal for the federal governments soon after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. As a result of the collective thinking, the idea of creating a system that will focus on gathering and integrating intelligence and processing their quick transmission to concerned authorities emerged. For this purpose, fusion centers were created for the sake of prevention of furtherance of attacks and prompt response to emergency requirements. As Hakim and Blackstone (2009) report, the first fusion center was established in Maryland for the home security of the local citizens with the name of Maryland Coordination and Analysis Center (MCAC) in 2003 by the state’s governor Ehrlich (p.118). Fusion centers collect information at the local level intelligence service, analyze them and integrate them through a data sharing system which works across different agencies of criminal justice and law enforcement in the country. Fusion centers organize and coordinate the activities of different levels of law enforcement agencies by amalgamating the information collected from various sources. The effectiveness of these centers is further guaranteed by the easy flow of collected and fused intelligence within the system without official boundaries and delay in processing. The operation system of the fusion centers also allows the participation of non-law enforcing agencies in the collective move for counterterrorism activities. As the name indicates, fusion centers work for the making of more compact but easily accessible modules of information meant for sharing in the joint operations against terrorism. A report by FEMA (2010) suggests that the objective of fusions centers is to modify the original information and intelligence for generating practicable data while considering the feasibility of its operation in distinguished circumstances and requirement levels. The organizational structure of a fusion center is an interrelated participation of different stakeholders like law enforcement agencies at federal, state and local levels along with the input support from various organizations of other disciplines. Precisely speaking, fusion centers work on the operational expectation that a blend of processed information from the intelligence reports collected from different individual sources is more effective for quick activation. Fusion Centers: Expectations and Activities Overall operations related to counterterrorism activities by the federal government of the United States depend on the effectiveness of intelligence and law enforcement agencies in the country (Spindlove & Simonsen, p. 89). Independent and separately organized and operated groups of criminal justice organizations at federal, state and local levels are important for the management of home security and civilian affairs. However, the nature and impact of terrorist attacks are so alarmingly intensive that the efforts to handle the issues related to them should work on a wider-range intelligence processing mechanism. The structure of the system is solid enough to provide rapid assistance to the personnel involved in the investigation or rescue operations related to the terrorist attack. This is possible because of the organizational structure that amalgamates the participation of important stakeholders like Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and members of Department of Justice in the system. According to the definitions of the DHS, “Fusion centers play an important role in countering violent extremism and protecting local communities from violent crime through their daily operations, including gathering, analyzing, and sharing threat information” (as cited in The role of fusion centers, US Department of Homeland Security). A fusion center gets its actual credit for being the location for analyzing the security situations of a particular demographic area and for making accurate predictions based on the information collected from associated agencies. The quality function of these centers ensures not only security against terrorism, but it guarantees the citizens their civil rights and liberties in their respective communities. The success of fusion centers as technical points to provide integrated information service to various departments has attracted the attention of the federal government which makes timely amendments to the programs of the centers. Fusion centers presently work as part of the police departments of the federal and state governments and are increasingly used in the process of law enforcement. As a result, they are increasing in their number and developing with the federal government’s sanctions for funding through various sources. According to an observation, “fusion centers are rapidly becoming a hallmark of the Obama administration’s domestic apparatus.” (Monahan, 2010, p. 84). The way fusion centers are handled by the US government indicates that the future programs on security services will largely focus on a technically equipped system for operating the centers. There is another reason to appreciate the effectiveness of these centers as they work as a potential tool for creating easiness in communication among the departments that facilitate the civil administration in the country. As a matter of fact the centers are not free from criticism for their alleged deviation from the original objective of focusing terrorist threats. Faiza Pateland (2012) reports that there are evidences of intelligence leaking and illegal interference with political and religious activities within the civilian rights . However, the importance of fusion centers is growing in the country’s counterterrorism activities as their elegant performances in the terror intelligence service in the recent past despite criticism for their inclusion of private firms’ participation in the data collection process and the mismanagement of some of the centers. Conclusion Terrorism is absolutely the biggest challenge that facing the civilian life in America in the recent years. The federal government recommended the establishment of fusion centers to coordinate the operations of different agencies of information and intelligence with regards to counterterrorism activities. These centers work as a central point to integrate and distribute information for the quick operation of the actionable data by the concerned agencies. Fusion centers are associated with the policing organizations and serve as the intelligence hubs. The structure and functions of these centers are inevitable in forecasting attacks and formulating plans to prevent them taking place. Considering their importance and the quality services, they seem to silent the critics and continue to serve the American population for their national and individual security. References Faiza Pateland, M. P. (2012, Oct 18). Fusion centers need more rules, oversight. Roll Call Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1112888307?accountid=1611 FEMA. (May 2010). Considerations for Fusion Center and Emergency Operations Center Coordination Comprehensive Preparedness Guide (CPG) 502. Retrieved from http://www.fema.gov/pdf/about/divisions/npd/cpg_502_eoc-fusion_final_7_20_2010.pdf Hakim, S & Blackstone, E. A. (2009). Safeguarding Homeland Security: Governors and Mayors Speak Out. US: Springer Science & Business Media. Monahan, T. (2011). The future of security? surveillance operations at homeland security fusion centers. Social Justice, 37(2), 84-98. The role of fusion centers, US Department of Homeland Security. Retrieved from file:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/Administrator/My%20Documents/Downloads/role%20of%20fusion%20centers%20in%20countering%20violent%20extremism_compliant.pdf Spindlove, J. R., & Simonsen, C. E. (2013). Terrorism today: The past, the players, the future (5th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education. Read More