ANSWER IN COMPLETE SENTENCES WHEN APPLICABLE.

1. What is the role of a Fusion Center?

2. List and describe the Critical Operational Capabilities of a Fusion Center.

3. What is the web address to share information on state and major urban area Fusion Centers?

4. List 5 fact sheets you can get from that website.

5. What is the web address for the privacy and civil liberties web site and what does it include?
 Global Justice
Information
Sharing
Initiative

State and
Major Urban Area
Fusion Centers
Role of Fusion Centers their jurisdictions, as well as federal information and
Our nation faces an evolving threat environment, in which intelligence. They analyze the information and develop
threats emanate not only from outside our borders but relevant products to disseminate to their customers.
also from within our communities. This new environment These products assist homeland security partners at all
demonstrates the critical role state and major urban area levels of government to identify and address immediate
fusion centers (fusion centers) have in supporting the and emerging threats.
receipt, analysis, gathering, and sharing of threat-related
information between the federal government and state, Fusion Center Priorities
local, tribal, territorial (SLTT), and private sector partners. In 2010, fusion center directors, in partnership with the
federal government, distilled the Baseline Capabilities for
Located in states and major urban areas throughout the State and Major Urban Area Fusion Centers into priorities,
country, fusion centers are uniquely situated to empower including four Critical Operational Capabilities:
frontline law enforcement, public safety, fire service,
emergency response, public health, and private sector  Receive: Ability to receive classified and
security personnel to understand local implications of unclassified information from federal partners
national intelligence, thus enabling local officials to  Analyze: Ability to assess local implications
better protect their communities. Fusion centers provide of that threat information through the use of a
multidisciplinary expertise and situational awareness formal risk assessment process
to inform decision making at all levels of government.
 Disseminate: Ability to further disseminate that
They conduct analysis and facilitate information
threat information to other state, local, tribal,
sharing while assisting law enforcement and homeland
territorial, and private sector entities within their
security partners in preventing, protecting against, and
jurisdiction
responding to crime and terrorism.
 Gather: Ability to gather locally-generated
Fusion centers are owned and operated by state and local information, aggregate it, analyze it, and share it
entities with support from federal partners in the form with federal partners as appropriate
of deployed personnel, training, technical assistance,
exercise support, security clearances, and connectivity Strengthening the ability of fusion centers to execute the
to federal systems. Fusion centers provide the federal Critical Operational Capabilities while ensuring privacy,
government with critical state and local information civil rights, and civil liberties (P/CRCL) protections are
and subject-matter expertise that it did not receive critical to building an integrated National Network of
in the past—enabling the effective communication Fusion Centers capable of providing resources, expertise,
of locally generated threat‐related information to the and information, with the goal of maximizing the nation’s
federal government. Fusion centers receive information ability to detect, prevent, investigate, and respond to
from a variety of sources, including suspicious activity criminal and terrorist activity.
reporting (SAR) information from stakeholders within
Fusion Center Resources Nationwide SAR at
ion
w i de S
A

R
N
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security Initiative (NSI) NSI
(DHS) has established a web site to share
The NSI Program Management Init ive
information on state and major urban area iat
Office (NSI PMO) has established
fusion centers. This web site,
standardized processes and policies that
http://www.dhs.gov/fusioncenters, includes relevant overviews
provide the capability for federal, state,
and fact sheets related to: local, and tribal law enforcement to share
 The National Network of Fusion Centers timely, relevant SAR information—that has
 Fusion Center Assessment Program been determined to have a potential nexus
to terrorism—through the fusion centers,
 Critical Operational Capabilities Gap Mitigation Strategy
while working to ensure that P/CRCL are
 Fusion Center Success Stories protected. The National Network of Fusion
 Fusion Centers and Joint Terrorism Task Forces Centers is a critical part of this connectivity.
 Fusion Centers and FBI Field Intelligence Groups To support the implementation of NSI,
the NSI PMO has created a web site that
 Fusion Centers and High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas includes resources, front line officer
 Fusion Centers and Emergency Operations Centers training, and other items of interest related
 Deployed Intelligence Officers and Protective Security to the NSI. The web site is available at
Advisors http://nsi.ncirc.gov.

Privacy, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties Protections

To support this priority, DOJ and DHS partnered to develop a privacy and civil liberties web site. This page,
available at http://www.it.ojp.gov/privacyliberty, includes:
 Training resources
 Authorities and guidance
 Privacy and civil liberties resources
 Relevant government reports

DHS, in partnership with DOJ, has also developed a P/CRCL training program, pursuant to Section 511(a)
of the Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007, that provides training for
fusion center personnel. Additional information on this training is available at www.it.ojp.gov/PrivacyLiberty,
which serves as a single point of access to resources on these issues.

revised 07/12