The Future of Security? Surveillance Operations at Homeland Security Fusion Centers

THE U.S. "WAR ON TERROR" HAS FUELED REMARKABLE DEVELOPMENTS IN STATE surveillance. In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the country witnessed a rise in domestic spying programs, including warrantless wiretaps of the communications of citizens, investigations into the borrowing habits of library patrons, infiltration of peace-activist groups by government agents, and the establishment of tip hotlines to encourage people to report suspicious others (Monahan, 2010). Rather than interpret these and similar developments as originating with the "war on terror," scholars in the field of surveillance studies have correctly noted that the events of September 11 provided an impetus for a surge in many preexisting, but perhaps dormant, forms of state surveillance (Wood, Konvitz, and Ball, 2003). Similarly, such domestic surveillance practices neither began nor ended with the George W. Bush administration; instead, state surveillance has grown and mutated in response to changing perceptions of the nature of terrorist threats and the predilections of the Obama administration. In particular, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has renewed its commitment to creating a robust, nationwide network of "fusion centers" to share and analyze data on citizens and others. As of 2010, at least 72 fusion centers existed at the state and regional levels throughout the United States, with many of them listed as "intelligence centers" or "information analysis centers." Officially, such centers prioritize counterterrorism activities, such as conducting "threat assessments" for events and linking "suspicious activities reports" to other data to create profiles of individuals or groups that might present terrorist risks. In this capacity, fusion centers engage in aform of "intelligence-led policing" that targets individuals who match certain profiles and singles them out for further monitoring or preemptive intervention (Ratcliffe, 2003; Wilson and Weber, 2008). Most fusion centers are located within state and local police departments. Police, FBI, and DHS analysts, whose salaries are usually funded by their respective organizations, typically staff the centers. A common exception is when police representatives are funded in part or completely by DHS grants for the centers. In addition to conducting threat assessments and compiling suspicious-activities reports, fusion center analysts routinely respond to requests for information from state and local police, other fusion centers, or government agencies and organizations such as the FBI, DHS, the Secret Service, or the Department of Defense. When seen as pertinent, fusion centers also share information with private companies, such as those operating public utilities or managing other critical infrastructures (Electronic Privacy Information Center, 2008; Monahan, 2009). Although the Los Angeles County Terrorism Early Warning Center, established in 1996, is often credited as being the first fusion center (German and Stanley, 2008), most were formed after the release of the September 11 Commission Report in 2004. The early fusion centers built upon and often incorporated the Federal Bureau of Investigation's "Joint Terrorism Task Force" (JTTF) program, thereby hardwiring FBI connections into fusion centers, but allowing for greater information sharing than JTTFs afforded (German and Stanley, 2007). Since their inception, the orientation of many fusion centers has expanded to include "all hazards" and "all threats," such as responding to environmental catastrophes or investigating non-terrorist criminal gangs (Rollins, 2008). One likely reason for this expansion is that the police departments housing fusion centers are trying to translate DHS priorities and apply DHS funds to address local needs (Monahan and Palmer, 2009). Fusion centers are rapidly becoming a hallmark of the Obama administration's domestic security apparatus. Since 2009, 14 more fusion centers have come on line and the DHS and the Department of Justice have pledged more funding support for fusion centers (Burdeau, 2010; Geiger, 2009). …