Homeland security challenges for the Washington D.C. police, I
out that the department’s homeland security challenge has evolved significantly since 9/11. Originally, the department focused on rethinking how it does general policing. In the wake of the terrorist attacks, the department joined other local police agencies in asking to be included in the information flow that would “connect the dots for terrorism.”
Ackerman writes that when the MPD was included in that information loop, it shifted its focus to evolving into an agency that can contribute information into that connect-the-dots analysis. Lanier explains that this entails being able to pick up on any subtle activity that needs to be entered into the analysis information flow.
She notes that the average MPD officer has about eighteen years’ experience on the force. So, the issue is not just training new recruits; it also involves training officers who have their own ways of policing that have been developed over nearly two decades of work on the streets. She adds that the department has met this challenge, and MPD officers now can identify subtle activity that needs to be noted and passed along the information chain.
Lanier offers that the MPD has a robust capability for identifying potential threats and moving that threat information to the appropriate department agency for analysis. The department, however, also is tasked with ensuring that other necessary parties outside of district government receive this vital information.
This is no small task. Washington, D.C., is rife with multiple federal law enforcement agencies along with other government agencies and organizations that are part of homeland security and counterterrorism activities. As the nation’s capital, it is a high-value target for terrorists.
So, with all these partners and all the mechanisms in place, Lanier’s biggest concern is that someone will miss the significance of a piece of information and not share it with the appropriate authorities. “We still ask the question every day: ‘Who needs to know this information and have you shared it with them?’” she says. The same holds true for the other agencies’ sharing with the MPD. Representatives of the other agencies sit on the MPD fusion center governance board, so the chief hopes that those points of contact ensure proper information sharing from their respective agencies.
Knowing each organization’s priorities is essential, she continues. For example, if the fire department does not know that the MPD needs some information that it routinely collects, that information may not be passed to the MPD when it is needed — and the dots are not connected. So, all parties must make each organization aware of their information needs, or the information sharing capability will fall short of effectiveness.
Helping the MPD achieve its information sharing goals is the department’s fusion center. This facility serves as an information hub that utilizes technology for sharing information. Prior to its establishment, the department relied on liaisons with the various government agencies and law enforcement organizations.
Ackerman writes that over the past two years, the department has made tremendous progress in being connected interoperably with traditional and nontraditional sources. These key stakeholders include the World Bank, the Water and Sewer Authority, and Potomac Electric Power Company, for example, and the MPD can glean valuable information from them. Lanier credits the current assistant chief in charge of the homeland security and counterterrorism bureau, Pat Burke, with establishing a strong connection with non-law-enforcement organizations such as the business community, the hospitality industry and other private sector entities.
The fusion center has enabled the MPD to receive information electronically from these key groups on a daily basis, Lanier adds. It effectively has allowed the MPD to formalize its homeland security relationship with the private sector, particularly in terms of how to exchange and share information.
To ensure that this new networking did not violate U.S. information sharing laws, the MPD spent more than a year developing new privacy policies.
This effort involved the capital’s many federal sector partners, and it covered human interaction, databases and information sharing. “Nowhere in the United States is it more important to follow those policies and privacy practices than in Washington, D.C.,” Lanier says.
>On Monday:fusion center and relationship with the private sector
