State and major urban area fusion centers (fusion centers) and the Regional Information Sharing System (RISS) Centers help protect our nation by serving as valuable conduits for information sharing among federal, state, local, tribal and territorial (SLTT) agencies.
However, each center plays a unique yet complimentary role in securing the homeland; fusion centers empower homeland security partners through the lawful gathering, analysis and sharing of threat-related information, while RISS centers concentrate on the disruption and prevention of a broad spectrum of criminal matters.
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Fusion Centers |
Regional Information Sharing System (RISS) Centers |
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Deal with terrorism as well as criminal and public safety matters across multiple disciplines, including law enforcement, critical infrastructure, fire service, emergency response, public health, and private sector security. |
Focus solely on criminal matters, including organized crime, violent crime, gang activity, drug activity, human trafficking, identity theft, and other regional priorities. |
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Receive, analyze, gather, and disseminate threat-related information to appropriate law enforcement and homeland security agencies. |
Provide secure information and criminal intelligence sharing capabilities, as well as subject and event deconfliction, to federal and SLTT law enforcement. |
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Produce and disseminate actionable intelligence in support of all-crimes, all-hazards, and terrorism prevention. |
Provide analytical and investigative support services to assist in the detection, apprehension, and prosecution of criminals. |
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Owned and operated by state and local authorities. |
Congressionally funded and administered by the Department of Justice and managed locally by six regional law enforcement policy boards. |
Because there is a clear link between traditional criminal activity and a variety of homeland security issues, including terrorism, collaboration between these information-sharing entities (as well as HIDTAs) can ensure patterns associated with criminal and/or terrorism-related activities are more readily identified, thus creating safer communities and a more secure nation.
Some examples of ways RISS Centers
enhance and improve collaboration with fusion centers include:
- Assigning personnel to a fusion center or collocating the RISS Center and fusion center;
- Placing RISS personnel on various fusion center leadership panels, such as advisory boards; and,
- Providing fusion centers access and connectivity to 32 databases through RISSNET including the 6 RISS Criminal Intelligence Databases () as well as utilizing the Homeland Security Intelligence Network (HSIN).