Houston%20Regional%20Intelligence%20Service%20Center

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Houston Regional Intelligence Service Center
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Co-located at the Houston Emergency Center (HEC)
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Mission Statement

• The Houston Regional Intelligence Service Fusion
  Center (HRISC) will provide continuous security
  to the region by gathering, developing and
  sharing intelligence into the capabilities,
  intentions, and actions of terrorist groups and
  individuals which pose a threat to our populace
  and region.

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Situation

• There are numerous police departments in the
  Greater Houston area that may have intelligence
  relative to terrorist activities or criminal
  activities that threaten the health, welfare, and
  safety of our communities at large.

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Situation

• A regional criminal intelligence service
  gathers information and intelligence into other
  community threats such as organized crime, serial
  crimes, emerging crimes and trends, and shares
  that intelligence with all the partners in the
  service.

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Situation

• A regional intelligence service surmounts the
  secret issue that surrounds so much of what the
  federal government and their terrorist task
  forces do.

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Situation

• A regional intelligence service acts as a
  multiplier of the knowledge, skills and abilities
  of the participants and the entire Gulf Coast
  region

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The Regional Intelligence Service

• The obstacles to a multi-organization
  intelligence service are the financial cost,
  personnel commitment, equipment requirements, and
  the need for the collocation of personnel-usually
  away from the main police headquarters.

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The Regional Intelligence Service

• To resolve these issues, we proposed a number of
  new strategies which minimize cost and maximize
  personnel usage.

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The Regional Intelligence Service

• Our model service relies heavily on a technology
  wherein (ultimately) many of the participants
  are electronically collocated.

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The Regional Intelligence Service

• Through the use of secure Internet connections,
  participating members pass information to the
  central service center which would compile it,
  place it on a common electronic site for all to
  see, and then process it into an intelligence
  product which is also shared by all.

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The Regional Intelligence Service

• Additionally, all information gathered (and any
  intelligence product developed) is also forwarded
  to the local Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF)
  office. This passing of information satisfies
  our mandate to support the Federal/State/Local
  JTTF effort.

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The Regional Intelligence Service

• A contact person from their respective department
  is responsible for gathering and passing
  information, for attending a quarterly networking
  meeting, and to participate as a service member.

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The Regional Intelligence Service

• A system such as this provides a maximum amount
  of benefit to a department, and other
  organizations, for a minimal commitment in
  personnel and cost

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Leadership

• Collegial

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Benefits of the Service

• There are several benefits to an intelligence
  service so constructed
• Multiplies information and intelligence yield by
  increasing area of awareness and number of
  officers available.
• Assists smaller departments by providing large
  department Intelligence services at a low cost
  also provides them with wide area awareness.
• Assists police executives and decision makers
  with wide-area information awareness
• Identifies threats and emerging threats to the
  community.

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Benefits of the Service

• Overcomes secret issues and constraints.
• Provides training for smaller departments in
  state of the art intelligence tactics, rules, and
  analysis.
• Multiplies knowledge, skills and abilities of all
  participants.
• Provides a real time cooperative network of
  intelligence officers.
• Promotes regionalism.

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Participating Members

• Gather information and analyze for intelligence
  value, providing written intelligence reports
  when required.
• Establish and maintain collegial relationships
  with various federal, state, and local agencies.
• Coordinate, consolidate, collate, and disseminate
  incoming reports, information, and other data,
  which pertain to possible terrorist or criminal
  activities.

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Participating Members

• Respond to scenes that have a possible terrorist
  nexus or are otherwise suspicious in nature.
• Interview persons who possess or may possess
  information valuable to the Service for
  fulfilling our intelligence gathering mission.
• Maintain information, intelligence products, and
  files in compliance with guidelines established
  by 28 CFR Part 23 and established intelligence
  protocols.

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Cost to Date
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Putting it Together

• Fusion Center Members
• Texas Department of Public Service
• Harris County Sheriffs Department
• Houston Metro Police
• Houston Police Department
• Other agencies pending

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Data Sets and Software

• Data Discovery and Organizing Software
• Coplink
• i2 Analyst Notebook
• LEO
• Visual Analytics
• ARCGIS
• Secure Chat-room/Discussion board
• Google Earth (know thy enemy)
• NIEM and Global Justice XML implementation planned

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Equipment

• Digital photography
• Radiation Detectors
• Laptop with Wireless Broadband
• Response Vehicles (in progress)
• GPS (on board and portable)

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What are we looking for?

• Anomalies

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Houston Regional Intelligence Service Fusion
Center

• cidcdu_at_leo.gov
• 713-884-4710
• 713-884-4726 (fax)