“State Police Intelligence Units on Steroids”
September 5th, 2007Via: My San Antonio:
The Congressional Research Service earlier this summer prepared a report to Congress on anti-terrorism efforts at state law enforcement “fusion centers,” including the one run by DPS. A focus of the report was on computer systems such as TDEx used by the fusion centers to connect the dots in criminal activity.
The report said such computers represent “state police intelligence units on steroids” and said they take a more “proactive approach to law enforcement.” It noted a variety of terrorist plots that had been foiled by interagency cooperation.
But the report also said protecting civil liberties may be a major problem with such intelligence gathering. It quoted National Intelligence Director Mike McConnell as saying, “The intelligence community has an obligation to better identify and counter threats to Americans while still safeguarding their privacy. The task is inherently a difficult one.”
Cesinger, Perry’s spokeswoman, said the governor is not concerned about potential misuse of the state databases because he believes law enforcement will use it properly.
Research Credit: Pookie
