Intelligence Centers' Growth Concerns Civil Libertarians

by Des Moines Register

Authorities arrested Michael Bauman in March, seizing computers and guns at his Rock Rapids home. They alleged he had threatened to blow up a television relay tower, burn down businesses and kill police officers.

A week later, Iowa authorities issued public statements to dispel a hoax spread by text and e-mail. It included a warning about a planned gang initiation at an unspecified Wal-Mart store in which three women or girls would be shot.

Both cases were handled with help from the Iowa Intelligence Fusion Center, a Des Moines hub for the sharing of information among local, state and federal law enforcement agencies. About 70 fusion centers have been established nationwide with federal assistance since 2006, including ones in every state and in every major city, according to the US Department of Homeland Security.

The idea is that analysts "fuse" together law enforcement intelligence to address gaps in information sharing. But civil libertarians are wary of the growth of fusion centers. They say the centers raise serious privacy issues at a time when new technology, government powers and the war on terrorism are combining to encroach on Americans' privacy at an unprecedented level.

The Iowa Intelligence Fusion Center includes six regional field offices and employs 33 people. It is operated by the Iowa Department of Public Safety's Intelligence Bureau, which has had a statewide network to coordinate information with state and local law enforcement agencies since 1984.

"Thoughtful analysis about risks to our communities helps elected officials and homeland security leaders better utilize limited financial resources to make effective decisions about public safety matters and threats to the homeland," said Russell Porter, the director of Iowa's Intelligence Fusion Center, in testimony in April to the US House Subcommittee on Intelligence, Information Sharing and Terrorism Risk Assessment.....