CRA's PREVENTION & DETERRENCE OVERVIEW

U.S. Homeland Security efforts will depend upon information sharing across all levels of government and sectors of our economy. The US Congress and President Bush have directed the creation of a more effective Information Sharing Environment (ISE) in 2004. The Information Sharing Environment (ISE) sets the parameters for our nation’s efforts in developing better capacities to share and turn information and intelligence into actionable knowledge in order to effectively prevent and deter acts of terrorism. Since acts of terrorism commonly share a nexus with criminal activity, the development of this ISE will also serve to mitigate crime within our communities as well. As a core component of the ISE, the Fusion Process “has emerged as the fundamental process to facilitate the sharing of homeland security-related and crime-related information and intelligence.” (Global Fusion Center Guidelines, July 2005) State, Local and Major Urban Areas require assistance in developing more robust Fusion Process capacity in order to accomplish this critical component of Homeland Security.

In addressing this developing national ISE, CRA presents products and services to assist clients with establishing or improving their capability to gather, analyze, and disseminate information in order to prevent and deter both acts of terrorism and criminal activity within their communities. As a full service prevention program, CRA provides training in analytic capabilities and trained analysts in order to improve a community’s analytic capacity. Compliant with all Federal standards, prevention exercise methodologies are available from the Homeland Security Council Scenarios level down to county and local jurisdiction level exercise scenarios. Fully understanding Federal policy and regulatory requirements, CRA provides consultation services for jurisdictions requiring assistance in the areas of Homeland Security policy development and using the Homeland Security Grant Program (from application to disbursement).
 

Development of a Prevention Strategy

At the request of DHS, CRA created a terrorism prevention strategy which is scalable and provides the foundation for programs and capabilities to counter threats posed by Islamic and other terrorist organizations for State, local and tribal jurisdictions. The strategy defines long-term goals and measures of success. The strategy also provides guidance regarding the basic capabilities needed by state, local and tribal jurisdictions enabling the capacity to develop operational programs and the efficient and economical allocation of resources.

A significant focus of the prevention strategy is the goal of strategic risk analysis. This goal combines the tandem long-term objectives of threat and target analysis. Threat analysis describes what must be done for the identification and understanding of the organization, personnel, equipment, operational concepts, and support mechanisms of an adversary or potential adversary. Target analysis describes what must be done to identify and prioritize possible terrorist targets, critical infrastructures, and the consequences of failure as well as the likelihood of terrorist success given current capabilities.

The prevention strategy advances the core fusion concept that identifying and prioritizing at-risk targets requires the blending of Critical Infrastructure Program data with up-to-date threat intelligence in order to identify those potential targets that have the greatest risk of attack. CRA infuses this strategy to suit the needs of each client's locality and jurisdiction.

Current Threat Environment Awareness

Local law enforcement and first responders alone constitute more than one million pairs of additional eyes on the ground, and they are intimately familiar with their communities and potential anomalies within them. The citizens of this country possess information about their neighborhoods, schools, and workplaces that could be critical toward preventing future incidents. In many communities across the country there is no methodology to advise citizens about the kinds of information to report, or how jurisdictions should collect the reports that may arise from such an effort. The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 demonstrated the need to devise a system that will provide usable information to the community and give citizens reliable reporting channels.

CRA can provide analytical assistance in creating programs to alert communities about terrorist modus operandi, the nexus between criminal activity and terrorists, and what constitutes suspicious activity. CRA methodologies present organized and precise approaches for interacting with the community to maximize the outreach and the collection effort as well as steps to increase the general awareness of reporting suspicious activity.

The creation of intelligence centers throughout the nation and major metropolitan areas will be for naught if a flow of reporting from those in a position to see potential terrorist activities is not established. Information must be collected to be analyzed. Reporting must flow downward (the nature of the threat) as well as upward (how the threat may be manifesting itself in our communities). CRA can provide and implement the best practices of communities already engaged in these types of outreach.

Understanding Current Operating Guidance

CRA has acquired an intimate knowledge of the documents, Executive Orders and laws governing the current ISE. Homeland Security Presidential Directive (HSPD)-8 was issued in December 2003 and required the publication of the all-hazards National Preparedness Goal (NPG). The Interim NPG was published in April 2005 and established seven measurable readiness priorities. It appropriately balanced the potential threat and magnitude of terrorist attacks, major disasters, and other emergencies with the resources required to prevent, respond to, and recover from them. The National Preparedness Guidance provides detailed instructions on how communities can use the components of the NPG. The Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 and Executive Orders issued by President George W. Bush directed the creation of an ISE, an approach that facilitates the sharing of terrorism information. In planning or managing client prevention initiatives, CRA uses its knowledge and experience to ensure not only statute and standard compliance, but also the strengthening of the national ISE.

Prevention Technical Assistance

CRA’s mission is to assist the US Department of Homeland Security (USDHS) with preventing terrorism before it happens. CRA’s expertise and knowledge has led to extensive work in the prevention arena, including the following forms of Technical Assistance (TA):

Prevention Planning and Implementation

CRA created the State and Local Information Sharing and Collaboration Prevention Strategy for USDHS.  The existence of terrorist enemies we now face requires a coordinated strategy of prevention and deterrence, combined with prepared response.  These efforts are based on a comprehensive and current assessment of the threat, vulnerability and risk.  The prevention strategy is scalable and provides the foundation for programs and capabilities to counter threats posed by Islamic and other terrorist organizations. It provides long-term goals as well as defining how success will be measured.  The strategy provides guidance regarding the basic capabilities needed by State, local, and tribal jurisdictions so they have the capacity to develop operational programs and allocate resources accordingly.

Intelligence Fusion Process

Effective prevention, response, and consequence management efforts depend on the development, sharing and use of timely and accurate homeland security-related intelligence and as such, CRA developed the Fusion Process TA for USDHS.   The President and Congress have directed that an Information Sharing Environment (ISE) be created pursuant to Executive Orders and Public Law.  This process emerged as the foundation for the establishment of the ISE and information sharing and collaboration capability, which is a key part of our Nation’s homeland security efforts because it supports the implementation of risk-based, information-driven prevention, response, and consequence management and efforts to address immediate and/or emerging threat-related circumstances and events.  The TA will be offered in conferences, workshops, and direct support. 

Under the direction of DHS, CRA has developed a menu of Fusion Process TA, consistent with the USDHS, Homeland Security Advisory Council, and Global guidance concerning the Fusion Process. Implementing the Fusion Process constitutes the central component in successfully accomplishing improved information sharing efforts aimed at preventing and deterring terrorist attacks and criminal activity. CRA-developed TA offers expert support to states and their respective Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) sites in establishing or enhancing their own fusion capacity, as part of the ISE effort to create an information sharing network. This TA consists of:

• One-day Fusion Orientation Workshops, which introduce the
  fusion process and facilitate key leader orientation to its component parts.

• Site survey visits in order to fully understand the current state
  of fusion capacity throughout State, Tribal, and local jurisdictions.

CRA will produce Current Fusion Process Capability Profiles (CFPCP). These profiles provide critical operational readiness information to the jurisdiction’s key leaders as well as to DHS. Once completed, the profiles will provide a guide to follow-up on-site TA, which will assist the recipient jurisdiction in further implementing the Fusion Process.  Additional follow-up Fusion Process TA will be made available as needed.

Click here to obtain more information or phone Keith DeVincentis at (703) 562-0140.