Report Says Fusion Centers are Not Using DHS Guidance
A new report shows that 83 percent of state and local fusion and emergency operations centers are not utilizing DHS guidance.
DHS officials said they distributed the Comprehensive Preparedness Guide-502 to 64 fusion centers to help them coordinate their anti-crime activities with state and local emergency operations centers. DHS’ goal was to encourage more integrated operations between the two types of centers.
Yet, according to the report, Relationships Between Fusion Centers and Emergency Operations, more than 83 percent of the centers reviewed reported they did not receive the DHS guidance or were not using it, and the blame lies both with DHS and with the state and local officials, the report said.
“Although almost all Fusion Center officials and many of the Emergency Operations Center officials had seen CPG-502, the document was not effectively disseminated to all EOC officials, nor was the importance of its implementation promoted,” the report said.
Out of 17 fusion centers visited, one center had no record of seeing the guidance, and 11 had seen it but were not using it. Of the 31 emergency operations centers visited, 12 centers had not seen it, and 15 had seen it but were not using it.
The report recommended that the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the DHS Office of Intelligence & Analysis do more to ensure that the guidance is distributed and utilized effectively.
The report is available at http://www.oig.dhs.gov/assets/Mgmt/OIG_12-15_Dec11.pdf
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