Incomplete Intelligence: Is the Information Sharing Environment an Effective Platform?
Abstract
Gathering and analyzing suspicious activity is a core element in the prevention of crime and terrorism. The Information Sharing Environment (ISE) and the Suspicious Activity Reporting (SAR) program is an attempt to address this issue, but it creates human and systemic barriers to information access-the same barriers that existed prior to 9/11. The SAR program, through its process-related policies, limits critical information from entering the shared space for analysis. These limitations are two-fold: Information must be specifically prepared for submission by a human being who recognizes that a potential nexus to terrorism might exist and decides to act upon this recognition; and, once submitted, each data element must be individually vetted and approved by more human analysts. Removing the dual limitations of lack of complete operating picture (based upon the limited information made available for vetting) and dependence on human frailty will provide a more effective platform for the identification and mitigation of possible preterrorist incident indicators. This thesis provides an overview of the SAR program and compares and contrasts it with more mature platforms that better meet their objectives, and provides recommendations on how the ISE/ SAR enterprise can be improved.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 2012
- Accession Number
- ADA567697
Entities
People
- Jonathan H. Lewin
Organizations
- Naval Postgraduate School