Intelligence Issues: Effectiveness of Fusion Centers and Challenges for Law Enforcement

Criminal Intelligence Analysis Essay Questions
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Criminal Intelligence Analysis Essay Questions
Qn1.  Assess the intelligence capacity and effectiveness of fusion centers. 
Fusion centers involve sharing of information, resources, and expertise among two or more agencies to solve problems in a given country at a federal level. These agencies include the state department, Federal bureau of investigation, and homeland security. The ultimate goal of fusion centers is to ensure that there is a mechanism where public safety and law enforcement can work together to ensure that they avoid criminal activity.
The intelligence capacity of fusion centers includes their ability to detect, investigate, respond and analyze a criminal activity. Fusion centers are in the capacity to receive threat information from various sources, analyze the threat, and follow some leads to the problem to have a clear image of the issue at hand (Lewandowski et al., 2017). Through this, they can conclude and develop and produce relevant outcomes to the problem.
Also, fusion centers can provide a local and state overview of a national threat. Being a focal point of information, they can offer local and state information about a given national threat. In addition to that, they can provide a piece of expert knowledge about the matter at hand, and how they should handle it, they have local and state informants who provide essential information.
Fusion centers play an essential role in responding to criminal activities as well. They have expertise and resources which they can use. Resources may include technology or spy's who provide firsthand information, which acts as an advantage to fusion centers (Carter et al ., 2017). It means that they will know how to attack and respond because they have full-hand details on the threat.
Fusion centers have been effective in handling criminal threats because they use an effective methodology. These methodologies involve advanced technology systems; Ways used to make conclusions about threats, reliable sources, and reliable evidence. These methodologies have geared towards the effectiveness of fusion centers.
The large amount of information collected by fusion centers allows them to analyze different data sets. Through this, they can develop credible and essential info that effectively helps in investigation analysis. Advanced technology systems present infusion centers also play an essential role in producing effective results. Improved communication systems, military equipment, and transport systems have aided in eliciting effective infusion centers. For example, advanced military gear will provide an upper hand in the war against criminal threats with inferior quality weapons.
The presence of intelligence experts has helped in providing effective results infusion centers. The experts include information translators whose role is to review data and give reliable intelligence in an operational and practical format. Experts with prismatic thinking skills and critical thinking skills help by providing information on tackling a problem. Evidence plays a vital role in giving effective results in infusion centers. The presence of evidence means that followed a threat and a lead, ending up collecting reliable evidence. All these factors have aided in ensuring the effectiveness of infusion centers. 
Qn2. Assess the continuing challenges for law enforcement related to intelligence gathering and use. 
Law enforcement is faced with different problems when gathering information or putting in use the collected data. These challenges include:
* Inadequate resources.
As much as we can say, fusion centers have resources to handle criminal threats. These resources are not enough .presence of insufficient disposable resources poses a challenge to fusion centers today; resources can be both physical and human.
* High cost of intelligence systems.
Intelligence gathering and use are affected by this factor. The costly technology systems created for overseeing electronic environments and gathering information are unaffordable by all fusion centers; they also require high maintenance and techniques. Failure to afford this system will affect the collection of data (Preuveneers & Ilie-Zudor, 2017).
* Policymaking
Policies initiated in intelligence collection centers have also affected data collection negatively. Policymaking is manifested in the ease of the first reaction to a criminal problem and implementing them. It takes time to enforce Some policies, while others do not. First, implemented policies ensure quick and adequate data collection compared to the latter (Coats, 2017).
* Growing demand for economic intelligence. 
Increasing demand for economic intelligence poses a threat to collecting and using information-Suppose all attention to financial intelligence. In that case, there is a possibility that information contained on economic espionage may be biased because its demand is high, and when put in use, will acquire negative results.
* Increased crime rates
An increase in criminal activities has influenced the collection of intelligence negatively. That is because sources, which are humans, are afraid to collect information from hostile communities because of insecurity purposes. Increased crime rate brings fear to people who, in turn, fail to gather intelligence. That means that we won't put the previously collected information in use because circumstances have changed.
* Funding problems
Allocation of money to support the collection and use of intelligence is a significant threat to the institution. Most fusion centers have an inadequate amount of money to collect information. Intelligence gathering is expensive and requires a lot of money. In addition to that, the federal can only use collective intelligence if there is enough money to support it. Funding problems pose a challenge to intelligence collection and use up to date (Ferguson, 2019).
* Misunderstanding and conflicts among intelligence agencies
When there is a misunderstanding among intelligence agencies, there will be an insufficient collection of data .conflict causes disruptions among organizations. In turn, the collection of intelligence will be affected negatively. Also, when there are conflicts, we can't put the intelligence collected to use. Conflicts among intelligence agencies pose a threat to the collection of brightness up to date.
* A lot of secrecy
Excessive secrecy among intelligence agencies has geared towards insufficient collection of information. Secrecy leads to more miniature intelligence collection because no one is ready to open up entirely; confidentiality also affects intelligence. Not everyone will be allowed to use the collected information due to confidentiality issues.
Qn3. Discuss emerging intelligence methods in the modern era.
In the modern world, many new intelligence methods are arising. They include: 
* Digital administrators
Modern digital assistants who give intelligence experts questions and respond to them; do not have to ask people for answers. They key in the queries, and the answers are provided by the assistants digitally. They can interpret instructions and produce solutions. Digital administrators are being used as techniques in intelligence units in the modern world today (Preuveneers & Ilie-Zudor, 2017).
* Peer –peer network
It can solve complicated problems by connecting computers and data systems without being transmitted through a server. This network is being used today by intelligence agencies to contain criminal attacks.
* Biometrics 
They are being used in the modern intelligence era today, and biometrics involves extensive learning of artificial neural networks. It involves teaching a computer to learn by an example, just as people do. Biometrics consists of the use of algorithms to handle a problem.
* Learning of machines
It involves programming a computer to make sense of large sets of data without being programmed typically. Intelligence experts use machine learning to analyze trends and changes in criminal activities in a given area.
* Decision management
The modern intelligence era is using decision management techniques to solve crime problems. Decision management methods involve implementing modern data systems to interpret data and provide an up-to-date analysis of a specific criminal activity as illustrated by a computer.
* Speech recognition techniques 
Intelligence experts are using this technique to familiarize themselves with criminal voices. This technique involves changing th...