Federal, State & Local
Public/Private Partnership
What is the St. Louis Fusion Center:Terrorism Early Warning Group and why it is needed?
The
St. Louis Fusion Center: Terrorism Early Warning Group (formerly the St. Louis Terrorism Early Warning Group) is a public safety
partnership consisting of law enforcement, fire/emergency medical, public health, and emergency management agencies, and private sector areas that could be a target of terrorism. As a regional
intelligence fusion center, it provides a multi-jurisdictional,
multi-disciplinary approach to the collection, analysis and
dissemination of information used to detect, defend against, or respond to acts of terrorism. Additionally, the St. Louis Fusion Center (STLFC) works with
government and private organizations to identify and protect the
region's critical infrastructure and key resources through the
implementation of the National Infrastructure Protection Plan (NIPP). This
public/private partnership is committed to sharing and protecting
information in order to enhance the near and long term preparedness
capabilities of the St. Louis area.
Intelligence
and information sharing are the cornerstones of terrorism detection and
prevention, and regional intelligence capabilities are essential to
this effort. The concept of the fusion center evolved
to address the need for a more complete regional intelligence picture.
The St. Louis Fusion Center functions as a conduit for responsible communication between
federal, state and local public safety agencies, as well as concerned private sector entities.
Who Should Participate? St. Louis area professionals (such as law enforcement officials, fire/emergency medical personnel, emergency management employees, public health administrators, corporate security, etc.) with a responsibility to detect, defend against, or respond to any acts of terrorism are encouraged to become a St. Louis Fusion Center liaison by choosing the appropriate link on the left hand side of this website. Why Become a Partner?The
mission of the St. Louis Fusion Center: Terrorism Early Warning Group is to provide a better, more
complete form of information sharing, not just between law enforcement
agencies, but across the entire public safety and business community, where there is a responsibility to defend against terrorist acts.
Efficient information sharing and information protection processes based
on mutually beneficial, trusted relationships help to ensure
implementation of effective, coordinated and integrated critical
infrastructure protective programs and activities. The fusion center network
approach provides mechanisms, using information protection protocols as
required, to support the development and sharing of strategic and
specific threat assessments, threat warnings, incident reports,
all-hazards impact assessments, and best practices. This intelligence
and information sharing approach allows partners to assess risks,
allocate resources and make continuous improvements to the community's
protective measures. Partners also benefit through valuable training
hosted by the fusion center on a variety of subjects relating to homeland
security and risk mitigation. Privacy, Civil Liberties, and Civil Rights Concerns
The St. Louis Fusion Center: Terrorism Early Warning Group places great consideration on issues of privacy, civil liberties, and civil rights when gathering, receiving, evaluating, analyzing, and/or disseminating any information and/or intelligence data. For more information on the fusion center's role in safeguarding privacy, civil liberties, and civil rights, please review the St. Louis Fusion Center - Terrorism Early Warning Group Privacy, Civil Liberties, and Civil Rights Policy. Any questions regarding this policy should be sent to info@sltew.org. Policies
for the L-P-R-D and S-M-R-T systems administered by the STLFC are subject to the
Privacy, Civil Liberties, and Civil Rights Policy and are available upon
request sent to info@sltew.org.See Something Say SomethingThe Nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting
(SAR) Initiative (NSI) establishes standardized processes and policies that
provide the capability for local, state, tribal, territorial, campus, and
federal law enforcement to share timely, relevant Suspicious Activity Reports
while working to ensure that privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties are
protected. Fusion centers serve as focal points within the state and local
environment for the receipt, analysis, gathering, and sharing of threat-related
information among local, state, tribal, territorial, and federal partners. They
produce actionable intelligence for dissemination, which can aid other law
enforcement organizations, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF), in their investigative operations.To report suspicious activity to the St. Louis Fusion Center, please click the link on the left hand column of this webpage.
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