The Arizona Counter Terrorism Information Center
Where analysis is central
* Deborah Osborne
* 2009 Feb 12
As Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano assumes her leadership role as Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, we can rest assured that good intelligence analysis will be one of her priorities. The Arizona Counter Terrorism Information Center (AcTIC) has become one of the best fusion centers under her watch.
According to its web site, “The mission of the AcTIC is to protect the citizens and critical infrastructures of Arizona by enhancing intelligence and domestic preparedness operations for all local, state and federal law enforcement agencies.” The web site also goes on to assert that “strengthening of the intelligence and analytical process will strengthen law enforcement's ability to prevent and ensure a more efficient use of limited law enforcement resources.”
For this article, I emailed interview questions to Anthony (Tony) Frangipane, Criminal Intelligence Analyst Supervisor of the AcTIC. Tony was a Tactical Analyst at the Rocky Mountain Information Network. He served fifteen years in the U.S. Coast Guard, where he helped prosecute over 1000 search and rescue cases. He coordinated hundreds of law enforcement boardings resulting in the seizure of several vessels for various illegal activities, including fisheries violations, pollution, illegal immigration, and narcotics smuggling.
Q: How many analysts do you supervise and what do they do?
A: I directly supervise four 'strategic' analysts and two 'tactical' analysts. Additionally, I maintain quality control and editorial content management over another 10 to 15 analysts who work at the AcTIC. As the senior analyst, I am in charge of the dissemination of all intelligence products that come from the AcTIC with the AcTIC Seal. Those ten to fifteen analysts are employed by the tenant agencies here at the AcTIC and come from federal, state and local jurisdictions.
Q: What makes your fusion center one of the best in the country?
A: That's easy. You have heard of the four Cs of diamond grading. Well, we have the four Cs of Fusion: Co-Location, Cooperation, Collection and Collaboration. We are co-located with our federal, state and local partners; this defeats problems of both distance and bureaucracy that impede the culture of sharing. We cooperate on a daily basis by sharing information and limited resources. We coordinate our collection efforts in accordance with needs of our customers at the federal, state, local and tribal level. Finally, we collaborate on “Joint Seal” products at every opportunity, which allows for more well-rounded and thorough product development. There were a couple of extra Cs in there, but you get the point.
via Arizona Counter Terrorism Center.
