Local police have been encouraged to give to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) any local intelligence data that the small-town (and big-city cops as well) collects. DHS, then is supposed to analyze the data, then, in theory warn local police agencies about who is doing what and who needs to be watched/arrested.
But, a problem has occurred.
The DHS as it analyzing the local data adds in national data. Once the agency does that the conclusions "Who is doing what and who needs to watched/arrested" become CLASSIFIED/Secret.
The local police agencies do NOT have the clearances to read the results of their local data.
more after the fold
The DHS is supposed to be looking at the results and sending back down the local level unclassified sections of the results that the local police can use. But, the local police have no way to know how well that job is going.
Since the local police do not get a lot of feedback, there isn't any sort of feedback loop, that shows that the program is working, to encourage local police to give this program their full and complete support.
One solution, giving the local police national security clearance, runs into the basic problem that there is a massive backlog for getting ANY security clearances, much less for the thousands of local police organizations all of which, at least, needs one security clearance.
So since local police need access to their local intelligence data, at least, some local police aren't sending the info to DHS. (Once the DHS has the info, if becomes classified, remember, and the local can't use it.)
OF course, now that the local police are working with only local data-bases, they are holes appearing in the data.
Until some solution can be found to the security clearance problem, the DHS and local police can't work on the same page.
This diary is based on: The Security Clearance Curse Cripples Cops
thank you for reading
jeff