Todd Masse

 

Masse, Todd. Domestic Intelligence in the United Kingdom: Applicability of the MI-5 Model to the United States. Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress, 19 May 2003.

Clark comment: This CRS report is recommended for anyone wanting to discuss the issue of how to organize U.S. domestic security. It does not answer the question (which is not CRS' job), but it offers well-thought out perspective.

"While there may be lessons to be learned from the British experience with domestic intelligence, there are also important differences between U.S. and British governmental, legal, cultural and political norms.... This paper summarizes pending legislation relating to domestic intelligence, briefly explains the jurisdiction and functions of MI-5, and describes some of the factors that may be relevant to a discussion regarding the applicability of the MI-5 domestic intelligence model to the United States."

[FBI/DomSec/00s; Reform/00s/03]

Masse, Todd. Homeland Security Intelligence: Perceptions, Statutory Definitions, and Approaches. Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress, 18 Aug. 2006. [http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/intel/RL33616.pdf]

"Although the activities involved in homeland security intelligence (HSINT) itself are not new, the relative importance of state, local, and private sector stakeholders; the awareness of how law enforcement information might protect national security; and the importance attached to homeland security intelligence have all increased substantially since the events of September 11, 2001....

"The proliferation of intelligence and information fusion centers across the country indicate that state and local leaders believe there is value to centralizing intelligence gathering and analysis in a manner that assists them in preventing and responding to local manifestations of terrorist threats to their people, infrastructure, and other assets."

[DHS/06]

Masse, Todd, Siobhan O’Neil, and John Rollins. Fusion Centers: Issues and Options for Congress. Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress, 6 Jul. 2007. [http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/intel/RL34070.pdf]

"[T]he events of 9/11 provided the primary catalyst for the formal establishment of more than 40 state, local, and regional fusion centers across the country.... Fusion centers are state-created entities largely financed and staffed by the states, and there is no one 'model' for how a center should be structured.... [The centers] have increasingly gravitated toward an all-crimes and even broader all-hazards approach.... [L]ittle 'true fusion,' or analysis of disparate data sources, identification of intelligence gaps, and pro-active collection of intelligence against those gaps which could contribute to prevention is occurring."

[DHS/07]

 

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