Intelligence Dissemination Among Local, State, and Federal Law Enforcement: The Necessity, Gaps, and Recommendations

The purpose of this study is to examine how intelligence is gathered in the Southern State Region, identify perceived gaps in the current policies used with this communication and offer potential solutions to intelligence communication flaws. An interview-based research of Southern State Region officers and agents and the support of peer-reviewed academic articles shaped the research in this paper. The results of this research indicated that (a) personal connections between law enforcement agents and federal agents are the backbone of the current process utilized in information sharing, (b) there are gaps when personnel leave their position in office because of the personal connections that are used while in office, and (c) the fusion center in the Southern State Region is a highly underutilized because of its lack of publicity and resources. Implications for future research and practice are discussed