This brief document describes the importance of effectively addressing crime and threats in local communities through strong collaboration between law enforcement and the communities they serve.
This call to action emphasizes the need for law enforcement organizations to collaborate with the communities and citizens they serve when addressing crime and other threats, such as terrorism. The document highlights the concept of suspicious activity reporting (SAR), which unifies the work of law enforcement agencies and homeland security leaders and has resulted in the Nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting Initiative (NSI). The partnership focuses on the following activities: protection of privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties; increasing public awareness and reporting of suspicious activity to law enforcement; generating suspicious activity reports by law enforcement; analysis conducted by fusion centers, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS); and investigation by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Forces (JTTFs). The document presents key points and action items that all law enforcement and homeland security personnel should be aware of, support, and institutionalize within their area of responsibility; it details the purpose of the NSI it details the purpose of the NSI; provides information on SAR training; describes the functions of fusion centers, FBI Field Intelligence Groups (FIGs), and JTTFs; and informs of outreach activities and public awareness campaigns on this issue.