NCJ Number
213082
Journal
FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin Volume: 75 Issue: 2 Dated: February 2006 Pages: 1-6
Date Published
February 2006
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This article describes the role of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI’s) Law Enforcement Online (LEO) in disseminating crucial law enforcement information, with a focus on its operation during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Abstract
LEO was effectively used during the response to Hurricane Katrina to communicate important updates to law enforcement personnel around the country, to track supplies and personnel, and to track trends in fraud and other storm-related crimes. Generally thought of as a counterterrorism tool, LEO links Federal, State, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies nationwide so that when a critical incident occurs, LEO can immediately become a communications assistance tool for law enforcement personnel. LEO has been used in conjunction with the National Alert System (NAS) to deliver emergency alerts simultaneously to 20,000 online members within 5 minutes. LEO’s partnership with the Regional Information Sharing Systems (RISS) further enhances LEO’s emergency alert capabilities by providing registered users access to both systems with a single logon. To demonstrate how the LEO system operates, a sample log of LEO work during Hurricane Katrina is presented. Three virtual command centers (VCCs) were set up during the aftermath of the storm from which LEO members disseminated crucial information to responders and tracked supplies, personnel, and crime trends. A table presents a sample of the services available from LEO, which includes a listserv, a search engine, courses on antiterrorism, and a library. Endnotes