Question: Assignment Objectives

Describe and discuss information sharing and knowledge management technologies used to facilitate information sharing and intelligence gathering among Homeland Security agencies.

Use the below response to answer the below questions:

I chose Human Intelligence Collection (HUMANINT), CCTV surveillance and Biometric scanning as my three subjects to address. Human Intelligence gathering is used both in the civilian and military realms to obtain or extract information from individuals. The two basic types of information gathering are interview or interrogation. One or the other will be used depending on the circumstances of the situation. CCTV is close circuit television. This method is used almost everywhere; from buses to buildings to elevators and subways to monitor events and to obtain evidence of a happening. Biometrics is the use of physical characteristics such as fingerprints, retina scans and voice features to identify a person for security reasons. I was interested to read there are microchips that can be swallowed and stomach acid allows the chip to send off a radio signal for identification.

It is my opinion HUMANINT is effective in its approach. Many methods have been developed to be used in order to extract information from individuals. I was privileged enough to take a class on Interview and Interrogation a few years ago, given by the man who was one of the people who interviewed O.J. Simpson and was taught his method in 40 hour class. There is a distinct difference between interview and interrogation and usually this is based on the how the subject is approached, how comfortable he/she is made; how and what questions are asked. This particular approach was based on general personality types but is by no means the only approach to the subject, but from the information in the class it was highly effective without engaging in the use of physical force. I believe the use of psychology has come a long way in developing methods to pressure a person without inflicting any pain, while still obtaining the necessary information.

I think HUMANINT can improve but is very effective at this point. I believe it has to do with the person conducting the interview/interrogation and his or her skill and ability to read the other person and apply the correct principle. HUMANINT collection can indeed be misused, just read about the allegations and incarceration of military members who have gone far beyond the basic application and used physical torture and humiliation to conduct the interrogation. I believe it is very easy for this to be illegally used.

CCTV is in wide use today. It can be found just about anywhere: businesses, home, military bases, vehicles, bicycles, patrol cars, etc. In most cases a video can make or break curt case by its admission into the proceedings. Such video has been used not only to exonerate but to convict people on both sides of the law. It's use is extremely important for law enforcement for two reasons: liability and training. For instance, I have regular reviews with my supervisor over traffic stops I have made. This allows me to see myself in action and to discuss what I did well and what could be improved. This type of training allows for accountability and improved public relations. On the other hand, such video can be misused as well. The current media can 'spin' a particular story by showing a portion of an incident and can often lead to unrest, protest and violence. The Ferguson incident is one such event. By showing only a portion of the facts and presents a particular slant to the event the city of Ferguson, Missouri suffered terribly from the riots and violence that took place. In addition, police officers who turn off their cameras or in court state that somehow their body camera wasn't working at the moment can find themselves being investigated for misconduct or worse. It is easy to misuse the camera and its contents.

Biometrics is the ability to identify a person based on physical characteristics. Fingerprint scanners, retina scans and facial recognition are all part of a high tech security movement. My Samsung tablet goes to sleep mode if it can't 'read my eyes', quite frustrating when I'm in the middle of reading an email or browsing the Net. I believe its uses is limited and the technology can be improved and be more effective but in its present state it is very effective and it takes a person with high tech skills to break past such safeguards. The problems arise from its misuse in the area of invasion of privacy. A disgruntled employee in a government installation with such technology and who understands it use could create a method in which a person could be monitored constantly. Take the subways of New York with their myriad of cameras; using facial recognition one could be tracked daily and constantly and every moved tracked. There is potential for information such as fingerprints, as vital as a Social Security number to be leaked and misused.

To conclude, I think all the methods above are in their full use. I believe they are effective and whie there could be improvements, I believe they are being used to their full pontential.

What have you learned from others'' responses?

What were the most compelling points from the interaction with your fellow students?

How did participating in this discussion help in your understanding of the Discussion Board task?

What approaches could have yielded additional valuable information in the students'' networking?

What is still unclear after the discussion with your classmates that needs to be clarified?