Law enforcement and Homeland Security professionals have similar yet contrasting responsibilities that create nuances in the types of information they can use, the quality of the information, and the ways in which they use it. Law enforcement agencies typically have access to data that best allows for patrolling and investigative purposes, especially in local and statewide areas. On the other hand, Homeland Security professionals tend to have more comprehensive access to data. The data and databases that Homeland Security professionals can access typically deal with federal crimes, immigration, and other data that pertains to national security. Some examples of data that law enforcement agencies have access to and regularly use are social media, Records Management Systems (RMS), and Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Conversely, examples of data accessed by Homeland …show more content…
This is a large reason as to why their access to data tends to be contrasting from each other. Homeland Security professionals have access to classified, federal data, whereas law enforcement agencies have access to more limited data whose subject matter mostly deals with crimes occurring in the surrounding area. Despite this fact, there are programs and plans put into place to disseminate information and data with state, local, and tribal law enforcement, such as the State and Local Fusion Center Program and ITACG. Law enforcement does not normally have access to the most comprehensive data that Homeland Security does, but they do tend to use their databases for similar reasons in terms of investigating and solving crimes. For these reasons, the data used by law enforcement agencies may be of lower quality, but because of the efforts put forth to increase information sharing, it is apparent that the disparity in quality data is being