Terrorism Early Warning and Intelligence Fusion for Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism

Intelligence fusion centers are one approach to providing intelligence, indicationsand warning, and analytical support to government agencies at all levels of government, andacross jurisdictional boundaries, to address a range of issues , including terrorism and violentextremism. This article provides a case study of the Los Angeles Terrorism Early WarningGroup (LA TEW). The LA TEW was a pioneer in developing and providing comprehensive, all-source intelligence support to a metropolitan region. The TEW model included lawenforcement (police and corrections), fire service, emergency medical services, public health,and emergency management agencies, along with a network of subject matter experts toprovide insight into terrorist threats, extremism, critical infrastructure protection and emergingthreats. The LA TEW also developed a range of analytical models and approaches to provideintelligence support for civil protection and counterterrorism that are reviewed in this article.