Governor Perry has helped develop information sharing in many ways, including the support of two key initiatives: the Texas Data Exchange (TDEx) and LiveScan, as well as the establishment of the Texas Fusion Center, the Border Security Operations Center and Joint Operations Intelligence Centers in each border security sector along the Texas-Mexico border.  Each of these initiatives facilitates the sharing of critical information among local, state and federal law enforcement agencies.

A key finding of the 9/11 Commission was that the sharing of information among law enforcement agencies is critical to the prevention of attacks upon the United States.  Information sharing was also named as the number one issue by state response agencies in their testimony before the Governor’s Task Force on Homeland Security.  As a result, Gov. Perry has prioritized information sharing in preparing law enforcement agencies in Texas for the threats we face now and in the future.

Under Governor Perry’s leadership, several initiatives have been implemented that have greatly increased Texas’ ability to address threats to the state.  These include:

• The Texas Data Exchange System (TDEx), a web-based secure information sharing network that enables law enforcement agencies to share essential jail, prison and law enforcement data throughout the border region and state, eliminating the cracks through which too many criminals had slipped.  TDEx connects more than 2,200 law enforcement databases in the state, including federal law enforcement databases. Homeland security grant funds will be used to pay the user fees so that each of the more than 70,000 police officers in Texas have access to the criminal background and law enforcement information they need, and that all appropriate local law enforcement databases are part of the TDEx network.

  There are several information technology initiatives around the nation that co-locate multiple law enforcement databases and connect systems in various cities, but Texas is the first state to connect databases statewide. TDEx also has an alert feature so that police officers are immediately notified as soon as information related to their investigations is added to the database.

• Live Scan is a fully-integrated electronic identification system with which a jurisdiction can capture fingerprints electronically and check them against state and national criminal databases. This technology enables law enforcement to submit fingerprint data and receive results in seconds rather than days, ensuring that dangerous felons and fugitives using fictitious names are not released back into the community. Live Scan also enables law enforcement to identify and locate subjects of unsolved crimes, and it ensures that individuals identified as known or suspected terrorists are not released when they are detained for criminal violations. Several police departments in Texas have already benefited from the use of this technology, rapidly identifying suspected violent criminals. By prioritizing the use of homeland security dollars on this technology, the state will extend this capability to the 184 Texas counties that currently do not have it.
• The Texas Fusion Center, managed by the Department of Public Safety, integrates and analyzes information from sources across the state to identify criminal and terrorism patterns, as well as serving as a resource to establish and manage a statewide intelligence capability.  The Center also supports a 24-7-365 threat watch and performs critical data collection and analysis on Texas’ critical infrastructure and key resources.
• The Border Security Operations Center (BSOC), housed within the State Operations Center at the Department of Public Safety headquarters, is responsible for centralizing information related to crime along the Texas-Mexico border.  By identifying crime patterns and trends, the 83 local, state and federal law enforcement agencies participating in Operation Border Star can target areas along the border known to be exploited by criminal organizations, transnational gangs and potential terrorists.
• The Joint Operations Intelligence Centers, established in each of the six border security sectors, are the result of a team-based approach to addressing border security.  They have representatives from each law enforcement agency participating in border security operations within the sector.  These agencies share information on crime and make operational decisions based on patterns and trends, allowing them to maximize the effectiveness of their patrol resources.

As a result of information sharing efforts, law enforcement agencies in Texas stand better prepared to prevent and deter crime and terrorism in our state.  Though it is impossible to measure deterrence, many law enforcement officers have shared stories of success with the TDEx and LiveScan programs:

Lt. Kevin W. Grannan with the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office says of LiveScan: “Many times we have had an inmate in custody under a false name.  When we bring them to the Identification Station where LiveScan is located they wilt.  They see the equipment, they are familiar with computers and know what they can do and when they see the LiveScan (and our Iris Scan) they just confess and give us their real identity.  Of course those that don’t fess up and try to beat the system find out quickly that they can’t.”

Bonnie Sunde, the Sex Offender Registrar for the Travis County Sheriff’s Office, uses TDEx to watch sex offenders. In the first month of using the system, she has already had five successful hits. Not only is she able to locate the wanted subject, she can also track them through bookings and releases with the watch feature. Once released, if they do not register, another warrant can be obtained. Furthermore, the booking information for an out of area agency provides her with addresses being used by the subject that would otherwise be unattainable.

“Without access to TDEX, it would be very difficult to keep track of those offenders that don’t want to comply with their duty to register as sex offenders. I appreciate the tool that is offered with this service.” - Bonnie Sunde, September 2007