Resources

NSI Overview Materials

NSI Overview

Provides an overview of the Nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting (SAR) Initiative (NSI).

Unified Message

This Unified Message document, issued in April 2012, was created to help clarify a unified approach to the process of reporting and sharing of information related to suspicious activity.

NSI Training Overview

Provides a description of the multifaceted approach to the NSI training strategy, which includes training programs for frontline officers, analysts, and chief executives, as well as SAR awareness training for partners with similar missions to those of law enforcement constituencies.

NSI Hometown Security Partners

This document is an overview of the SAR Hometown Security Partners Training strategy, which provides SAR awareness training for partners with similar missions to those of law enforcement constituencies, or “hometown security partners."

NSI Privacy Fact Sheet

This fact sheet provides an overview of the various components of the NSI Privacy Protection Framework, which is an integral element to the protection of privacy throughout the SAR process and to the overall success of the NSI.

NSI Technology Fact Sheet

Provides an overview of the technology used within the NSI and includes technical diagrams for the ISE-SAR Shared Space.

Building Communities of Trust Fact Sheet

This fact sheet provides an overview of the Building Communities of Trust (BCOT) initiative, which focuses on developing trust among law enforcement, fusion centers, and the communities they serve to address the challenges of crime and terrorism prevention.

ISE-SAR Functional Standard

Builds upon, consolidates, and standardizes nationwide aspects of those ISE-relevant activities already occurring at the federal, state, and local levels with respect to the processing, sharing, and use of suspicious activity information.

Suspicious Activity Reporting Process Implementation Checklist

Provides a simplified checklist for chief executives and senior leadership to implement a SAR process within their agencies.

State and Local Anti-Terrorism Training (SLATT®) Program Terrorism Incident Database Overview

Provides an overview of the SLATT database, which allows users to track terrorism trends, identify areas of high activity, and match terrorism pre-incident indicators against similar cases, both past and present.

Final Report: Information Sharing Environment (ISE)—Suspicious Activity Reporting (SAR) Evaluation Environment

Provides lessons learned, best practices, and implementation steps identified during the ISE-SAR Evaluation Environment that can be utilized while implementing the NSI.

Policy Resources

Nationwide SAR Initiative Annual Report 2011

This annual report provides an overview of the accomplishments during the second year of the Nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting (SAR) Initiative (NSI), as well as the program’s expanded efforts, advancements, and continued implementation of NSI standards, policies, and processes.

Nationwide SAR Initiative Annual Report 2010

This report provides an overview of the first 12 months of the Nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting (SAR) Initiative (NSI) and features the program’s foundation, success, and future growth.

Building Communities of Trust: A Guidance for Community Leaders

This document is a complementary piece to the Guidance for Building Communities of Trust, and was developed to assist community leaders working with law enforcement agencies to facilitate dialogue and discuss ways to work together to prevent crime and terrorism.

Guidance for Building Communities of Trust

The Building Communities of Trust (BCOT) guidance provides advice and recommendations on how to initiate and sustain trusting relationships that support meaningful sharing of information, responsiveness to community concerns and priorities, and the reporting of suspicious activities that appropriately distinguish between innocent cultural behaviors and behavior that may legitimately reflect criminal enterprise or terrorism precursor activities. The guidance was developed in partnership with select sites that participated in the Nationwide SAR Initiative (NSI) Evaluation Environment.

Suspicious Activity Reporting Process Implementation Checklist

Provides a simplified checklist for chief executives and senior leadership to implement a SAR process within their agencies.

Nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting Initiative Concept of Operations

Provides a common understanding of the NSI process so that implementation activities can be planned, executed, and measured.

Final Report: Information Sharing Environment (ISE)—Suspicious Activity Reporting (SAR) Evaluation Environment

Provides lessons learned, best practices, and implementation steps identified during the ISE-SAR Evaluation Environment that can be utilized while implementing the NSI.

Findings and Recommendations of the SAR Support and Implementation Project

This report and its recommendations are important for establishing national guidelines that will improve the identification and reporting of suspicious activity and will allow for the timely sharing of SAR information with law enforcement agencies, fusion centers, and the Joint Terrorism Task Forces (JTTFs).

National Strategy for Information Sharing

Sets forth a national plan to build upon progress and establish a more integrated information sharing capability.

Privacy Resources

NSI Privacy Fact Sheet

This fact sheet provides an overview of the various components of the NSI Privacy Protection Framework, which is an integral element to the protection of privacy throughout the SAR process and to the overall success of the NSI.

Updated Privacy Policy Review Process

This document details the new privacy policy review process. It has been recently modified to support fusion centers and expedite the finalization of their privacy policies.

Fact Sheet: Privacy, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties Analysis and Recommendations Report for the Nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting (SAR) Initiative (NSI)

This fact sheet provides a brief background on the NSI and a description of the privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties framework. It also lists highlights and observations and details recommendations for NSI implementation.

The Nationwide Suspicious Activity (SAR) Reporting Initiative (NSI) Privacy, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties Analysis and Recommendations

This report provides an update to the Initial Privacy and Civil Liberties Analysis published in September 2008. It contains a review of the development and implementation of the now concluded Information Sharing Environment Suspicious Activity Reporting (SAR) Evaluation Environment (EE) and makes recommendations to be followed during the nationwide implementation of the NSI.

Privacy, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties Protections: A Key Component of the Nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting (SAR) Initiative (NSI)

Provides an overview of the privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties protections which serve as a foundational element of the NSI and which are required to participate.

Technology Resources

ISE-SAR Functional Standard

Builds upon, consolidates, and standardizes nationwide aspects of those ISE-relevant activities already occurring at the federal, state, and local levels with respect to the processing, sharing, and use of suspicious activity information.

Enterprise Architecture Program

This document laid the foundation in defining practices and methodologies required to build implementable and executable information sharing enterprise architectures and to segment architectures leveraging core ISE principles.

National Information Exchange Model (NIEM)

NIEM is designed to develop, disseminate, and support enterprise-wide information exchange standards and processes that can enable jurisdictions to effectively share critical information in emergency situations, as well as support the day-to-day operations of agencies throughout the nation.

NSI Technology Fact Sheet

Provides an overview of the technology used within the NSI and includes technical diagrams for the ISE-SAR Shared Space.

Training Resources

LEAPS.TV Overview

This document gives a brief overview of the Law Enforcement And Public Safety (LEAPS.TV) channel online, as well as instructions on how to access and view the SAR Line Officer Training CD through the LEAPS.TV Web site.

MIPT InCOP Overview

This document briefly describes the Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism's (MIPT) Information Collection on Patrol (InCOP^SM) workshop series. These workshops progressively enhance intelligence capability, both in traditional crime and terrorism prevention. InCOP 1, the first of the four courses, builds upon and reinforces the processes and policies for gathering, documenting, processing, analyzing, and sharing information about terrorism-related suspicious activities, which is the core of the Nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting Initiative.

Other Resources

State and Local Anti-Terrorism Training (SLATT®) Program

The SLATT Program provides law enforcement personnel with specialized training and resources to combat terrorism and extremist criminal activity. A username and password are required to access the SLATT Web site. To request a username and password, please complete the Web site registration form.

Communities Against Terrorism

Through the Communities Against Terrorism program, law enforcement agencies develop partnerships with their local business community to educate them on how to recognize terrorism/extremism warning signs and how to share the information with the right organization in order to prevent terrorism. To assist law enforcement agencies with their outreach efforts, various brochures are available for download on the SLATT Web site. To request a username and password for the SLATT Web site, please complete the Web site registration form.

ISE in the News

The Information Sharing Environment frequently posts articles about ISE Mission Partners. As a part of the ISE fabric, the NSI is often highlighted in these articles.