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Three of the nations seventy-two “Fusion” centers are located in Florida. The Centers were created in the aftermath of 9-11 to correct failures in the sharing of intelligence and  other information. As Mike Vasilinda tells us, more information is available to analysts than ever before.

On September 11, 2001, then-Governor Jeb Bush and other elected state officials were at a regular Cabinet meeting at an irregular location, an obscure state building several miles north of the Capitol.  News of the attacks was first relayed by a reporter. That information flow is not likely to happen again.

In the 10 years since the attacks, Florida has built an elaborate intelligence center to gather and share information.

“There are a lot of secured databases,” Kristi Gordon with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement said. “The analysts would then go through all of those. We have a check list of things we would do.”

With a few keystrokes, elaborate profiles can be assembled. What happens next is one of the biggest changes in ten years: numerous state and federal agencies share this “Fusion” center to exchange intelligence.

This is an office for the FBI, and right next to it, Homeland Security. Across the hall, the only place in the building where secure information can be exchanged.

Because far more information is being collected today than ever before, it has raised concerns for privacy advocates. Florida’s Homeland Security Advisor Mark Perez says the information is protected.

“If it isn’t valid information or isn’t information that is pertinent to furthering our investigative or intelligence needs, we discard that information immediately,” Florida Homeland Security advisor Mark Perez said.

What officials say hasn’t changed in the last decade is the need for average citizens to be aware of their surroundings and to be willing to report suspicious activity.

The intelligence center receives over 5,000 calls a month.