Improving Interagency Collaboration

​Interagency collaboration brings together various law enforcement agencies. Despite the proven benefits for agencies and the public, interagency collaboration remains elusive. It's the key to responding to ever-evolving crime. The alternative is for agencies to run siloed operations, which leads to, among other things, duplication of efforts, thus impeding crime fighting.

There are up to 18,000 law enforcement agencies in the US, spread across federal, state, county, and local jurisdictions, and ranging from 30,000-member agencies to single-officer police departments (PDs). They all operate under separate chains of command and procedures, which can lead to agencies pursuing different, often competing priorities. In addition to constraining information and resource-sharing efforts, it can breed interagency competition, with each body wanting to maintain control over its own investigations.

While some agencies were created to fight special crimes that, say, a single-officer PD can't, crime fighting isn't a competition. Law enforcement personnel should prioritize public safety. Task forces have been instrumental in breaking down the barriers. They bring together different agencies toward a common goal.

Law enforcement agencies are funded differently, with those at the federal level receiving more funding than local authorities. This funding disparity shows in, among other things, technology disparities. A local PD may use an outdated system, whilst a federal agency uses modern systems, making it hard to share information between the two agencies due to incompatibility and data security concerns.

Local governments should increase funding for law enforcement agencies, especially those devoted to collaborative efforts. More funding would enable local law enforcement agencies to access modern, interoperable technology and personnel training. With the right tech and IT personnel, local law enforcement agencies will inspire the confidence of agencies like the FBI, allowing for seamless intelligence sharing.

Intelligence sharing is the gateway to interagency collaboration. However, many agencies prefer not to share intelligence. Some of the reasons for the reluctance to share information include a trust deficit due to concerns around data handling and use. 

The key to overcoming data sharing concerns is standardizing information-sharing protocols. There needs to be an understanding of who in the sharing and receiving organization is responsible for the data. The standards should also outline data handling procedures to ensure data security and prevent misuse. Cross-agency training, where, say, the FBI trains local officers on critical information handling, can help foster trust among agencies and across jurisdictions.

Rules and regulations can also impair interagency collaboration. Take the FBI, for example. Officers require security clearance to access some information.

Some policies preventing information sharing are justified. For example, the DEA or FBI may not disclose information to a local agency about undercover agents to protect them. However, agencies should re-examine policies that do nothing but breed a system-wide culture of mistrust. Law enforcement bodies should encourage their agents to build professional, mutually beneficial relationships.

The key to effective interagency collaboration is interoperability, the ability of law enforcement technologies to share and use shared information. It facilitates real-time sharing between relevant law enforcement agencies of mission-critical data. Coordinate efforts improve response time, facilitate quicker resolution of cases, and prevent wastage of efforts and resources. Even so, interoperability is nothing if users are unwilling to collaborate.

Interagency collaboration is difficult, particularly so in policing. However, it's necessary for countering increasingly complex crime. It creates an avenue for information and resource sharing. It also enhances the investigative abilities of under-resourced agencies, thus improving public safety. Interagency collaboration should also go beyond law enforcement agencies and involve the public.

Varrick Douglas

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