Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano says working together is critical when it comes to protecting communities and the country.
“You are often in the best position to first notice the signs of a planned terrorist attack or a threat to our communities,” says Napolitano. “And because of that, our homeland security work must be interwoven with your work at the local level each and every day.”
Napolitano told roughly 4,000 police officers from around the country that fusion centers continue to be opened, allowing for better flow of information between local law enforcement and various federal agencies. She adds Homeland Security needs to improve the security clearance process to make sure local agencies are allowed access to protected information.
The secretary also says border security is a major issue, and solving it involves modernizing immigration laws.
“It will enable law enforcement along the border to keep our focus where it needs to be: on (narcotics) traffickers, on human smugglers, on transnational criminal organizations,” she says.
Immigration policy changes, she says, would also free up officers to focus on public safety threats.
