Secretary Ridge's Remarks at the Announcement of the Homeland Security Information Network

Release Date: 02/24/04 00:00:00

Washington, D.C.
February 24, 2004
(Remarks as Prepared)

I want to thank Mayor Anthony Williams and Chief Ramsey, not only for their appearance today but for their leadership in making the entire National Capital Region more secure from terrorism.  Their commitment to strong partnerships should not just be applauded, but applied across the country.  I also want to thank the Joint Regional Information Exchange System (JRIES) Executive Board, including the Defense Intelligence Agency team, for their hard work to develop this system.  They deserve a great deal of credit for this day.

As we approach the one-year anniversary of the Department of Homeland Security, it is a good time to reflect on the progress we made and there is a great deal to report.  From our borders to our "hometowns," from our coastline to the skies, we are safer, more secure and better prepared today than we were 365 days ago.

But we must also look toward the future.  Complacency has no place in this new era.  

We must be ready to build on the progress we've made to expand and improve on existing capabilities to widen their reach and impact by bring new people and institutions under their umbrella.

One of those existing capabilities is a computer system known as JRIES.  This real-time collaboration system is used by about a thousand first responders, mainly from the law enforcement community, to report incidents, crimes and potential terrorist acts to one another and to the Department through our 24-hour Operations Center.

It is a system that was developed by State and local officials in partnership with the federal government. It allows multiple jurisdictions, disciplines and emergency operation centers to receive and share the same intelligence and tactical information -- so that everyone has the same overall situational awareness

By asking the right questions, and working together to find the answers, we can quickly piece together the puzzle to determine whether an incident poses a threat to a community, a region or the nation; and use our resources accordingly.  It is an important capability -- but one that can be expanded and improved.

So today we announce the creation of the Homeland Security Information Network (HSIN).

The HSIN will, for the first time, expand this system to all 50 states, five territories, tribal governments, and 50 major urban areas, including Washington, D.C. Currently, the Metropolitan Police Department enjoys access to JRIES, as do many other partners in the National Capital Region.  Under our plan, it will be expanded to more.  Each homeland security advisor will have access to HSIN.  So will Governors.  So will Adjutants Generals.  So will state and urban Police Departments, and Emergency Operations Centers across the country.

Most importantly, this is a dynamic change, not a static one.

States will be able to immediately communicate to their county and local partners -- creating their own communications networks.  That's exactly what happened in California and New York places that helped develop this system.  And in the future, the private sector will be able to access the system so they can coordinate their preparedness efforts with ours.

The Homeland Security Network will be launched in two concurrent phases.

The Department of Homeland Security will provide real-time connectivity between the Department, the states and major urban areas.  That's phase one.  We estimate that by this fall, this collaboration tool will be available to every state and major urban area more than 300 entities serving more than 5,000 officials.

The second phase will enable us to share classified information up to the "Secret" level by year's end.  We will also provide training for sensitive information management and analysis.

These are just the initial phases.  In the future, we and our state and local partners will expand the Network to an ever-widening circle of first responders for ever-increasing layers of security.  In short, the HSIN will be both user-friendly and used by more of our friends.

The capabilities of the HSIN system will go far beyond our current capabilities.  It will be able to send photos and maps -- even streaming video.  We will add other tools to communicate with the private sector and private citizens.  We'll access vast amounts of information from "open source" data such as articles in foreign newspapers which can then be integrated with "finished" intelligence to provide a much more comprehensive picture of the threat.  And we'll access data on critical infrastructure, with more added in the months ahead.  Finally, we'll even be able to access data at the scene of a crime, through wireless laptops.

What does this mean to those charged with protecting our communities?

It means that authorities from one state can tip off authorities from another before letting a suspect go.  Earlier this year, the Louisiana State Police posted a Request-For-Information, or RFI, about a person found with $10,000 on him.  They quickly learned that he had stolen the money from another "person of interest" in Texas.  That one incident led to many promising investigative leads.  It is just as important to determine when a criminal or terrorist threat does not exist.  During last year's blackout we learned early on through JRIES that terrorism was not a likely cause.  More recently, we were able to dispel rumors of evacuations from government offices in Washington, D.C.  Such a capability saves cities countless man-hours and precious dollars.

The JRIES system has also been the cornerstone of our efforts to protect our national monuments and secure holiday celebrations and special events such as the Super Bowl and this past New Year's Eve celebrations.  I watched first-hand as state, county and city EOC's from across the country went on-line, sharing information and viewing the same operational picture all in real time.

The Homeland Security Information Network is a key part of our national homeland security strategy.  Homeland Security is about the integration of a nation.  In this new post-9-11 era, a new philosophy is required a philosophy of shared responsibility, shared leadership, and shared accountability.

The federal government cannot micro-manage the protection of America.  Instead, homeland security must become a priority in every city, every neighborhood, and every home.  This network is a great example of that philosophy.  State and local officials brought it to us, told us that this is a system that works, the demand is great, and we need it now.  They were right.  It is an important and proven tool, and now the Department will improve and expand it across the nation.

Our goal is improvement and interconnectivity across the board.  Not isolated islands of improvement, or static capabilities.  So in 2004, we will provide short term interoperability specifications to help first responders better communicate during an incident, while we work together to address the long-term solutions to this complex issue.

We will integrate our watch lists so law enforcement will have comprehensive information to screen for potential terrorists.   We will aid the private sector partners with a unified, national critical infrastructure database.  And we, along with our state and local partners, will continue to improve and expand this Network.

The threat of terrorism is shared by all of us, one nation.  Our work to prevent terrorist acts, reduce our vulnerabilities and prepare to respond and recover is our one shared mission.  

Through tools such as the Homeland Security Information Network, we will carry out that mission, together.

Thank you.

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This page was last modified on 02/24/04 00:00:00