LEO is an integral element as U.S. law enforcement and intelligence agencies move to share sensitive information on an unprecedented scale. Formed through a cooperative partnership between the FBI and Louisiana State University (LSU), LEO is a criminal justice/public-safety extranet, currently serving all levels of the law enforcement community as well as certain components of the military and intelligence communities.
The software will support the first phase in the National Anti-Terrorism Alert System deployment, which is an important part of a series of planned expansions for the LEO program.
"The addition of the National Alert System (NAS) to the LEO network will help ensure our homeland defense," said Craig Sorum, FBI supervisory special agent and chief of the LEO Unit at FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C. "We will deliver secure, authenticated and timely alerts on terrorist-related activities to 20,000 watch command centers across the nation in five minutes, giving them the critical information they need in real time ... before they hear it in the media."
The NAS will also send wireless and unsecured notifications of alert messages to more than 150,000 devices to ensure that designated command personnel are aware of important information as soon as it becomes available.
LEO offers secure communications services, topical information and distance learning to local, state and federal law enforcement anytime. The LEO system has become a critical tool in equipping officers with the ability to securely share information that provides an enhanced capability to investigate crimes that involve a coordinated effort across U.S. law enforcement operations, such as violent crime, money laundering, organized crime, counter-terrorism and homeland security initiatives.
LEO is interconnected with the Regional Information Sharing Systems (RISS) Program network that provides services to sworn officers in more than 6,000 criminal justice agencies. The RISS/LEO network forms a backbone architecture for law enforcement connectivity that has been recommended by the Global Justice Information Sharing Initiative's (Global) Intelligence Working Group (GIWG) for implementation of a nationwide intelligence sharing capability.
