Eliminate DHS Headquarters Intelligence (Intel and Analysis)
This office is disfunctional and provides no value-added to the other 15 intelligence agencies. Every function fulfilled by the DHS headquarters intelligence agency, called the Office of Intelligence and Analysis, is achieved by by another intelligence community agency. Were the entity able to efficiently access data from its law enforcement operational components and state and local entities to fuse with international ...more »
This office is disfunctional and provides no value-added to the other 15 intelligence agencies. Every function fulfilled by the DHS headquarters intelligence agency, called the Office of Intelligence and Analysis, is achieved by by another intelligence community agency.
Were the entity able to efficiently access data from its law enforcement operational components and state and local entities to fuse with international intelligence, it might serve some purpose. But, in reality, the raw reports generated by the law enforcement operational components are not effectively transmitted to this headquarters intelligence shop for a variety of reasons, including interpersonal, administrative and cultural. As for the state and local intelligence, much of it is circular forwarding of local news reports.
There is significant excess of personnel in the intelligence sector and federal law enforcement broadly, leading to many employees whiling the day away in cubes with little work to show for their salaries. DHS, I&A, in particular, is a retirement playground for ex-CIA and DIA branch chiefs who are paid extraordinary wages through Booz Allen, in addition their direct government pensions.
Please carefully consider DHS and its law enforcement components in any government-wide efficiency review.
ICE is another entity, in addition to DHS, Office of Intelligence and Analysis, with significant excess personnel and waste. Many special agents are on rotation to the Washington, DC headquarters only to fulfill a prerequisite for promotion. While housed at ICE headquarters, many serve little practical purpose.
There are also pockets of DHS and ICE related inter-agency centers and task forces that do not serve the task payer. The Human Smuggling and Trafficking Center is one such totally ineffectual center.
« less full details »