Sharing information, especially potential threat-related information, is crucial to protecting the United States and its communities from a terrorist attack. Different agencies, at all levels of government, may have various pieces of the puzzle that, when put together, illustrate a real threat that agencies may not have seen independently. There are, however, many different channels for exchanging information—both formal and informal—which can create confusion and increase the chance that essential details will slip through the cracks.

For these reasons, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) continues to work closely with its federal, state, and local partners to make the processes for communicating and sharing information as easy and efficient as possible. Through a range of efforts, from clarifying how and to whom one should report suspicious activity to implementing technological enhancements for information sharing systems, these initiatives aim to improve the ability of all levels of law enforcement to combat the increasingly diverse threats facing the United States.