FACT SHEET
JUSTICE INTELLIGENCE COORDINATING COUNCIL

The success of the nation’s efforts to combat terrorism and other criminal threats requires the intelligence components of the Department of Justice to coordinate their collection, production and dissemination of intelligence, as well as efforts to recruit, develop and retain intelligence professionals. To that end, the Attorney General today announced the establishment of a Justice Intelligence Coordinating Council (JICC). By coordinating our intelligence collection, the JICC will provide better support and information to the Terrorist Threat Integration Center recently created by President Bush, and will additionally aid the functions of the new Terrorist Screening Center as well.

The JICC Will Be the Senior Level Coordination Mechanism for All Intelligence Related Activities Conducted by the Department and Its Subordinate Organizations.

·It will improve the integration of the Department’s intelligence related activities conducted for national security, homeland security, and criminal law enforcement purposes.

·It also will provide the Department a unified voice in the Intelligence Community and in federal coordination with state, local, and tribal law enforcement.

The Department Is Committed to Exercising Its Intelligence Functions within the Bounds of the Constitution, Laws and Guidelines that Protect the Privacy of Law-Abiding Americans.

·In coordinating the Department’s intelligence activities, the JICC will ensure adherence to these laws and guidelines and respect for civil liberties. The performance of intelligence functions by the Department of Justice integrates intelligence and law enforcement in order to combat terrorism and other threats to our country without sacrificing the freedoms that we cherish.

·Components of the Justice Department are subject to open Congressional oversight and operate within a framework of judicial checks and balances that protect civil liberties

The JICC Improves the Justice Department's Structure for Cooperating More Closely with the Intelligence Community and the Department of Homeland Security.

·The Attorney General, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the Director of Central Intelligence signed an agreement in 2003 to govern the sharing of homeland security information.

·The JICC will give the Attorney General a more effective way to monitor implementation of its provisions by the Justice Department components covered by this agreement.

The Justice Department has Collaborated with the Global Justice Information Sharing Initiative, Led By the International Association of Chiefs of Police, to Develop a National Criminal Intelligence Sharing Plan.

·The Plan was approved by the IACP in October 2003 and endorsed by the Attorney General in November 2003.

·The JICC will provide a more effective way for all the criminal law enforcement components of the DOJ to continue this collaboration during implementation of the National Criminal Intelligence Sharing Plan and the Department's Law Enforcement Information Sharing strategy.

The JICC Will Strengthen the Process for Coordinating Department of Justice Participation in the Intelligence-Related Work of the Homeland Security Council, the National Security Council, and Other National-Level Bodies.

LEADERSHIP AND MEMBERS:

The Attorney General Intends to Appoint the FBI Executive Assistant Director for Intelligence, Maureen A. Baginski, as the First JICC Chair. She will have the responsibility to develop guidance and oversight procedures and to coordinate with other intelligence coordination entities to meet JICC requirements.

·A coordinating staff made up of representatives from all JICC member organizations will support the activities of the JICC. They will work in concert with each Department of Justice intelligence organization in preparing material for the JICC and JICC Chair.

Membership on the JICC Will Include:

·Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives

·Bureau of Prisons

·Drug Enforcement Administration

·Federal Bureau of Investigation

·National Central Bureau (INTERPOL)

·Office of Intelligence Policy and Review

·Office of Tribal Justice

·U.S. Marshall’s Service

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