Cross-jurisdictional criminal activity networks to support border and transportation security

Border and transportation security is a critical part of the Department of Homeland Security\´s (DHS) national strategy. DHS strategy calls for the creation of "smart borders" where information from local, state, federal, and international sources can be combined to support risk-based management tools for border-management agencies. This paper proposes a framework for effectively integrating such data to create cross-jurisdictional criminal activity networks (CAN)s. Using the approach outlined in the framework, we created a CAN system as part of the DHS-funded BorderSafe project. This paper describes the system, reports on feedback received from investigating officers, and highlights key issues and challenges.