Criminal intelligence sharing in the United States has come a long way since March 2002, the date of the first summit on criminal intelligence sharing, co-sponsored by the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) and the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing Services. That summit resulted in the National Criminal Intelligence Sharing Plan and a council of law enforcement executives—the Criminal Intelligence Coordinating Council—to oversee its implementation. There were other achievements, too. The Global Justice Information Sharing Initiative produced dozens of products to help law enforcement agencies share information and intelligence. Fusion centers and Joint Terrorism Task Forces fostered new levels of communication and collaboration across jurisdictions. The Federal Government created the Department of Homeland Security, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and the Office of the Program Manager for the Information Sharing Environment.

The participants in the follow-up 2007 IACP Criminal Intelligence Sharing Summit nevertheless made it clear that many of the nation's law enforcement agencies do not participate in the criminal intelligence sharing plan. Too many state, local, and tribal agencies, it would seem, underestimate their importance to the criminal intelligence sharing process, overestimate the burdens of full participation, and/or remain unaware of how to contribute to the vital work of the plan.