Former Boston commissioner, fusion-center leaders and chiefs stress fusion centers, FirstNet and AI for event security
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Summary
Witnesses told the task force that fusion centers, FirstNet communications and AI-assisted video analysis are critical force multipliers for preventing and responding to attacks at mass gatherings, but privacy and information-sharing rules must be carefully balanced.
Former Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis and other witnesses told the House Homeland Security Task Force that integrated intelligence sharing, resilient communications networks and modern analytic tools are vital to preventing attacks at large gatherings. "The Boston Regional Intelligence Fusion Center ... underscored the value of integrated intelligence operations and led to broader national investments in fusion center capabilities," Davis said, pointing to Boston's post‑Marathon experience.
Davis cited FirstNet's role in providing secure, resilient communications when commercial cellular service is overwhelmed. He described the time after the Boston Marathon bombing when phone traffic made voice communications "practically useless," and said FirstNet helps responders keep communications open during mass events. He also described how AI has sped analysis of video and photos: processes that took days after the Boston attack can now be reduced to hours or minutes, which "has improved vastly," Davis said, while warning that AI also raises risks such as deepfakes and privacy concerns.
Chief Stacy Graves and Colonel Robert Hodges echoed the importance of fusion-center products and local-federal coordination. Graves said her department works "side by side" with federal partners at Arrowhead Stadium and warned that reduced intelligence-sharing capacity would "inhibit our ability to maintain that open line of communication of emerging threats." Witnesses and members repeatedly urged that fusion centers remain funded and integrated in planning for events like the World Cup and Olympics.
Testimony recommended preserving and prioritizing SEER (Special Event Assessment) ratings and embedding federal liaisons with host-city planning bodies. Panelists urged Congress to maintain funding for intelligence-sharing nodes and to work with privacy advocates to set standards for lawful, effective use of AI in investigations. The task force recorded the testimony for further review; no formal policy decisions were made at the hearing.