ACTIC Receives Leadership in Homeland Security Award from International Association of Chiefs of Police

On Tuesday, October 17, 2023, the Arizona Counter Terrorism Information Center (ACTIC) was awarded the prestigious Leadership in Homeland Security Award during the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) awards banquet in San Diego, CA. Arizona Department of Public Safety (AZDPS) Executive Staff and ACTIC personnel were in attendance for this special event, and Major Jennifer Borquez, Director of the ACTIC, accepted the award on behalf of the Department.

The award honors excellence and significant contributions to overcoming homeland security challenges. It recognizes single and multi-agency collaborative efforts that demonstrate significant contributions to information sharing and analytical work in the homeland security enterprise and/or sound decision-making during the preparation and execution of critical incident response, mitigation, and recovery efforts resulting from actors of terrorism and extremism in addition to natural or man-made calamity.

The ACTIC was recognized for their work in the year leading up to Super Bowl LVII, during which time they partnered with the Counterterrorism Education Learning Lab (CELL) and federal, state, local, county, and municipal agencies to develop a specialized version of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security SAFETY Act certified Community Awareness Program (CAP) training to provide education on suspicious activity reporting across Arizona. The ACTIC and CELL provided training to more than 16,000 personnel to identify and report suspicious activity to prevent acts of terrorism and enhance homeland security efforts prior to Super Bowl week.

The ACTIC saw an increase in the quality of reports from members of the public and investigators were better equipped to investigate the nature of the reported activity and prevent situations from escalating. The CAP training was instrumental in mitigating terrorist and criminal activities and disruptions across Arizona communities and provided a streamlined and consistent message on suspicious activity reporting across multiple jurisdictions.

The Arizona Fusion Center, also known as the Arizona Counter Terrorism Information Center (ACTIC), is a joint effort between the Arizona Department of Public Safety, Arizona Department of Homeland Security, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and other participating agencies.

To support the Arizona homeland security effort, the Arizona Fusion Center was established and became operational in October 2004. The Center operates on a 24/7 basis, providing intelligence, investigative and technical support to state, local, tribal, and federal law enforcement agencies as well as other agencies critical to Arizona and the country's homeland security efforts.