The federal government has opened the first ever Joint Regional Intelligence Center (JRIC) in a suburb of Los Angeles. CNET News reports that the agencies that will be a part of this new intelligence center will include the FBI, the Los Angeles Police Department, the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, and the Department of Homeland Security.

Government officials, perhaps looking to improve their public relations, allowed CNET News to videotape and take pictures inside the intelligence center.

Those behind JRIC state that the purpose of the center is to promote collaboration between various law enforcement agencies.

As of now, the data that is shared is housed in different databases, but that could change in the future (CNET News):

Individuals at the center represent their own agencies and are tapped into their own data sources. There is no universal access to multiple data sources. People have to make the information-sharing happen, so everyone is put together in an open bullpen instead of cloistered cubicles.

There is a vision for JRIC to unify all data from the various agencies in a single database and offer broad access to personnel, but that doesn't exist today. That's not because of technical limitations, but because of red tape and access restrictions, said Mario Cruz, technology director at JRIC.

The idea of a single massive government database that different levels of law enforcement would utilize seems very unsettling. It appears that the risk of potential abuse using such a system would be too strong to go through with such a plan.