NY Piloting Counter-Terrorism Network

New York state will soon have a new weapon in the war on terrorism: a new, secure counter-terrorism network that will let the state's law-enforcement agencies share critical intelligence instantaneously.

The system was designed by IBM and co-developed by the state's Office of Public Safety in consultation with other state police associations. A pilot, which cost $100,000 and supports 16 law-enforcement zones, was launched this week and initially allows electronic alerts to be sent via a secure network to recipients using standalone flat-screen PCs. However, the next phase of the project will enable two-way communication between the state's 543 law-enforcement agencies and police departments. The total cost of the network is about $2 million.