Secrets & Spies: Inside Austin's Police Fusion Center

The Chronicle continues its coverage of a trove of documents hacked from a multi­-agency intelligence center operated by the Austin Police Department. The hack, called BlueLeaks, contains documents meant to be kept secret, originating from the Austin Regional Intel­li­gence Center (ARIC) and other such "fusion centers" across the country that emerged after the 9/11 attacks. ARIC's threat liaison officer program enlists law enforcement and private citizens as informants, and BlueLeaks includes more than a decade's worth of details of the sometimes absurd, often paranoid, and questionably legal efforts of these semi-pro spies.