N-DEx allows law enforcement agencies to submit their incident data to a central repository where they are compared against the incidents that are already on file, in order to identify linkages and similarities among persons, places, things, and activities. The incidents can then remain on file to be compared with all future incident reports. All participants in the planning process agree that N-DEx is being built to support law enforcement investigations. Its data will come from local law enforcement records systems. N-DEx is not an intelligence system and will not contain intelligence data, although its data can be valuable to the intelligence community. N-DEx will supply system controls to allow agencies to decide what data to share as well as who can access it and under what circumstances. These controls will enable agencies to participate in accordance with local laws and policies that govern the dissemination and privacy of their data. N-DEx's initial focus is to provide the basic capabilities for integrating different systems of incident and investigative data while providing tools for searching and sharing this information. N-DEx will be developed and deployed in stages, with additional capabilities, data sources, and uses implemented over time. Widespread participation in N-DEx will channel local information streams to Federal partners as they pursue federally coordinated counterterrorism activities.