Overview#
A jewellery store in the commercial district has been burgled twice in six months. The owner calls the detective handling the case and learns, for the first time, that two neighbouring businesses caught the suspect on their CCTV but nobody thought to notify the store because there was no structured way to share that information across the business community. A Business Liaison programme would have flagged the alert to all registered businesses in the block the evening of the first incident.
Argus Business Liaison strengthens public safety through collaborative relationships with the commercial community. The platform connects law enforcement agencies with business partners to prevent crime, share security intelligence, and coordinate rapid responses to incidents affecting commercial areas. It gives agencies the tools to build trusted, structured partnerships with retailers, property managers, business associations, and commercial districts.
Open Standards#
- 28 CFR Part 23 (US Code of Federal Regulations): Criminal intelligence sensitivity levels, source reliability codes, and content validity ratings in cross-agency information shares are modelled directly on the 28 CFR Part 23 framework, and CFR compliance documentation is required for any share classified as criminal intelligence.
- FBI CJIS Security Policy: Data sensitivity classification for shared content follows CJIS designations, ensuring that law enforcement sensitive material exchanged with business partners is handled and access-controlled in accordance with criminal justice information standards.
- OASIS CAP v1.2 (Common Alerting Protocol): Alert distribution to registered businesses is built on a CAP v1.2 connector, meaning crime-area warnings and emergency notifications are structured to the internationally recognised emergency alerting standard.
- OASIS STIX 2.1 (Structured Threat Information Expression): Intelligence exports, including suspicious activity reports and crime trend data shared with commercial partners, can be serialised as STIX 2.1 bundles, enabling interoperability with partner security platforms.
- NIEM (National Information Exchange Model): The data ingestion pipeline includes a NIEM connector base, allowing structured data received from or shared with partner agencies and registries to conform to the US National Information Exchange Model.
- SAML / OpenID Connect (OIDC): Cross-agency sharing portals support both SAML and OIDC identity providers for federated single sign-on, so partner law enforcement agencies and authorised commercial stakeholders can authenticate through their own identity infrastructure.
- RFC 7519 (JSON Web Token): Time-limited sharing tokens and session credentials for external portal access are issued as JWTs, with dedicated signing keys and audience constraints to prevent cross-purpose key reuse.
- GeoJSON (RFC 7946): Commercial district risk zones and coverage-area boundaries are stored and queried as GeoJSON geometries, enabling map-based visualisation of partnership areas and alert targeting by location.
Last Reviewed: 2026-02-05 Last Updated: 2026-04-14
Key Features#
Business Registry Management#
A central repository for all commercial partnerships with detailed profiles covering contact information, security infrastructure, incident history, and programme participation. Current information is available for rapid notification during emergencies without anyone having to search through old files or make calls to find a manager's mobile number.
Crime Prevention Programmes#
Coordinate business watch programmes, distribute security alerts to registered participants, and share crime trend analysis specific to commercial districts. Training programmes educate business owners and employees on crime recognition, reporting procedures, and emergency response protocols, creating a more aware and responsive commercial community.
Security Assessment Tools#
Standardised assessment frameworks help businesses identify vulnerabilities and implement recommended protective measures. Assessment completion and remediation progress are tracked across all participating businesses, so the liaison officer can see at a glance which locations have addressed recommendations and which still need follow-up.
Intelligence Sharing#
Two-way information flow allows businesses to report suspicious activities, flag CCTV footage, and receive real-time alerts about nearby crimes. Automated workflows ensure reported information is evaluated and acted upon, not lost in a general inbox. Privacy controls and information sharing agreements govern what is shared and with whom.
Incident Coordination#
When an incident occurs in a commercial area, registered businesses receive immediate notification. Structured workflows facilitate evidence collection from business security systems, coordinate investigative support, and document the response. Fast access to private CCTV and witness information from nearby businesses directly improves clearance rates for commercial crimes.
Partnership Metrics#
Engagement metrics, programme participation rates, crime reduction trends, and response time data are tracked and reported. These metrics demonstrate programme value to business stakeholders and support budget justifications for ongoing community liaison work.
Use Cases#
- Business Watch Programmes: coordinate commercial district watch programmes with alert distribution, meeting management, and participation tracking
- Commercial Crime Response: rapid notification of affected businesses, evidence coordination from private security systems, and investigative support
- Security Assessments: standardised vulnerability assessments with remediation tracking and follow-up
- Retail Crime Prevention: share theft trends, suspect information, and loss prevention intelligence with retail partners
Integration#
Connects with case management, dispatch, and intelligence systems for seamless information flow. Privacy protections compartmentalise business information with role-based access controls, digitally managed information sharing agreements, and comprehensive audit trails on every information exchange.