How much have we spent? What liberties have we given up? These are among the questions the Center for Investigative Reporting sought to answer when it began examining homeland security policy and spending in September 2008. We first embarked on a study of the billions in homeland security grants that Congress began awarding to states after the 9/11 hijackings, eventually creating a series of stories and nationwide map showing where the money had gone. Our partner on that venture was the Center for Public Integrity.

We then began posting regular shorter-term news items exploring an array of homeland security issues – immigration, border surveillance, disaster preparedness, the Coast Guard, transportation security, privacy and civil liberties. All of this occurred as CIR – along with National Public Radio – reported deeper into a nationwide campaign by the government to collect suspicious activity reports. We also spent months examining a little-known intelligence arm of the Department of Homeland Security. The results of our work have been distributed to newspaper, Internet, TV and radio news outlets across the country.