Operation Cooperation is a national initiative funded by the Department of Justice and guided by the American Society for Industrial Security (ASIS) and the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP). The goal of the program is to encourage and facilitate collaboration between public law enforcement and private security agencies. The program is based on extensive research into what works with these partnerships. Both law enforcement and private security address many of the same problems but from different angles. There is an overlap of responsibilities that includes responding to calls of service, patrolling to prevent crime, investigating, and using high tech to prevent and solve crimes. Spending in private security is double that of law enforcement. The driving trend is the realization that both agencies can help one another. The sophisticated high technology used in private security can benefit law enforcement and law enforcement can share crime information, such as trends. The key elements of Operation Cooperation are networking, partnering for problem solving, cross-fertilization, and information sharing. One such partnership is the Area Police Private Security Liaison Program (APPL) in New York City where monthly meetings are held to form ideas and workshops are provided. In Austin, Texas, a High-Tech Crime Unit was established in the police department and the Austin Metropolitan High-Tech Foundation was created to provide technical training and share information with each other. In 1980, the Washington Law Enforcement Executive Forum was created to access conviction records from the local police. There are 80 locations across the Nation that have incorporated Operation Cooperation into their agencies. The guidebook, Operation Cooperation: Guidelines for Partnership between Law Enforcement and Private Security Organizations, provides 12 tested steps to set up an effective partnership.