By Ryan Singel
September 07, 2007 5:32:33
Wired
The nation's centralized terrorist watch list that is used to screen 270 million individuals every month now contains more than 700,000 entries, but remains marred by duplication, erroneous information, incorrect tracking codes and poor coordination between the watch list and the agencies that use the list, according to an audit released Thursday by the Justice Department's inspector general.
The auditors looked at 105 records that Terrorist Screening Center employees had given "routine quality assurance reviews" and found that 38 percent still contained inaccuracies.
Additionally, the audit showed that due to data sync issues, the data provided to some agencies did not include all of the records in the database. When complaints about the watch list filtered through government agencies to the TSC, 45 percent of the watch list records related to complaints required modification or deletion from the watch list.
Inspector General Glenn Fine's report (.pdf) enumerated the risks of a faulty watch list:
Deficiencies in the accuracy of watchlist data increase the possibility that reliable information will not be available to frontline screening agents, which could prevent them from successfully identifying a known or suspected terrorist during an encounter or place their safety at greater risk by providing inappropriate handling instructions for a suspected terrorist. Furthermore, inaccurate, incomplete, and obsolete watchlist information increases the chances of innocent persons being stopped or detained during an encounter because of being misidentified as a watchlist identity.The watch lists are used by State Department employees vetting visa requests, border agents deciding who to let in the country, and by law enforcement agents across the country who run the names of persons they have stopped for infractions as minor as speeding. When the systems record a hit for a rogue speeder, the trooper calls the center to clarify the person stopped is the person on the list and what should be done.
At the TSC, analysts sit in front of giant monitors, checking information called in against the intelligence that put the person on the list. Along one wall, the center plots encounters on an electronic, color-coded, electronic map of the United States.
As of April 2004 the list contained 724,442 entries, and was growing at 20,000 entries a month. The intelligence community nominates foreigners to the list, while the FBI is responsible for adding domestic threats to the list. Between December 2003 (the center's inception, and May 2007, the TSC has recorded some 99,000 call ins. 53 percent of these contacts actually corresponded to the person on the list, while 43% were false positives (i.e. right name, wrong person).
The no-fly list and extra screening list (selectee list) used by airlines are also derived from the master terror list. After a review of the lists, following a string of critical press stories about the list's accuracy, the TSC cut the No-Fly list in half.
When the TSC began its review in July 2006, the No Fly list contained 71,872 records. The TSC completed its special review of the No Fly list on January 31, 2007, determining that the No Fly list should be reduced to 34,230 records. The TSC recommended 22,412 records for removal from the No Fly list and placement on the TSA’s Selectee list. For another 5,086 records, the TSC determined that the individual did not require inclusion on either the No Fly or Selectee list.The audit is a follow-up to the Inspector General's 2005 report, which also called into question the accuracy and completeness of the nation's watch lists.
See Also:
Reporter Visits Terror Watch List Center, Prevented from Seeing ...
DHS Re-Launches Watchlist Help Site After 27B Crushed the Old One ...
Canadian Tortured In Syria Case Study of Watchlist Problems
Unified (But Uncomprehensive) Watchlist Redress System Announced
We're All Terrorists! Watch List Makes 20,000 'Matches' in '06
How to Get Off a Government Watch List
U.S. Watch Lists Sow Frustration and Fear
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