80 lines
5.1 KiB
Plaintext
80 lines
5.1 KiB
Plaintext
Summary of FBI Computer Systems
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By Ralph Harvey
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This article is reprinted from Full Disclosure. Copyright (c) 1986 Capitol
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Information Association. All rights reserved. Permission is hereby granted to
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reprint this article providing this message is included in its entirety. Full
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Disclosure, Box 8275, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48107. $15/yr.
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The FBI maintains several computer systems. The most common of which is call
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NCIC (National Crime Information Computer). NCIC maintains a database of
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information about such things as stolen cars, stolen boats, missing persons,
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wanted persons, arrest records. It provides quick access to these records by
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State, Local and Federal law enforcement agencies. NCIC is directly linked
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with the Treasury Department's TECS computer and many State computer systems.
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According to William H. Webster, Director of the FBI:
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When a police officer stops a car and is uncertain about who he's going to
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meet when he gets out, he can plug into this system [NCIC] and in a matter of a
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few seconds he can find out whether that person is a fugitive or the automobile
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is stolen. Incidentally, we receive almost 400,000 inquires of this nature each
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day in the NCIC system.
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When an agency determines that a subject is a fugitive, it supplies the FBI
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computer with as much of the following information as possible: 1) Name and
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case number; 2) Alias; 3) Race; 4) Sex; 5) Height; 6) Weight; 7) Color of hair;
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8) Color of eyes; 9) Description of any identifying scars, marks and tattoos;
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10) Date of birth; 11) Place of birth; 12) Social Security Number; 13) Passport
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Number; 14) Last known address; 15) Nationality; 16) If a naturalized U.S.
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Citizen, date, place, and certificate number; 17) Occupation; 18) The criminal
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violation with which subject is charged; 19) Date of warrant; 21) Type of
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warrant -- Bench, Magistrate, etc.; 22) Agency holding warrant; 23) Any
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information as to whether the subject is considered dangerous, is known to own
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or currently possess firearms, has suicidal tendencies, or has previously
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escaped custody; 24) Driver's license number, year of expiration and State
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issued; 25) License number of vehicle, aircraft or vessel subject owns or is
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known to use, include the year and State; 26) Description of vehicle, aircraft
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or vessel subject owns or is known to use; 27) Associates of the subject*1; 28)
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FBI number; 29) Name and telephone of the person to contact when subject is
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apprehended.
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One of the major problems with the system is that the agency that submits an
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entry is responsible for keeping it up to date. Once an entry has been made,
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there is little motivation for the originating agency to ``waste'' its time
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keeping it up to date, so many entries become incorrect with the passage of
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time.
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Another FBI computer system is their Investigative Support Information System
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(ISIS). This system is only used to provide support for major investigations
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that require the handling of a large volume of complex information. It is
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limited to handling a maximum of 20 cases at a time.
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The ISIS system was used during the investigation of the murder of Federal
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Judge John Wood in San Antonio, Texas. In this case, the FBI entered 300,000
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pieces of information, including 6,000 interviews, hotel registration
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information from every hotel in the area, etc. The accused, while on trial,
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claimed he was several hundred miles away. The FBI cross referenced his name &
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known alias with the hotel registration database and got a match. Contact with
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the hotel employees resulted in a positive identification and conviction of the
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subject.
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The FBI has a system called the Organized Crime Information Systems (OCIS) of
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which director William Webster is ``particularly proud.'' The system was
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started in 1980 in Detroit, Michigan and is one of their most sophisticated
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computers. The system is now functions in over 40 locations.
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The OCIS system allows agents in different field offices to share and analyze
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information collected in each other's areas. This system was used to identify
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some of the United States citizens who were released from Cuban prisons in 1984
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that had criminal histories in the United States. An OCIS link was recently
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opened in Rome, where it's used to support drug investigations.
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The OCIS system was used in the major Sicilian mafia heroin investigation,
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commonly referred to as ``The Pizza Connection.'' According to Webster, ``OCIS
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support ranged from direct assistance in collating information for Title III
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court-authorized wiretaps to the analysis of the case for grand jury
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presentation.''
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Currently under development is the Field Office Information Management System
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(FOIMS). The purpose of this system is to fully automate the administrative and
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record keeping functions of the field and resident offices.
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*1 One of the basic freedoms in this country is the First Amendment right to
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freedom of association. The Privacy Act was enacted to stop government
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invasions of privacy, and includes a provision specifically prohibiting the
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collection of information on the exercise of First Amendment activities.
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Downloaded From P-80 Systems - [304]/744/2253
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