89 lines
5.1 KiB
Plaintext
89 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
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Capitol Information Association. All rights reserved. Permission is hereby
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granted to reprint this article providing this message is included in its
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entirety. Full 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
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call 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
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a few seconds he can find out whether that person is a fugitive or the
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automobile is stolen. Incidentally, we receive almost 400,000 inquires of
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this nature each 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
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hair; 8) Color of eyes; 9) Description of any identifying scars, marks and
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tattoos; 10) Date of birth; 11) Place of birth; 12) Social Security Number;
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13) Passport Number; 14) Last known address; 15) Nationality; 16) If a
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naturalized U.S. Citizen, date, place, and certificate number; 17)
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Occupation; 18) The criminal violation with which subject is charged; 19)
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Date of warrant; 21) Type of warrant -- Bench, Magistrate, etc.; 22) Agency
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holding warrant; 23) Any information as to whether the subject is considered
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dangerous, is known to own or currently possess firearms, has suicidal
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tendencies, or has previously escaped custody; 24) Driver's license number,
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year of expiration and State issued; 25) License number of vehicle, aircraft
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or vessel subject owns or is known to use, include the year and State; 26)
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Description of vehicle, aircraft or vessel subject owns or is known to use;
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27) Associates of the subject*1; 28) FBI number; 29) Name and telephone of
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the person to contact when subject is 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
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System (ISIS). This system is only used to provide support for major
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investigations that require the handling of a large volume of complex
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information. It is 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
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with the hotel employees resulted in a positive identification and conviction
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of the subject.
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The FBI has a system called the Organized Crime Information Systems (OCIS)
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of 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
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analyze information collected in each other's areas. This system was used to
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identify some of the United States citizens who were released from Cuban
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prisons in 1984 that had criminal histories in the United States. An OCIS
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link was recently opened in Rome, where it's used to support drug
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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,
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``OCIS support ranged from direct assistance in collating information for
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Title III court-authorized wiretaps to the analysis of the case for grand
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jury presentation.''
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Currently under development is the Field Office Information Management
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System (FOIMS). The purpose of this system is to fully automate the
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administrative and record keeping functions of the field and resident offices.
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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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Origin: Vuarnet International (617) 527-0091 14.4k HST/V32bis |