[Infowarrior] - DOJ Report: Terrorist Screening Database Marred by Errors

[Richard Forno]

Report: Terrorist Screening Database Marred by Errors

By Ellen Nakashima
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, September 6, 2007; 1:56 PM

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/06/AR2007090601
386_pf.html

The government's terrorist screening database, the master watch list used to
scrutinize 270 million people each month, continues to be marred by errors
and inconsistencies that can result in the detention of innocent people and
increase the chances a terrorist could slip through, according to a Justice
Department report released today.

The Terrorist Screening Center (TSC), which operates the growing database,
also took an excessive amount of time to resolve complaints from passengers
who believed they were included on the watch list by mistake, Inspector
General Glenn A. Fine said in the report.

"It is critical that the TSC further improve the quality of its watch list
data because of the consequences of inaccurate or missing information," Fine
said. "Inaccurate, incomplete and obsolete watch list information can
increase the risk of not identifying known or suspected terrorists, and it
can also increase the risk that innocent persons will be stopped or
detained."

The database contained more than 720,000 records as of April, more than four
times its size when it was created in 2004. It is growing at a rate of more
than 20,000 records a month, the report said.

The audit found that the TSC had stepped up efforts to ensure the quality of
watch list data and opened a redress office. But its watch list management
"continues to have significant weaknesses," the report found.

Specifically, the inspector general's staff identified 20 watch list records
on suspected or known terrorists that were not made available to frontline
screening agents, such as border patrol officers, visa application reviewers
and police who use the list during routine traffic stops.

In an examination of 105 records, the auditors found that 38 percent
contained errors or inconsistencies that were not identified through the
TSC's quality assurance efforts.

The report also found that nearly half the initial matches against the
consolidated watch list turned out to be misidentifications, suggesting that
the government should develop policies to address that, Fine said. As of
April, the TSC had recorded nearly 72,000 initial matches -- more than half
turned out to be actual matches.

The Washington Post reported last month that the consolidated watch list
yielded almost 20,000 initial or actual matches in 2006 and that the vast
majority of those resulted in people being questioned and released, with few
arrests. Government officials said the purpose of the database is not solely
to produce arrests; it also is used to monitor suspicious individuals who
may pose a terror threat to the country.

The report is a follow-up to a 2005 audit that found the TSC had not done
enough to ensure the accuracy of database information. It also found
problems with the TSC's management of information technology, a crucial
facet of the terrorist-screening process.

The TSC, created in December 2003 at the president's direction and run
jointly by the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security, is intended to
be the government's single point of contact for law enforcement authorities
requesting aid in identifying people with possible ties to terrorism.

The TSC database is the consolidation of a dozen government watch lists,
including the Transportation Security Administration's No-Fly list, the
State Department's Consular Lookout and Support System and the FBI's Violent
Gang and Terrorist Organizations File.

In a reply to the inspector general, Willie T. Hulon, executive assistant
director of the FBI's National Security Branch, said that "the FBI remains
committed to ensuring the timely and accurate collection of watchlisting
data." He said a TSC priority is to ensure that the database is "accurate,
current and thorough."

When the consolidated watch list was created, he said, agencies and
departments provided all possible data to serve as a foundation, much of
which had not been reviewed. Since that time, he said, the quality of the
data "has vastly improved." For example, as of July, the TSC has completely
vetted the TSA's No-Fly list, reducing the list by about half.

He said the TSC is developing procedures to address the report's concerns.