----- Original Message ----- From: "New Democrats Online" <ndol_admin at dlcppi.org> To: <seamus2001 at attbi.com> Sent: Friday, January 18, 2002 4:43 AM Subject: NEW DEM DAILY: Using Technology to Track Terrorists
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18-JAN-02
Idea of the Week: Using Technology to Track Terrorists
The unfolding story of the September 11 terrorist attacks has raised a gnawing question: were opportunities to foil them missed? From ringleader Mohammad Atta on down, many of the hijackers ran afoul of federal, state and local laws while preparing their attacks: overstaying visas, entering the country despite pending arrest warrants, abandoning airplanes on runways, getting stopped for speeding, etc. But the various government agencies that came into contact with the hijackers either didn't have access to the right data, or couldn't communicate effectively with each other to send out the alarm.
Today the Progressive Policy Institute is releasing two papers that detail how new technologies and better coordination of data can greatly enhance our chances of tracking and potentially stopping terrorists -- and improve our ability to reduce everyday crime in the process.
The first paper, by PPI senior policy analyst Shane Ham and PPI Vice President Rob Atkinson, proposes specific new information technology applications that could improve our security against terrorists. These include:
* improving data sharing between government agencies at every level about suspected terrorists and other criminals, with tools like wireless handheld computers for state and local police and other security officers, for example at airports;
* requiring drivers' licenses to include "smart chips" with biometric identifiers to radically reduce "identity theft" and fraud;
* also using "smart chips" in visas issued to foreign visitors, to prevent fraud, ensure compliance with terms of entry, and make effective tracking of visa-holders much more feasible;
* employing digital surveillance of terrorism suspects, with civil liberties safeguards already in place for wiretaps; and
* adopting face recognition technology to detect known terrorists and other criminals in crowd situations at especially vulnerable events, such as the 2002 Olympic Games.
The second paper, by PPI Community Crime Fighting Project Director John Cohen and Maryland State Delegate John Hurson, focuses on the specific challenge of modernizing state and local government systems for dealing with suspected terrorists, terrorist threats, and other major emergencies.
In terms of tracking terrorists, the paper stresses the critical importance of creating an "integrated justice information system" for local law enforcement, that will get truly comprehensive information from every federal, state and local source on criminal activity into the hands of police officers, in "real time." Currently, 38 states and the District of Columbia are working towards an interstate system that would combine data from police, the courts, and corrections systems about the people who commit crimes and the places where they occur. But the system must become truly national; must include federal crime and anti-terrorism information; and, most importantly, must be made available to local law enforcement, including cops on the beat.
None of these steps will be easy or cheap, but given the tens of billions of dollars that have already been, or will soon be, devoted by federal and state governments to homeland defense, effective use of new technologies should be within our reach. As the Cohen/Hurson paper notes, it's especially essential that federal homeland defense legislation provide adequate assistance to state and local governments for them to discharge their unique responsibilities in this area, while ensuring accountability for cooperation in creating a truly national information system.
If it's done right, investing in technology and linking the data it produces will give us the most bang for the anti-terrorism buck, and will also greatly reduce the likelihood that a complex conspiracy like the one that occurred on September 11 will ever get off the ground.
Further Reading:
"Using Technology to Detect and Prevent Terrorism," by Shane Ham and Robert D. Atkinson, PPI Policy Briefing, January 18, 2002: http://www.ppionline.org/ppi_ci.cfm?knlgAreaID=124&subsecid =307&contentid=250070
"The State and Local Role in Domestic Defense," by John D. Cohen and John A. Hurson, PPI Policy Briefing, January 18, 2002: http://www.ppionline.org/ppi_ci.cfm?knlgAreaID=124&subsecid =307&contentid=250072
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