State Department Link Will Open Database To Police Officers
The U.S. State Department is planning to open its database of 50 million overseas applications for U.S. visas, including photographs of 20 million applicants, to law enforcement officials nationwide.
The computer system link-up is expected to go online within the next month, and will provide information that includes the applicant’s home address, date of birth, passport number, and names of relatives.
In addition, participating agencies will be able to send encrypted email containing sensitive information instead of having to fax, mail, or send it by courier.
The new system will set the precedent of foreign-intelligence sharing with local law enforcement through the Open Source Information System, which will include text articles from foreign periodicals and broadcasts, technical reports, and maps.
Two domestic law enforcement networks, Law Enforcement Online and the Regional Information Sharing Systems, will also be tied into the system.
Participants in the link-up include the State Department, the FBI, intelligence agencies, and police departments. Some civil liberties groups are concerned about law enforcement officials outside the immigration bureau having access to the “sensitive but unclassified” information.
However, supporters of the new system say local law enforcement officials have always been able to obtain the information, but the link-up will now make officers’ jobs easier and faster.
Abstracted by the National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center(NLECTC) from the New York Times (01/31/03) P. A12; Lee, Jennifer 8.
