Denver’s police department has been gathering and maintaining intelligence information on local citizens for decades. In recent years, the information was transferred from index cards to a computer program developed by Orion Scientific Systems.
Controversy erupted after files were leaked, showing the department had been tracking political and social activists, and had been classifying some of them as “criminal extremists.”
Going Electronic, Denver Reveals Long-Term Surveillance
Working under the direction of the Denver police intelligence bureau secretary, officers classified organizations like the American Friends Service Committee as “criminal extremist” groups, one of the choices offered in a pull-down menu by the software.
…
The police said that each officer had used his own judgment in characterizing a group and that it had often been labeled “criminal extremist” because it did not seem to fit any other choices.
Other police departments — including New York City’s — use the Orion system. Orion says the “criminal extremist” classification has been removed from the program. Perhaps it’s been replaced by “Arab.”
If surveillance systems like this have been in place for so long, it’s frightening to think what’s being developed, used and abused now. Law enforcement agencies need to be able to gather certain types of information, but the danger has always been in the abuse of systems when appropriate safeguards aren’t put in place.
On a brighter note, there are those who are stepping up to the plate to protest excessive spying. Let’s hear it for librarians!
Cities Say No to Federal Snooping
Fearing that the Patriot Act will curtail Americans’ civil rights, municipalities across the country are passing resolutions to repudiate the legislation and protect their residents from a perceived abuse of authority by the federal government.
…
Another group to vehemently oppose the act has been librarians. They are now required to divulge patrons’ book-borrowing and Internet-surfing habits to federal investigators and are prohibited from making such requests public.
In retaliation, some librarians have called special meetings to educate their communities about the Patriot Act’s implications. Others now routinely purge borrowing records and Internet caches. One former librarian devised a series of technically legal signs to warn patrons of FBI snooping.