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December 21, 2010

Washington Post Details Expansion of Domestic Intelligence Apparatus 
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The Washington Post has revealed new details about how the United States
has assembled a vast domestic intelligence apparatus to collect
information about Americans, using the FBI, local police, state homeland
security offices and military criminal investigators. As part of the
system, the FBI is operating a massive database known as Guardian with
the names and personal information of thousands of U.S. citizens and
residents who have never committed a crime but were reported to have
acted suspiciously by a local police officer or a fellow citizen. The
database contains over 160,000 suspicious activity files. Despite the
sweeping size of the database, the FBI says it has resulted in only five
arrests and no convictions. In addition, the Post reveals the FBI is
storing 96 million fingerprints in Clarksburg, West Virginia. The Post
also reports local law enforcement agencies have begun using
surveillance equipment designed for war zones. In Memphis, Tennessee,
some police patrol cars now contain military-grade infrared cameras that
can snap digital images of one license plate after another while
analyzing each almost instantly.



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