Criminals and Terrorists Tracked by FBI Systems
Local and State Law Enforcement Assisted by Federal Databases
Sep 24, 2008
Criminals and terrorists FBI tracking systems are being shared with law enforcement at participating local, state and federal level. These now include a wide spectrum of crimes and terrorists potential activity.
Tracking System VICAP
Tracking system VICAP, the Violent Criminal Apprehension Program, has been used since 1985, linking seemingly unrelated violent crime investigations and helping state and local law enforcement solve cases. Now the service will be available from any Internet terminal to participating law enforcement agencies.
VICAP’s initial focus was transient/serial killers who crossed jurisdictional boundaries. Now it includes actual/attempted homicides, missing persons (believed to be victims of foul play), kidnapping (including child abductions), sexual assaults, unidentified human remains and actual/terrorism attempts. Its database contains 150,000 open and closed violent crime investigations submitted by 3,800 law enforcement agencies with some crimes going back as far as the 1950’s.
Tracking System ORION
Tracking system ORION, the Operational Response and Investigative Online Network, gives the FBI and its partners real-time, on line networks to quickly and effectively coordinate efforts in crisis situation, no matter how many law enforcement personnel are involved or where they may be located. ORION is managed by the FBI’s Critical Response Group (CIRG) which responds at a moments notice to terrorist activities, hostage takings, child abductions, natural disaster, airplane crashes and high-risk crime.
ORION automated features become activated when a phone tip is entered into the system as it actively processes that raw data and push leads and intelligence to investigators even if the tip is received in Los Angeles about a person in Boston. It is then routed electronically to Boston agents. It does automatic searching of new information entered into the system to locate potentially matching persons, locations, vehicles, events and organizations which can involve many FBI offices or enforcement agencies.
Tracking System eGuardian
Tracking system eGuardian replaces the Pentagon’s Talon intelligence database which was closed down amid concerns about domestic spying. The FBI program system called eGardian, severs the Pentagon Departments collection of data on suspicious activity. Pentagon officials hope this unclassified system will alleviate the publics concern about domestic spying.
Tracking system eGardian will start being rolled out in phases by the end of the year. It will enable real-time sharing and tracking of terrorist information and suspicious activity with local, state, tribal and federal partners.
Tracking system eGuardian is the receiver of input from local police departments, FBI offices and Legal Attache’ offices from overseas. For example, suspicious activity reports, potential terrorists threats (like a phoned-in bomb threat) and terrorists incidents. This information is tracked, triaged, searched and analyzed by agents and analysts at FBI Headquarters and submitted to one of the 106 Terrorism Task Forces around the United States.
Tracking system eGuardian goes through a defined process:
- A local police department received information of a suspicious activity, enters all information into eGuadian.
- The report goes to the state’s primary fusion center where analysts review it for a possible terrorism nexus.
- If there is a potential link, the information is upload to eGuardian and become available to all law enforcement with access to the system.
- After being entered into the Internal Guardian system, it will be followed up by the appropriate Joint Terrorism Task Force.
These three tracking systems enable law enforcement to “connect the dots” in a powerful, new way to follow and obtain evidence against those who would commit fraud, crime, corruption or terrorism in the United States.
Source:
Federal Bureau of Investigation: Fact Sheet: Establishing a Terrorism Suspicious Activities Reporting Initiative. http://www2.fbi.gov/
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