Inside Secret Terrorist Screening Center
posted 7:14 am Thu October 25, 2007 - Northern Virginia
Somewhere in northern Virginia, around 300 analysts and computer techs from a dozen federal agencies merge what until late 2003 were more than 10 separate terrorist watch lists.
"One suspected terrorist may generate fifty or sixty records if he uses multiple date of birth, multiple passport numbers, et cetera," said Terrorist Screening Center Director Leonard Boyle. In Senate hearings Wednesday, the center received generally good marks for progress, but still faced serious questions about the volume and quality of information on the watch list.
Glen Fine, Justice Department Inspector General said, "we examined one hundred five records subjected to the routine quality assurance review, and found that thirty five percent of these records continued to contain errors or inconsistencies."
Center officials said they're working the problem and add that a certain number of misidentifications are bound to happen using a name-based watch list. They want to eventually include fingerprints or eye scans, but in many cases they can't.
"Known and suspected terrorists who have been nominated to the data base are not in a position where we can obtain biometric information from them," said Boyle.
While it will likely take considerable time, center officials said they are removing sound-alike names from the list. If you believe you've been unfairly listed, ask for a review by the agency that pulled you aside.
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