Posted on 08/11/2002 6:28:14 PM PDT by varina davis
Operation TIPS Being Modified Following Criticism From Civil Liberties Groups FNC Saturday, August 10, 2002
WASHINGTON — A Bush administration proposal for a network of anti-terrorism tipsters is being revamped after civil liberties groups and some federal lawmakers said it would encourage Americans to peek into each other’s homes in the name of national security.
The Operation TIPS (Terrorism Information and Prevention System) program being crafted by the Justice Department was scheduled to launch in 10 pilot cities this month. But administration officials said Friday the launch will be delayed until Congress returns in September. The move is being made to give lawmakers more input on the program.
Meanwhile, DOJ overhauled Operation TIPS to exclude as would-be tipsters those working in industries and government agencies that often have access to people's homes. TIPS instead will focus on workers who operate on the highways, such as truck drivers, and at the ports of entry.
The program came under fire from civil libertarians and many in Congress. In fact, House Majority Leader Dick Armey, R-Texas, inserted language in the homeland security reorganization bill that would effectively kill the effort, leaving the issue in limbo until the House and Senate hammer out a final measure.
Justice officials said in June that utility companies, the Postal Service and trucking companies would be sought as possible participants. The goal was to offer a hot line people could call or a Web site to which people could submit tips if, during the course of their workday, they noticed something suspicious that could be terrorist activity.
But the Postal Service balked at its inclusion and other industries also expressed reservations, saying they didn't want their workers looked at by customers as potential spies.
DOJ now isn’t asking the Postal Service or utility companies that work in homes to take part in the program.
"We are not going to target any company or industry that has workers that are going inside people's homes or working around people's homes," said one Justice official, who added that the DOJ is "absolutely discouraging" tips on activities from within people's homes.
Laura W. Murphy, director for the American Civil Liberties Union, said Operation TIPS in any form is still a breach of public trust by the administration.
"They've scaled back Operation TIPS, but it is still an effort to enlist the private sector as government sanctioned peeping Toms," Murphy said. "And it is still not clear that the government is offering any guidance about how to respect people's civil liberties."
DOJ has not decided who will operate the hot line, but a likely choice is the National White Collar Crime Center. That organization is a nonprofit corporation of law enforcement agencies and state and local prosecution offices.
A step in the right direction...but only a step.
What the program really should have done is educated people who are in these positions about what is and is not really a threat. I can imagine some leftist cable guy seeing a gun cabinet, having the vapors, and calling the FBI because he just doesn't like guns. The program should have emphasized to these people that possession of firearms (even by people with dark skin and hair) is not evidence of wrongdoing. Possession of religious literature, Muslim, Christian, or otherwise, is not evidence that someone is going to perpetrate an act of violence. Many anti-religious people think that anyone who reads the Bible is a threat to kill his fellow citizens to keep them from having sex.
I had some problems with the program, but America needs a lesson in what the Fourth Amendment is and is not meant to do. If the program could have brought about real education about the Fourth Amendment, it would have produced some benefit. Instead of teaching people to snoop on one another, it should have taught them to be vigilant without infringing on others' rights. I still hope that the controversy surrounding it will have an educational effect.
WFTR
Mostly afraid of your ignorance (of the 4th Amendment)
Bill
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