From: harka@nycmetro.com
Date: Sun, 30 Mar 1997 20:05:26 -0800 (PST)
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Subject: Re: National Citizen-Unit
Message-ID: <TCPSMTP.17.3.30.-9.12.24.2780269260.1589628@nycmetro.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
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 In> Governor's Budget Includes Money to Set Up Gang-Tracking
 In> Network

 In> [...]

 In> [A]s part of the governor's anti-gang proposals, he's
 In> proposing to spend $625,000 worth of state and federal money
 In> to set up a gang-tracking computer database and network.

 In> Four agents of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation will be
 In> assigned to do nothing but gather and maintain information
 In> about gangs in the state's four regions.
<snip>

 In> Information on the database could include a picture, a
 In> description, the gang affiliation, criminal convictions,
 In> crimes that a person is suspected in, and possible
 In> nicknames.

 -=> Quoting In:bdolan@usit.net to Harka <=-

 In> The important thing to note is that - as I understand the
 In> description of the program -  a person does not have to commit a
 In> crime to be included in the database.  They just have to have
 In> contact with a person or group which is already in it.

This has been going on in Germany for several years now under the
name "Raster-Fahndung" (cross-reference-search). What it means is as
you write it: even mere contacts to suspected "terrorists,
gang-members, drug-dealers" etc. is enough, to get you flagged as
"suspected supporter of [see above]".
An example of how one could get into that was being presented by a
german civil liberties group:
Let's say, there is a non-permitted demonstration going on in City
A of "anarchic chaots" (the german term for ultra-left-wing
groups). The police installs street barriers around the city and
screens the drivers licences in search of potential demonstrators.
Bob drives up, shows his ID and happens to be believed by the police
man to be somehow affiliated with the demonstration. They might
search his car and will let him go after that, if nothing is found.
However, his name will be put in a central database as "suspected
supporter of unconstitutional groups".
That is enough to target his entire family and close friends with
possible surveillance etc., if the police (or actually the interior
intelligence agency "for the protection of the constitution")
chooses to. Bob will never know of that and although, he has nothing
to do with the demonstrators, his name will be in such a database as
a suspect.

That example shows, that the law can be (mis)used to almost
unlimited surveillance on pretty much everybody to the hearts extent
of the "law-enforcement" agencies. And guess what? They will.

Ciao

Harka

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