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Washington Post Details Expansion of Domestic Intelligence Apparatus

HeadlineDec 21, 2010

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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