ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) -- Civil-liberties groups are voicing concerns over a first-in-the-nation system giving local police in New York and Vermont instant access to federal files on terrorism. Critics of the pilot program caution that it poses an "enormous risk" of arrest and detention of people without cause. However, officials announcing the new information-sharing system last week emphasized that civil liberties will be protected.
"It's a very dangerous assumption that just because the information is in the system, it's right," said Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union. "In the drive to collect data and share it, there has been a neglect of the safeguards that are absolutely essential to protect us from the misuse of information."
The system will allow state and local police to check 12 databases maintained by federal agencies, and provide officers with a direct line to federal agents to report suspicious activities. If a police officer has reason to believe a person might be involved in terror-related activities, state officials with security clearance will share data with their counterparts at federal agencies in Washington. The procedure is designed to keep sensitive information from becoming public. In announcing the system last week, FBI and state officials said they would like to see the program expanded nationally if it succeeds in New York and Vermont.
"After all, that's what the war on terror is all about - to preserve the freedom and liberty that is so important to the American people," Vermont Gov. James Douglas said. "We're going to be sure as this pilot project unfolds it will be sure to protect the civil liberties that we all cherish."
http://customwire.ap.org/dynamic/stories/T/TERRORISM_SHARING_INFO?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=US&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
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