The Purpose and Advantages of the Terror Watch List

What is the purpose of creating the consolidated terror watch list and what advantages does it offer?

The terrorist watch list is a database that compiles suspected terrorists who are attempting to acquire visas, enter the country, board planes, or engage in other activities. The FBI's Terrorist Screening Center (TSC) was established after the September 11 attacks in 2001 with the goal of organizing and standardizing information from different government agencies into one list. This consolidation improves communication between agencies. The purpose of creating the watch list was to collect and maintain data on terrorists and nominate individuals for inclusion in the TSC consolidated watch list.

Currently, there are approximately 420,000 names on the watch list, including 8,000 Americans and 16,000 individuals prohibited from flying—among them 500 Americans. The terrorist screening center demonstrates that once someone is listed, it becomes difficult to have their name removed. All government agencies have authorization to cross-reference names against this comprehensive list containing accurate and up-to-date information about suspected terrorists.

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The consolidated terrorist watch list is a crucial tool for the US government in countering terrorism. However, currently, various government agencies maintain separate lists and lack a consistent process for sharing accurate information. At present, the government conducts watch list matching for air travel, including both domestic and international carriers. Nevertheless, this method poses a security risk as many innocent passengers are mistakenly flagged by a particular airline's no-fly filter. Hence, it is vital for the government to streamline the watch list matching process and address cases of mistaken identity where regular travelers are required to prove their innocence.

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The list has multiple benefits. Firstly, it serves as a convenient way to provide information to the government for collecting terrorist details. Additionally, the list can be shared with various government agencies to deter or detect the movements of known or suspected terrorists. Moreover, it can be utilized for prescreening passengers worldwide who are traveling to or entering the United States. When an individual leaves the country via plane, airline officers are required to check them against the terror watch list. This contributes significantly to maintaining the country's security. The purpose of the terror watch list is to prevent attacks by closely monitoring listed terrorists. On the other hand, weaknesses exist in this watch list. These weaknesses can be attributed to management, organization, and technology factors. Moreover, there are communication barriers that exist among the organizations involved in constructing the watch list.

TSC watch list was designed to aid government agencies in investigating suspected terrorists, offering numerous benefits in tackling terrorism. However, it is crucial to address and enhance the various weaknesses of this watch list, as they have caused significant repercussions for both the government and the general public. These limitations primarily stem from issues related to management, organization, and technology.

According to Robbins et.al (2011), management is the process of effectively and efficiently getting things done with and through people. Managers are responsible for this process, and any wrong decisions they make can heavily impact the work process. This is evident in the case of the TSC watch list. The efficiency of reinforcing information from different agencies is hindered due to their slackness. Integrating the 12 required databases for the watch list is a lengthy process, and after two years, only 10 of them were processed. The remaining two databases, the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Automatic Biometric Identification System and the FBI’s Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System, are fingerprint databases that faced obstacles due to different agency structures. Government departmental policies for nomination and removal from the watch list are not synchronized. Different agencies have different managerial systems for various issues or subjects, preventing them from unifying all the information and policies. Despite the efforts of TSC managers to identify and correct incomplete or inaccurate watch list records, the problem remains. The Department of Justice’s Office of the Inspector General attributes this failure to poor management within TSC.Government agencies are also concerned about the problem solving process in management. Many innocent individuals have been troubled due to wrongful inclusion on the list. The slow redress process has made it difficult for these individuals, especially law-abiding travelers, to remove themselves from the list without explaining why they are on it. Furthermore, poor data and information management can lead to serious consequences. The government's insensitive and careless information selection has been criticized for potential privacy violations and racial discrimination in the NSA's suspected terrorist information gathering. Similar issues have arisen with the TSA's "Secure Flight" system, causing delays due to privacy concerns. The Department of Justice Inspector General found that outdated and irrelevant information was incorrectly retained in the FBI's watch list. Additionally, the watch list does not include the names of suspected individuals with terrorist ties, resulting in the omission of 20 known terrorists from the consolidated watch list.

Poor management heavily impacts the performance of organizations, which are defined as "a systematic arrangement of people brought together to accomplish some specific purpose" (Robbins et.al, 2011, pg.05). Consequently, government agencies witness a decline in performance due to inadequate management in policy-setting. This leads to public outcry as the size of the watchlist increases and well-publicized incidents reveal that individuals who are clearly not terrorists have been wrongly included. The inclusion of people who do not belong to the watchlist also results in false positives. The main reason behind this failure is the careless performance of government agencies, who populate their watchlists by conducting extensive information sweeps on travelers and using misspellings and variations in the suspected terrorists' names. Moreover, the efficiency of projects is also affected by the organization's working speed. Slow response in resolving wrongful inclusions on the Terrorist Screening Center (TSC) watchlist leads to delays in the redress process for innocent individuals seeking removal from the list. Additionally, many airlines are negligent in accurately matching data, often omitting details such as gender, middle name, or date of birth in their reservation records. This contributes to an increased likelihood of false matches. Furthermore, the FBI is one of the two main sources for the watchlist's database.However, an report by the Department of Justice Inspector General Glenn A Fine revealed that the FBI had made errors by retaining around 24,000 individuals on their own watch list and providing the TSC watch list with outdated or irrelevant information.

According to Waddell et.al (2007, pg.92), technology encompasses tools, machines, computers, and skills, information and knowledge utilized in the design, production and distribution of goods and services. Consequently, errors in technology can pose challenges in projects. The TSC watch list consists of various errors such as misspelled names and different variations of suspected terrorists' names. These mistakes occur when government agencies collect traveler information for the watch lists. Additionally, individuals are often listed multiple times with different name spellings. Furthermore, the watch list contains numerous incorrect entries due to a lack of precise information required for adding new entries. In June 2005, a report from the Department of Justice's Office of the Inspector General discovered inconsistencies in record counts, duplicate records, and records with missing or unclear data fields. Moreover, mistakes leading to wrongful inclusion on the NoFly and consolidated watch lists happen because of imperfect data matching between airline reservation systems and the watch lists. To enhance communication between agencies, the Terrorist Screening Centre (TSC) was established to consolidate information from multiple government agencies into a single list that contains both classified and unclassified information.Unclassified but sensitive information refers to personal details of suspected individuals that can be shared with various agencies. On the other hand, law enforcement and intelligence organizations have their own databases where classified information is stored. The recipient agencies for this watch list include the National Counterterrorism Centre (NCTC), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), National Security Agency (NSA), Transportation Security Administration (TSA), Department of Homeland Security, United States Department of State (DoS), Customs and Border Protection, Secret Service, US Marshals Service, White House, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Department of Justice, and American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). These organizations encounter significant communication barriers during the development of the watch list due to differences in political system, operating system, information system, functional system, data collection system, data processing system, intranet system,distribution system,and security system.

3. The case study discusses the effectiveness of the system of watch lists.

The information on the TSC watch list is utilized by government agencies, particularly in the U.S., to identify suspected terrorists when they travel to other countries. New nominations, modifications, and deletions are regularly updated on the watch list. This information helps in detecting and deterring the movement of known or suspected terrorists. Various agencies utilize the TSC's data in their operations. Airlines, for instance, use this data in their NoFly and Selectee lists to pre-screen passengers. The US Customs and Border Protection system uses the watch list data to aid in screening travelers entering the United States. The State Department system screens visa applications and passport applications for US residents. Additionally, state and local law enforcement agencies rely on the FBI system for assistance in arrests, detentions, and other criminal justice activities. Different subsets of data within the watch list serve different purposes for various agencies. When an individual reserves an airline ticket, arrives at a US port of entry, applies for a US visa, or encounters state or local police within the United States, the frontline screening agency or airline conducts a name-based search against the records from the terrorist watch list database. In cases where the computerized name matching system generates a "hit" or potential name match against a watch list record, the airline or agency will carefully review each potential match.The text states that positive or exact matches that are inconclusive are sent to the appropriate screening agency's intelligence or operations center and to the TSC for further examination. The TSC then checks its databases and other sources, including classified databases maintained by the NCTC and FBI, to confirm if the individual is a positive, negative, or inconclusive match to the watch list record. Finally, the TSC creates a daily report summarizing all positive matches to the watch list and shares it with multiple federal agencies (UniSA Lecture Notes 2012, The terror watch list database troubles continue).

Besides assisting government agencies in tracking suspected terrorists, the TSC watch list has several drawbacks that include "false positives" or inaccuracies. These inaccuracies result in misspelled names and alternate variations of suspected terrorist names, leading to errors that significantly impact regular travelers. Furthermore, the process of nomination and removal from the lists lacks uniformity across government departments. Additionally, individuals who are not terrorists often find themselves included in the list. Moreover, inconsistent record counts, duplicate records, and incomplete or unclear sources of data pose challenges for the government and ordinary citizens alike.

4. In order to address the weaknesses, what measures can be implemented?

According to Geral L. Dillingham of Aviation Safety at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the government and the airline industry collaborate to utilize data in both a reactive and proactive manner. Their goal is to prevent accidents and effectively manage safety risks.

In addition, the airport security is required to establish an automated passenger profiling system and increase the frequency of passenger inspections. The White House Commission on Aviation Safety and Security improves their nonmagnetic scanners, voice and data communications, navigation systems (such as GPS) for determining an aircraft's location and course, and information systems for validating protection against external interference, disruption, and corruption. They also introduce biometric systems like facial scanning to identify terrorists, camera imagery, and X-ray machines to detect dangerous objects like weapons and explosives. An article published by "Homeland Security" reveals that the Department of Homeland Security aims to advance homeland risk management. This department ensures security, safety, and resilience in various domains by connecting efforts to prevent terrorism and enhance security; secure and manage borders; enforce immigration laws; safeguard and protect cyberspace; ensure disaster resilience; and provide essential support for national and economic security.

FBI officials state that improvements in training, faster processing of referrals, and mandatory supervisor reviews have been made. The TSA has introduced "Secure Flight" to collect data accurately. Ramon Salaverria's article discusses how technology and software advancements have transformed multimedia content, resulting in significant changes in the formats of news and information on online newspapers. Initially, these platforms focused mainly on textual content, but with the emergence of multimedia applications like Macromedia Flash, there is potential for a qualitative leap in information formats and genres on the web. To aid individuals mistakenly included in terrorist watch lists, the Department of Homeland Security established the Traveler Redress Inquiry Program.

5. What methods can improve communication between organizations to enhance watch list accuracy? Which technologies can be utilized for this purpose?

Summarizing information can be seen as a solution to avoiding wrong names in the watch list. When organizations use the same database, they can prevent errors. It is crucial for these organizations to cooperate and exchange a large amount of information, which can be done through various means like using comprehensive analysis methods and combining data to enhance accuracy. Additionally, because information is constantly changing, individuals responsible for updating it are necessary. Organizations should include more specific details on the list, such as gender, middle name, date of birth, recent picture, and family numbers, to decrease the chances of false matches. Providing better training for staff can also improve their abilities.

Using Information Communication Technology (ICT) is an effective solution for dealing with communication problems. Telephone systems make it easier for organizations to contact each other. The Internet is used daily by people for communication, and organizations should take advantage of it to share information. Utilizing the Internet creates a better communication environment and improves efficiency. Additionally, audio and video transmissions provide an intuitive way to communicate, allowing people to better understand concepts related to job responsibilities, abilities, and work methods in different organizations. This type of communication also promotes cooperation. According to Fenell (2012), technologies can also enhance mass communication and long distance communication.

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References

• The ongoing issues with the terror watch list database continue, according to the UniSA Lecture Notes 2012 on the SAIBTCISB Lecture Series 2010 in South Australia.

Robbins, S, DeCenzo, D, Coulter, M, & Woods (2012) wrote a book titled Management: The Essentials, published by Pearson in Sydney.

Waddell, D. Devine, J, Jones, G. and George, J. 2007, Contemporary Management, Boston, McGraw Hill.

Button A (2012) provides a guide titled "How to Improve Information Communication Technology" on the eHow website. The article was viewed on 29 August 2012 at the following URL: http://www.ehow.com/how_7701800_improve-information-communication-technology.html.

Fenell Z discusses in the article titled 'How Has Technology Made Communication Better?' on eHow, published in 2012 and viewed on 29 August 2012, about the impact of technology on communication.

Salaverría, R 2005, ‘An Immature Medium. Strengths and Weaknesses of Online Newspapers on September 11’, Gazette: The international journal for communication studies, vol 67.

Homeland Security (2011) provides a comprehensive overview of risk management fundamentals in their Homeland Security Risk Management Doctrine.

Appendices

Updated: Feb 21, 2024
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The Purpose and Advantages of the Terror Watch List. (2016, Mar 23). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/the-terror-watch-list-database-troubles-continue-essay

The Purpose and Advantages of the Terror Watch List essay
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