Big data into the ATF, the public enemy is about to staged?

The U.S. Fireworks, Firearms and Bursting Control Agency (ATF) not only hopes to find out about the people by keyword, but also hopes to have a system that can search 18 generations of its citizens without using Facebook.

Cloth under the earth network

According to a recent filing by ATF, the agency's strategic intelligence information division, OSII, wants to buy a large online data storage system and plans to have the system operate for at least five years. Making it possible for individuals to search automatically and to "identify common ground between two or more people by combining" organizational and non-organizational data ".

ATF said it expects analysts to not have to find personal information on their own, and to rely on the database to speed up criminal investigations. The database should be able to "obtain the correct information" from such information as the social welfare number of the fragment, vehicle flow code, age range, pinyin or a wide area of ​​residence. Just enter the information, the system will show someone's identity, and then the computer will automatically query and display this person's network.

Having said that, in fact, these have long been ATF's work content, track people's status, financial information and find out the associated relationship with someone, etc., these are part of the criminal investigation. The unit has long prepared analysts and used multiple databases to help put together the case.

Accelerated crime investigation by data system

However, in a large number of data to find relevant information in a timely manner is quite time consuming and laborious. The application states: "Much of this work has to be done manually, leading to the search for important information and the long hours of intelligence research and analysis."

ATF hopes the new system will be responsible for automatically collecting and researching. In theory, that sounds like a good solution, and federal investigators can make it easier for criminals to handle the case. However, this may also allow investigators to obtain too much or have less relevant information on the case, violating the public's suspicion of privacy.

At the same time, agencies that consider ATF to be inefficient, inefficient and under-funded can not apply to track gun purchases, even if the U.S. government forbids agencies from computer-record gun purchase records. Therefore, if the ATF deals with gun-related cases, to find out the ins and outs of firearms, the process of scrutiny is likely to come by itself.

In a clarification later, ATF said that they wanted to buy an existing system that would not otherwise develop an entirely new database or "consolidate other repositories already in use by authorities," such as LexisNexis and Thomson Reuters . This database must be reliable and year-round, including 24-hour technical support when agents stay up late for a survey. However, this is not an anti-terrorism tool or exists for the purpose of expeditiously dealing with threats.

However, excluding the ATF can not be used to track the gun issue, the new database also helps Detectives to track down suspects and related people more quickly.