Operation TIPS - = Terrorist Information and Prevention System

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OPERATION TIPS FACT=20 SHEET

Operation TIPS=20 (Terrorism Information and Prevention System) was introduced as a = program=20 in development in January 2002. This document contains information = a bout=20 the background and purpose of the program as it has developed over = the=20 past six months, a list of the industries that will be invited to=20 participate in the final program, specific information about the = design of=20 the reporting system, and information about existing similar = systems.

OVERVIEW

This reporting system is being developed by the Department = of Justice in=20 coordination with several other federal agencies, including the = Office of=20 Homeland Security, the Department = of Labor,=20 the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and FEMA, as a part of = Citizen Corps.=20 The program was announced in concept in January 2002 for the = stated=20 purpose of creating a national information sharing system for = specific=20 industry groups to report suspicious, publicly observable activity = that=20 could be related to terrorism. The program is scheduled to be = operational=20 in the fall of 2002 as one of the new Citizen Corps programs.

The initiative's design is based on existing programs, such as = Highway=20 Watch and Coast Watch, that allow truckers and ship captains to = report=20 dangerous conditions along their routes. In response to = significant demand=20 among industry groups, Operation TIPS would = make these=20 programs available nationwide by providing specific industry = groups a=20 single phone number for reporting potentially terrorist-related = activities=20 occurring in public areas. Specifically, industry groups have = looked to=20 the Justice = Department = to offer a=20 r eliable and cost-effective system that their workers could use = to report=20 information to state, local, and federal law enforcement agencies = about=20 unusual activities they might observe in the normal course of = their daily=20 routines. Similarly, law enforcement agencies have sought a system = for=20 receiving terrorist tips that = would avoid=20 overburdening the 911system.

The Operation TIPS hotline = would=20 also offer some unique improvements upon current systems by:

Providing a centralized telephone hotline and web-based = reporting=20 system that automatically and immediately routes tips to = appropriate=20 federal, state, and local law enforcement nationwide;=20
Providing specific industry groups with a means of reporting = non-emergency, potentially terrorist-related activity; and=20
Enabling law enforcement officials to "connect the dots" and = take=20 appropriate action on potentially terrorist-related activities = that may=20 be occurring simultaneously.

INDUSTRIES

Industries interested in participating will be given printed = materials=20 on how to contact the reporting center, and would in turn provide=20 information and any training to their workers directly. Many = industries=20 already provide this type of information as part of their security = and job=20 training.

Operation TIPS=20 would offer its hotline service to workers involved in the = transportation,=20 trucking, shipping, maritime, and mass transit industries. = Industry=20 associatio ns and groups in these areas will be invited to receive = information about the hotline so their workers can participate in = the=20 program if they so choose. Other industry associations involved in = the=20 above-mentioned industries could also seek participation by = contacting the=20 Department of Justice.

At the outset of the program, the Department = of Justice = planned to=20 engage the postal and utility industries to participate because = their=20 workers maintain regular public routes in the communities they = serve,=20 putting them in a unique position to recognize potentially = dangerous=20 activity along transportation routes and in public places. In = addition,=20 the inclusion of postal workers and utility workers made sense = because=20 they have been identified as targets for terrorism. Postal workers = in New=20 Jersey and Washington, D.C. were victims of the anthrax terrorist = attacks=20 last year, and postal workers across the country were affected by = the=20 recent pipe bomb attacks. As attac ks on utility plants and water = systems=20 could affect the public health and safety of millions of people, = these=20 facilities have long been considered prime targets of domestic and = international terrorism. The Department = never=20 intended that workers calling the hotline would report on anything = other=20 than publicly observable activities. However, given the concerns = raised=20 during the program development phase about safeguarding against = all=20 possibilities of invasion of individual privacy, the Department = of Justice has = decided=20 that the hotline number will not be shared with any workers, = including=20 postal and utility workers, whose work puts them in contact with = homes and=20 private property.

REPORTING SYSTEM

The National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C) is a non-profit=20 corporation whose membership includes law enforcement agencies, = state=20 regulatory bodies with criminal investigative authority, and state = and=20 local prosecution offices. NW3C has offered to host the hotline = call=20 center. They can also provide the technical infrastructure and = personnel=20 for the project. The hotline project would be funded by a grant = from the=20 Bureau of Justice=20 Assistance for approximately $800,000 (FY'02 funds) to establish = and=20 operate the call center.

NW3C has the capacity to both receive information via the = hotline and=20 through electronic submissions of information, and to serve as a = central=20 point for distribution of that information to the app ropriate law = enforcement agencies at all levels. The information received can = be routed=20 automatically to law enforcement agencies through virtual private = network=20 (VPN) technology, National Law Enforcement Telecommunication = System=20 (NLETS) transmission, or encrypted data transmission via the = Internet. The=20 information can be submitted using Secure Sockets Layering (SSL)=20 technology to ensure the confidentiality of the submitter.

NW3C can facilitate information flow to state, loca l, and = federal=20 entities that want to receive information from the TIPS hotline = through=20 stakeholder meetings with each state. Agencies opting to receive = TIPS = information would=20 be responsible for determining how to respond to the tips they = receive.=20 Based on information from existing hotlines, it is estimated that = the=20 reporting center would receive 12-25 calls each month per every = 1,000=20 workers in the participating industries.

EXISTING SYSTEMS/HOTLINES

The following is a list of some of the similar programs and = hotlines=20 already in operation around the country. They do not accomplish = the same=20 goals as Operation TIPS and/or = receive=20 information from the same groups of people, but they illustrate = the=20 effectiveness of such programs in addressing public safety = needs:

Coast Watch
Maritime industries currently report all=20 chemical, radiological, etiological, oil and biological releases = to the=20 National Response Center, w hich has expertise in dealing with the = release=20 of hazardous materials and emergency situations.

Highway Watch
Created by the American Trucking = Association=20 in 1998, this national safety initiative trains professional truck = drivers=20 to recognize and report a variety of incidents-such as stranded = motorists,=20 drunk drivers, changing road conditions, poor signage, accidents, = etc. The=20 American Trucking Association wants to expand this program beyond = the six=20 states currently served and to include terrorism prevention.

River Watch
This program is based in Michigan and = engages=20 the boating public and shoreline owners and operators to assist = the=20 Michigan State Police and relevant federal agencies in protecting = the=20 borders from illegal entry into the country by undocumented = aliens, drug=20 smuggling, etc.

AMBER Alert
The AMBER Plan, created in 1996 as a = powerful=20 legacy to 9 year-old Amber Hagerman who wa s kidnapped and = murdered in=20 Texas, is a voluntary partnership between law-enforcement agencies = and=20 broadcasters to activate urgent bulletins in the most serious=20 child-abduction cases. The goal of an AMBER Alert is to instantly=20 galvanize the entire community to assist in the search for and = safe return=20 of the child. The AMBER Alert system was responsible for the = recent rescue=20 of two teenage girls who were abducted in California. Truckers and = motorists were engaged in looking for the girls after they were = alerted to=20 the description of the suspect's vehicle. An anonymous tip from a = motorist=20 ultimately led to the safe return of the girls.

Treasury Department's = Financial=20 Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN)
FinCEN established a = Financial=20 Institutions Hotline for the voluntary reporting to law = enforcement of=20 suspicious transactions that may relate to terrorist activity. The = purpose=20 of the hotline is to facilitate the immediate transmittal of t his = information to law enforcement.

1-800-BeAlert Hotline
The U.S. Customs Service = provides the=20 1-800-BeAlert Hotline to allow the general public to report = violations of=20 federal law enforced by the U.S. Customs Service, such as the = smuggling of=20 drugs, jewelry, etc.

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF)
ATF = has four=20 nationwide hotline programs: 800-ATF-GUNS, 888 ATF-BOMB, 888 = ATF-FIRE, and=20 888 STF-TIPS, each=20 of which was created in the mid or late 1990s. These toll-free = numbers=20 give members of the public the means to report any suspected = criminal=20 misuse of firearms, bombing activity, arsons, and general criminal = activity. According to ATF, in 2001, hundreds of significant = investigative=20 leads were received on the hotlines and were referred to the ATF = field=20 offices for follow-up investigation.

Massachusetts Transit Crime Watch
In December of = 1998, the=20 Massachusetts Neighborho od Crime Watch Commission (MNCWC) and the = Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Police Department = launched=20 Transit Crime Watch, a unique crime watch program designed to = provide=20 crime prevention education to the one million passengers who ride = the MBTA=20 daily. The program instructs and encourages commuters to contact = the=20 police when they observe an emergency situation, suspicious = activity, or a=20 crime in progress. Signs are posted both on and around each subway = line,=20 bus ter minal, and commuter rail station advertising the MBTA = Police phone=20 number and promoting the use of emergency call boxes to report = crime and=20 suspicious activity.

Terrorist Tipline
The National White Collar Crime = Center=20 (NW3C) was selected by Attorney General John Ashcroft immediately=20 following the terrorist attacks of September 11 to serve as the = single=20 on-line portal for the public to report information regarding = terrorist=20 activity to the FBI. To date this pag e has received more than = 200,000 tips from = the=20 public.

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