Before you board an airplane, your background will be checked WASHINGTON (AP) =97 The government is getting ready to test a new=20 risk-detection system that would check background information and assign a= =20 threat level to everyone who buys a ticket for a commercial flight. The=20 system, ordered by Congress after the Sept. 11 attacks, will gather much=20 more information on passengers. Delta Air Lines will try it out at three=20 airports beginning next month, and a comprehensive system could be in place= =20 by the end of the year. Transportation officials say a contractor will be=20 picked soon to build the nationwide computer system, which will check such= =20 things as credit reports and bank account activity and compare passenger=20 names with those on government watch lists. Advocates say the system will=20 weed out dangerous people while ensuring law-abiding citizens aren't given= =20 unnecessary scrutiny. Critics see a potential for unconstitutional=20 invasions of privacy and for database mix-ups that could lead to innocent=20 people being branded security risks. There also is concern that the government is developing the system without= =20 revealing how information will be gathered and how long it will be kept.=20 "We may be creating a massive surveillance system without public=20 discussion," said Barry Steinhardt, an American Civil Liberties Union= director. Transportation officials say CAPPS II =97 Computer Assisted Passenger=20 Prescreening System =97 will use databases that already operate in line with= =20 privacy laws and won't profile based on race, religion or ethnicity. "What= =20 it does is have very fast access to existing databases so we can quickly=20 validate the person's identity," Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta= said. An oversight panel, which will include a member of the public, is being=20 formed. And the Transportation Security Administration will set up=20 procedures to resolve complaints by people who say they don't belong on the= =20 watch lists. Transportation Department spokesman Chet Lunner said a Federal= =20 Register notice about CAPPS II that said the background information will be= =20 stored for 50 years is inaccurate. He said such information will be held=20 only for people deemed security risks. Jay Stanley, an ACLU spokesman, was= =20 skeptical. "When it says in print, 50 years, we'd like to see something=20 else in print to counter that," he said. Airlines already do rudimentary checks of information the passenger=20 supplies, such as method of payment, address and when the ticket was=20 reserved. The system was developed by Northwest Airlines in the early 1990s= =20 to spot possible hijackers. Unusual behavior, such as purchasing a one-way ticket with cash, is=20 supposed to prompt increased scrutiny at the airport. Capt. Steve Luckey, an airline pilot who helped develop the system, said=20 CAPPS II will help identify a passenger's possible intentions before he=20 gets on a plane. Unlike the current system, in which data stays with the airlines'=20 reservation systems, the new setup will be managed by TSA. Only government= =20 officials with proper security clearance will be able to use it. CAPPS II=20 will collect data and rate each passenger's risk potential according to a=20 three-color system: green, yellow, red. When travelers check in, their=20 names will be punched into the system and the boarding passes encrypted=20 with the ranking. TSA screeners will check the passes at checkpoints. The=20 vast majority of passengers will be rated green and won't be subjected to=20 anything more than normal checks, while yellow will get extra screening and= =20 red won't fly. Paul Hudson, executive director of the Aviation Consumer=20 Action Project, which advocates airline safety and security, is skeptical=20 the system will work. "The whole track record of profiling is a very poor=20 to mixed one," Hudson said, noting profiles of the Unabomber and the=20 Washington-area snipers were wrong. Nine to 11 of the 19 hijackers on Sept. 11 were flagged by CAPPS, but=20 weren't searched because the system gave a pass to passengers who didn't=20 check their bags, Hudson said. People without checked bags now are=20 included. Two other post-Sept. 11 efforts by other federal agencies to=20 gather information on private citizens encountered roadblocks. Operation=20 TIPS, a Justice Department initiative to encourage citizens to report=20 suspicious activities, was shelved last year because of widespread=20 opposition. Similar privacy concerns prompted Congress to cut off funding=20 for the Pentagon's Total Information Awareness, which would mine government= =20 and commercial databases to identify potential terrorists. Lawmakers want=20 the Defense Department to come up with better oversight policies. *************************************************** The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site/TnTisland.com Roj (Roger James) escape email mailto:ejames@escape.ca Trinbago site: www.tntisland.com Carib Brass Ctn site www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ Steel Expressions www.mts.net/~ejames/se/ Site of the Week: http://www.dbombo.net/muddyangels/ TnT Webdirectory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************