Report: Justice wants more surveillance funds

A good portion of the $1.8 billion increase the Justice Department is requesting in its 2003 budget will be devoted to funding new surveillance and electronic security programs, according to a new report. "There is a dramatic increase in the amount of money proposed to be spent next year for monitoring in the United States," Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), told reporters in a conference call. "We do not come out flatly against the recommended budget, but we have concerns." EPIC's report, "Paying for Big Brother: A Review of the Proposed FY2003 Budget for the Department of Justice," delves into some of the new electronic surveillance funding called for under the proposed budget. Authors of the report said while they acknowledge heightened security concerns in the post-Sept. 11 environment, they question some of the Justice Department's requests. "Many such initiatives may be necessary and beneficial in meeting the department's objective of preventing and prosecuting crime, especially terrorism," the report says. "However, the budget documents ... lack adequate transparency and level of detail concerning the department's programs." Rotenberg said lawmakers should scrutinize the budget request. "We do think Congress should ask hard questions, and we believe this report will form the basis for questions by Congress and the public," Rotenberg said. One line item in the Justice Department budget is a $14.5 million request to continue the nationwide deployment of the Joint Automated Booking system, a nationwide database of everyone who comes in contact with local, state and national law enforcement agencies. The budget also includes a substantial increase in funding to track the movements of non-U.S. citizens in the country. The Justice Department wasn't immediately available for comment on this story. The study is online at www.epic.org.Newsbytes staff writer Michael Bartlett contributed to this report.