> Something to think about next time you decide to ride the rails: Amtrak
> has acknowledged that one of its ticketing offices has been "sharing
> information" about passengers with the Drug Enforcement Administration,
> and then taking a 10 percent cut of any assets seized from drug couriers.
It gets better ...
"We provide a limited amount of information about our passengers to the
D.E.A. and other agencies as a part of their law enforcement activities,"
said Debbie Hare, an Amtrak spokeswoman. "I can't tell you how long it has
been going on, but this program exists all across the country."
So it's not "one of its ticketing offices," but "all across the country."
"A computer link from Amtrak's ticketing terminal in Albuquerque to the
local D.E.A. office allows agents to peruse passengers' names and
itineraries and to see whether they paid in cash or credit. The information
determines which passengers will be questioned or have their luggage
searched by drug-sniffing dogs."
Names, itineraries, cash/credit. This is profiling. They don't give you a
pass when you use a credit card, because then you could beat the
surveillance by using a credit card. They can't investigate everybody who
pays cash because they don't have the manpower. All they get is a vague
indication of wealth and possible preference for anonymity. So they go to
names and itineraries -- national origin, race, gender, religion,
urban/rural. Now we're cookin'. Maybe they toss in the ticket agent's flag
based on his "gut feeling." I wonder if he gets a bonus when he's right.
John Noble
[From Dave Farber's IP. For Dave's archives, see
http://www.interesting-people.org/
Incidentally, apparently Amtrak has just backed off. 25 Apr 2001. PGN] [John Noble via risks-digest Volume 21, Issue 36]
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