What Happens In Las Vegas Stays in Database

The end of the month may be a good time to get a good deal on a new car, but you might want to reconsider going to Las Vegas then as you might end up with your name on a Kafka-esque government watchlist.

Las Vegas-based Federal Air Marshals tell ABC 7News in Denver that an unofficial quota system requires them to file at least one "Surveillance Detection Report" a month or their job ratings will fall.

What kind of impact would it have for a flying individual to be named in an SDR?

"That could have serious impact ... They could be placed on a watch list. They could wind up on databases that identify them as potential terrorists or a threat to an aircraft. It could be very serious," said Don Strange, a former agent in charge of air marshals in Atlanta. He lost his job attempting to change policies inside the agency.

That's why several air marshals object to a July 2004 memo from top management in the Las Vegas office, a memo that reminded air marshals of the SDR requirement.

The body of the memo said, "Each federal air marshal is now expected to generate at least one SDR per month."[...]

One example, according to air marshals, occurred on one flight leaving Las Vegas, when an unknowing passenger, most likely a tourist, was identified in an SDR for doing nothing more than taking a photo of the Las Vegas skyline as his plane rolled down the runway.

Homeland Security officials deny there is a quota system, but documents acquired by the station show this is at best, a non-denial denial.

Although the agency strongly denies any presence of a quota system, Las Vegas-based air marshals have produced documents that show their performance review is directly linked to producing SDRs.

And you thought traffic and parking ticket quotas were bad.

These allegations are screaming for a follow-up with a Freedom of Information Act request, but that's surely futile given that any documents about how the Federal Air Marshals operate are going to be slapped with an SSI designation and will never be released to the public.

Photo (List of Random Names, Not a Watch List): tompagenet