The FBI issued a statement Wednesday saying it has implemented measures to address all 16 recommendations by the Inspector General “which are all now resolved” and it remains “committed to improving our watchlist policy and practices”.
The Inspector General Report saw it differently by concluding: “Nevertheless, the FBI’s own review and our work in this audit indicate that weaknesses continue to exist, that significant improvements are still necessary, and that it is too early to tell whether the deficiencies identified in this audit have been fully addressed.”
By DEVLIN BARRETT
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON — The FBI is slow to update the national terror suspect watchlist — and the lapses pose real risks to U.S. security, a Justice Department audit has found.
A report by the Justice Department’s Inspector General, Glenn Fine, found 12 terror suspects who were either not watchlisted or were slow to be added to the list may have traveled into or out of the United States during the period when they were not placed on the list.
The watchlist, which is used to screen people entering the U.S. and by local law enforcement, contains more than 1.1 million names.
In 15 percent of the cases auditors reviewed, subjects were not nominated to the watchlist, contrary to FBI policy.
In some instances, people with names matching subjects who were not watchlisted — or who were not put on the list in a timely fashion — attempted to cross U.S. borders during the period their names were not placed on the list by the FBI, according to the report.
