FBI - Yet To Develop A Proper Database Management System
How lack of technology implementation and excessive database can mess up with each other was recently reflected in FBI’s Inspector General’s 120 page audit report in which FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigations) is presented in bad picture for not accomplishing time framed national security name checks in support of immigration and naturalization activities.
As from many of the reasons mentioned in the report for not completing the objective, the more important ones are quoted as “outdated and inefficient technology, personnel who have limited training, overburdened supervisors and inadequate quality assurance measures.” Interestingly, it is reflected that in many cases FBI is still depend on manual work for collecting data and records.
In United States any issue related to immigration and especially name check requires approval from an FBI clerk who further asks for information from 265 separate FBI record locations. The Washington Times was the first newspaper that published news about Audit Faults Delays in Immigrant Name Checks
However, there are many steps in accomplishing name check request depending on number of files an analyst must obtain, the location where a file is kept and amount of information that is contained in a file. In case file is placed locally, he can have access to it in matter of days. In case file is at any of the 265 different FBI locations then the information can be requested from that site. An electronically available file is very easy to retrieve.
For the files, which are not saved, electronically, lots of time on the part of analysts gets invested into searching through dispersed paper files. As mentioned in the report, “FBI files are currently stored at one of approximately 265 locations, including the FBI’s Headquarters facility, several warehouses around the Washington Metropolitan area, in records centers either operated by the NARA or commercial concerns, four large Information Technology Center facilities on the east and west coast, at each of the 56 field offices, many of the larger of our 400 resident agencies, and at legal attaché offices worldwide. This equates to approximately 1.8 million cubic feet of decentralized records storage, which provides some unique challenges to our efforts to be optimally effective and efficient.”
But there is a possible solution to the problem as also advised by FBI is central records repository where all the paper files can be kept on and further all active files can be stored, electronically, so it provides a very viable solution to the problem of data storing and management.
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