Information Technology

In September 2004, the investigative value of the Telephone Application (TA) database was enhanced even further by the inclusion of the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) inmate phone records.

The TA is an investigative tool that also serves as the central repository for all telephone data collected during the course of FBI investigations. Included are pen register data, toll records, trap/trace, tape-edits, dialed digits, airnet (pager intercepts), cellular activity, push-to-talk, and corresponding subscriber information.

Over 87 million BOP inmate telephone call records were added to the TA repository in direct support of a National Joint Terrorism Task Force (NJTTF) Special Project entitled “Correctional Intelligence Initiative”. BOP has continued to provide the Counterterrorism Division (CTD) and TA with new outgoing inmate calls on a weekly basis at a rate of 750,000 call records per week. Once loaded into the existing TA database, these BOP records allow FBI investigators to become aware whenever a targeted individual (or one of their contacts/associates) is contacted by a BOP inmate. The number dialed, call date/time and duration of the phone call is tracked in TA, along with the identification of the inmate that placed each call and the BOP facility where the call was initiated.

Response from the field has been overwhelmingly positive. Numerous investigative personnel have already reported that this project has provided valuable insight into associations that were previously unrealized and unexplored. This system is available throughout the Bureau.

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