70 FR 7513, 7514 / 02-14-05
JUSTICE/FBI-006
System Name: Electronic Surveillance (ELSUR) Indices
System Location: Records may be maintained at all locations at which the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) operates, including: J. Edgar Hoover FBI Bldg., 935 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20535; FBI Academy and FBI Laboratory, Quantico, VA 22135; FBI Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) Division, 1000 Custer Hollow Rd., Clarksburg, WV 26306; FBI field offices, legal attaches, and information technology centers as listed on the FBI's Internet Web site, http://www.fbi.gov, including any future revisions to the Web site.
Cateories of Individuals Covered by the System: Individuals and entities who have been the targets of electronic surveillance coverage sought, conducted, or administered by the FBI pursuant to a court order, consensual monitoring, or other authority; those who have been a party to a communication or present in a locale monitored/recorded electronically pursuant to such electronic surveillance; those who own, lease, license, hold a possessory interest in, or commonly use the property or location subjected to such electronic surveillance; and those involved in the administration of the electronic surveillance, for example, the judge issuing or denying an order for an electronic surveillance application, the prosecuting attorney, and the officials who authorized the filing of the application.
Categories of Records in the System: The ELSUR Indices are comprised of four types of records:
1) Principal records identify, by true name or best known name, all persons, entities, and facilities who have been the targets of electronic surveillance coverage sought, conducted, or administered by the FBI pursuant to a court order or other authority. These records include, but are not limited to, persons, entities, and facilities named in an application filed in support of an affidavit seeking a court order to conduct or administer an electronic surveillance. Principal records may also include descriptive data associated with the name appearing on the record.
2) Proprietary-interest records identify entities and/or individuals who own, lease, license, hold a possessory interest in, or commonly use the property or location subjected to an electronic surveillance. Proprietary interest records may identify individuals involved in the administration of the electronic surveillance; for example, the judge issuing or denying an order for an electronic surveillance application, the prosecuting attorney, the officials who authorized the filing of the application. Proprietary-interest records may also include descriptive data associated with the name appearing on the record.
3) Intercept records identify, by true name or best known name, individuals who have been reasonably identified by a first name or initial and a last name as being a party to a communication monitored/ recorded electronically pursuant to an electronic surveillance. Intercept records also identify entities that have been a party to a communication or present in a locale monitored/recorded electronically pursuant to an electronic surveillance. Intercept records may include descriptive data associated with the name appearing on the record.
4) Reference records identify, by partial name, such as a first name only, last name only, code name, nickname, or alias those individuals who have been a party to a communication or present in a locale monitored/recorded electronically pursuant to an electronic surveillance, and may include descriptive data associated with the individual. If the individual is later identified by a more complete name, e.g., through further monitoring or normal investigative procedures, the reference record is re-entered as an intercept record.
Authority of Maintenance for the System: The ELSUR Indices were initiated in October, 1966, at the recommendation of the Department of Justice and relate to electronic surveillance sought, administered, and/or conducted by the FBI since January 1, 1960. The authority for the maintenance of these records is title 5, United States Code, section 301; title 44, United States Code, section 3101; title 18, United States Code, section 2510, et seq.; title 18, United States Code, section 3504; title 28, United States Code, section 533; title 50, United States Code 1801, et seq.; and title 28, Code of Federal Regulations, section 0.85.
Purposes(s): These records are used by the FBI to maintain certain information regarding electronic surveillance sought, conducted or administered by the FBI in order to permit the agency to respond to judicial inquiries about possible electronic surveillance coverage of any individual or entity, and to enable the Government to certify, as requested by federal, state or local law enforcement agencies, whether or not an individual, entity, facility, or place on whom a court ordered authority is being sought for electronic surveillance coverage has ever been subjected to electronic surveillance coverage in the past.
Routine Uses of Recors Maintained in the System, Including Categories of Users and the Purposes of Such Uses: The FBI may disclose relevant system records in accordance with any current and future blanket routine uses established for FBI records systems. See Blanket Routine Uses (BRU) Applicable to More Than One FBI Privacy Act System of Records, Justice/FBI-BRU, published on June 22, 2001 at 66 FR 33558 and amended in today's Federal Register (and any future revisions).
In addition, as routine uses specific to this system, the FBI may disclose relevant system records to the following persons or entities under the circumstances or for the purposes described below, to the extent such disclosures are compatible with the purpose for which the information was collected. (Routine uses are not meant to be mutually exclusive and may overlap in some cases.)
A) To the judiciary in response to inquiries about possible electronic surveillance coverage of any individual or entity.
B) To federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement officers to enable the government to certify whether or not an individual, entity, facility, or place on whom a court ordered authority is being sought for electronic surveillance coverage has ever been subjected to electronic surveillance coverage in the past.
C) To a federal, state, local, joint, tribal, foreign, international, or other public agency/organization, where such disclosure serves a law enforcement purpose, such as sharing information of intelligence value with other law enforcement or intelligence agencies to whose lawful responsibilities the information may be germane.
D) To any person or entity in either the public or private sector, domestic or foreign, if deemed by the FBI to be reasonably necessary in eliciting information or cooperation from the recipient for use by the FBI in the performance of an authorized function, e.g., disclosure of personal information to a member of the public in order to elicit his/ her assistance/cooperation in a criminal, security, or employment background investigation.
E) To any person or entity in either the public or private sector, domestic or foreign, where there is reason to believe that a person or entity could become the target of a particular criminal activity or conspiracy, to the extent the disclosure of information is deemed by the FBI to be reasonable and relevant to the protection of life, health, or property of such target.
Policies and Practices for Storing, Retrieving, Accessing, Retaining and Disposing of Records in the System:
Storage: The majority of the records are maintained in an automated data base. Some records are maintained in hard-copy (paper) format or other form.
Retrievability: Information typically will be retrieved by the name of the individual or entity. Telephone numbers and other such serial or identification numbers are retrievable numerically. Locations targeted are retrievable by street name.
Safeguards: System records are maintained in limited access space in FBI facilities and offices. Computerized data is password protected. All FBI personnel are required to pass an extensive background investigation. The information is accessed only by authorized DOJ personnel or by non-DOJ personnel properly authorized to assist in the conduct of an agency function related to these records.
Retention and Disposal : A reference record is purged if the individual is later identified by a more complete name and converted to an intercept record. Remaining reference records are purged from the system as follows. Those relating to court ordered electronic surveillance are purged six months from the date the corresponding authorization for the surveillance expires. Reference records relating to consensual intercepts are purged one year from the last intercept date shown on the record. Until advised to the contrary by the Department of Justice, the courts, or applicable legislation, all other indices records will be maintained indefinitely and have been declared permanent by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) (Job No. NC1-65-82-4, Part E, item 2(t)).
System Manager(s) and Address: Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation, 935 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20535.
Notification Procedure: Same as Record Access Procedures.
Record Access Procedures: A request for notification as to whether a record about an individual exists in the system and/or for access to a record from the system shall be made in writing with the envelope and the letter clearly marked "Privacy Act Request." Include in the request your full name and complete address. The requester must sign the request; and, to verify it, the signature must be notarized or submitted under 28 U.S.C. 1746, a law that permits statements to be made under penalty of perjury as a substitute for notarization. You may submit any other identifying data you wish to furnish to assist in making a proper search of the system. Requests for access to information maintained at FBI Headquarters must be addressed to the Record/Information Dissemination Section, Federal Bureau of Investigation, 935 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20535-0001. Requests for information maintained at FBI field offices, information technology centers, or other locations must be made separately and addressed to the specific field office, information technology center, or other location as listed on the FBI's Internet Web site, http://www.fbi.gov, including any future revisions to the Web site.
Some information may be exempt from notification and/or access procedures as described in the section titled "Exemptions Claimed for the System." An individual who is the subject of one or more records in this system may be notified of records that are not exempt from notification and may access those records that are not exempt from disclosure. A determination on notification and access will be made at the time a request is received.
Contesting Record Procedues: If you desire to contest or amend information maintained in the system, you should also direct your request to the appropriate FBI office, stating clearly and concisely what information is being contested, the reasons for contesting it, and the proposed amendment to the information sought.
Some information may be exempt from contesting record procedures as described in the section titled "Exemptions Claimed for the System." An individual who is the subject of one or more records in this system may contest and pursue amendment of those records that are not exempt. A determination whether a record may be subject to amendment will be made at the time a request is received.
Record Source Categories: Information in the indices is derived from electronic surveillance, public source information, and other FBI record systems.
Exemptions Claimed for the System: The Attorney General has exempted this system from subsections (c)(3) and (4), (d), (e)(1), (2) and (3), (e)(4)(G) and(H), (e)(5) and (8), (f), (g) and (m) of the Privacy Act pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(j). Rules have been promulgated in accordance with the requirements of 5 U.S.C. 553(b), (c) and (e), have been published in the Federal Register, and are codified at 28 CFR 16.96(c) and (d).
Dated: February 4, 2005
