From Reuters, 2/20/07:
http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSN2018965520070220
Report finds U.S. terrorism statistics inaccurate
By James Vicini
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -
Nearly all of the terrorism-related statistics reported by the U.S.
Justice Department and the FBI from the September 11 attacks until
early 2005 had some inaccuracies, the department's inspector general
said on Tuesday.
The findings drew immediate criticism from U.S. senators, who said it
raised serious doubts over how effectively the administration was
fighting the terrorism threat.
"If the Department of Justice can't even get their own books in order,
how are we supposed to have any confidence they are doing the job they
should be?," said Sen. Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat.
"Whether this is just an accounting error or an attempt to pad terror
prosecution statistics for some other reason, the Department of
Justice of all places should be classifying cases for what they are,
not what they want us to think them to be," Schumer said.
The report found that only two out of 26 statistics were accurate
after reviewing the number of terrorism convictions in the 2003 and
2004 financial years, the number of convictions or guilty pleas from
September 11, 2001, through February 3, 2005, and the number of
terrorist threats tracked by the FBI in 2003 and 2004.
"We found many cases involving offenses such as immigration
violations, marriage fraud, or drug trafficking where department
officials provided no evidence to link the subject of the case to
terrorist activity," the report said.
Inspector General Glenn Fine said the Justice Department should
clarify the definitions it uses in its anti-terrorism categories,
maintain adequate support for the numbers and improve internal
controls to improve accuracy.
The report found the statistics were inaccurately reported for various
reasons.
Sen. Chuck Grassley, an Iowa Republican and a judiciary committee
member, said of the report:
"The question I have now is whether the inaccuracies are an accident
or if there was some other motive behind it."
The collection and reporting of terrorism-related statistics have been
decentralized and haphazard, according to the report and most of the
statistics were significantly overstated or understated.
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So what's new
Harry
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