The National Suspicious Activity Reporting Initiative and the Production of U.S. Domestic Intelligence

Abstract

"In the summer of 2002, controversy over U.S. government plans to fight the terrorist threat erupted into public discourse. The Terrorism Information and Prevention System (TIPS), introduced by Attorney General Ashcroft as part of President Bush's Freedom Corps initiative, would deputize millions of American workers to be on the lookout for suspicious activity. Specifically, the TIPS program looked to enlist" American workers who, in the daily course of their work, are in a unique position to see potentially unusual or suspicious activity in public places.""