美国国土安全部秘密预测警务部门监控公民财务活动

美国国土安全部下属边境巡逻队运营着一个名为"预测性智能打击小组"（PITT）的秘密预测警务部门，该部门分析美国人的财务活动模式，向本地执法部门提供情报以便进行拦截和搜查1。据边境巡逻队特工Matthew Phelps所述，执法敏感数据库中包含"与非法毒品活动相关联的财务活动模式"1。目前已确认PITT至少在华盛顿州斯波坎边境部门和德克萨斯州拉雷多边境部门存在1。

蒙大拿州居民Kyle William Olson的案例凸显了这一做法的实际影响1。Olson在Interstate 90被警官James Beck以阻挡车牌为由拦下，但拦截实际上源于PITT的财务分析情报1。随后Olson被指控酒驾和持有毒品意图贩运1。美国海关与边境保护局（CBP）拒绝说明其如何监控财务活动以及是否获得搜查令1。

民主与技术中心安全与监视项目副主任Jake Laperruque指出，"真正的可能原因不能通过人为方式生成"1。此前美联社的调查发现，边境巡逻队已在同一预测性警务计划中使用自动车牌识别系统（ALPR）1。尽管边境巡逻队运营20个边境部门，但CBP拒绝确认其他部门是否也建立了PITT1。

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security operates a secretive predictive policing program within the Border Patrol that analyzes Americans' financial habits to generate law enforcement leads. 1 The unit, known as Predictive Intelligence Targeting Teams (PITT), has been confirmed to exist at the Border Patrol sectors in Spokane, Washington and Laredo, Texas. 1 Border Patrol Agent Matthew Phelps documented that law enforcement-sensitive databases contain "financial activity patterns commonly associated with illicit narcotics activity," which the agency uses to inform local police operations. 1

The program's tactics came to light through a specific case involving Kyle William Olson, who was stopped on Interstate 90 in Montana by police officer James Beck ostensibly for an obstructed license plate. 1 In reality, the stop was based on intelligence from PITT's financial analysis. 1 Olson was subsequently charged with driving under the influence and possession of drugs with intent to distribute. 1 The Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency has refused to disclose how it monitors financial activity or whether it obtained search warrants for such surveillance. 1

Critics have raised constitutional concerns about the program's methodology. Jake Laperruque, deputy director of the security and surveillance program at the Center for Democracy & Technology, stated that "genuine probable cause cannot be synthetically generated." 1 The program represents an expansion of CBP's predictive enforcement capabilities, building on an earlier practice documented by the Associated Press involving automatic license plate readers (ALPR) as part of the same predictive policing framework. 1 CBP operates 20 Border Patrol sectors across the country but has declined to confirm whether PITT units exist at locations beyond those already identified. 1