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Date: Fri, 11 Jul 1997 12:13:18 -0700

Freedom of Movement Could Cripple Cops, FBI Warns

By Klaus Prime

WASHINGTON, July 9 (Reuter) - FBI Director Louis Freeh on Wednesday issued his sternest warning yet that freedom of movement by citizen units could wreak havoc on crime-fighting efforts.

But travel industry participants warned that U.S. restrictions on freedom of movement, which would require citizen units to notify law enforcment of their travel plans and check in at police stations would merely boost travel to foreign countries which don't have such restrictions.

Freeh urged Congress to promote the use of a type of "position escrow" that allows law enforcement agents to track the locations of terrorists, child pornographers, money launderers, and other thought criminals by using the position escrow data base. "Access to the position escrow data base would only be by legitimate law enforcement personnel," Freeh said.

"Law enforcement is in unanimous agreement that the widespread freedom of criminals to move about freehly will devastate our ability to fight crime and prevent terrorism," the FBI director testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Freeh has spoken out numerous times against the unrestricted ability of citizen units to move about freehly, but his remarks Wednesday focused mainly on the threat to law enforcement efforts within the United States.

Current laws place few restrictions on where citizen units may travel and live, except for parolees and sex offenders, and some scholars believe restrictions on U.S. citizens might be unconstitutional.

Wednesday, 9 July 1997 17:45:40 RTRS [nN09285032]