[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 209 (Friday, October 28, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66940-66944]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-27883]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Office of the Secretary
[Docket No. DHS-2011-0083]
Privacy Act of 1974; Department of Homeland Security/United
States Secret Service--004 Protection Information System of Records
AGENCY: Privacy Office, DHS.
ACTION: Notice of Privacy Act system of records.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, and as part of the
Department of Homeland Security's biennial review of system of record
notices, DHS/United States Secret Service proposes to update and
reissue a current Department of Homeland Security system of records
titled, ``Department of Homeland Security/United States Secret
Service--004 Protection Information System of Records.'' As a result of
biennial review of this system, information has been updated within the
categories of individuals covered in this system and categories of
records in this system in order to further define and narrow
categories. Routine Use I and J were merged for the purpose of
narrowing scope and clarifying why information would be shared. The
notification procedures were updated to clarify the reason for
exemption and the method for access. Additionally, the Department of
Homeland Security previously published a Final Rule in the Federal
Register to exempt this system of records from certain provisions of
the Privacy Act. The current updates to this system of records do not
impact the nature of the exemptions claimed; the exemptions continue to
apply to this update. This updated system will be included in the
Department of Homeland Security's inventory of record systems.
DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before November 28,
2011.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by docket number DHS-
2011-0083, by one of the following methods:
Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
Fax: 1-(866) 466-5370.
Mail: Mary Ellen Callahan, Chief Privacy Officer, Privacy
Office, Department of Homeland Security, Washington, DC 20528.
Instructions: All submissions received must include the
agency name
[[Page 66941]]
and docket number for this rulemaking. All comments received will be
posted without change to http://www.regulations.gov, including any
personal information provided.
Docket: For access to the docket, to read background
documents, or comments received go to http://www.regulations.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general questions please contact:
Latita Payne (202) 406-6370), Privacy Officer, United States Secret
Service, 245 Murray Lane, SW., Building T-5, Washington, DC 20223. For
privacy issues please contact: Mary Ellen Callahan (703) 235-0780),
Chief Privacy Officer, Privacy Office, U.S. Department of Homeland
Security, Washington, DC 20528.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, 5 U.S.C. 552a, and as
part of the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) biennial review of
system of record notices, DHS/United States Secret Service (USSS)
proposes to update and reissue a current DHS system of records titled,
DHS/USSS-004 Protection Information System of Records. As a result of
biennial review of this system, records have been updated within the
categories of individuals covered in this system and categories of
records in this system in order to further define, narrow, and
eliminate duplicative categories. Routine Use I and J were merged for
the purpose of narrowing scope and clarification. The notification
procedures were updated to clarify the reason for exemption and the
method for access. This updated system will be included in DHS's
inventory of record systems.
Additionally, DHS previously published a Final Rule in the Federal
Register to exempt this system of records from certain provisions of
the Privacy Act. The current updates to this system of records do not
impact the nature of the exemptions claimed; the exemptions continue to
apply to this update. This updated system will be included in the
Department of Homeland Security's inventory of record systems.
II. Privacy Act
The Privacy Act embodies fair information principles in a statutory
framework governing the means by which the United States Government
collects, maintains, uses, and disseminates individuals' records. The
Privacy Act applies to information that is maintained in a ``system of
records.'' A ``system of records'' is a group of any records under the
control of an agency for which information is retrieved by the name of
an individual or by some identifying number, symbol, or other
identifying particular assigned to the individual. In the Privacy Act,
an individual is defined to encompass United States citizens and lawful
permanent residents. As a matter of policy, DHS extends administrative
Privacy Act protections to all individuals where systems of records
maintain information on U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, and
visitors. Individuals may request access to their own records that are
maintained in a system of records in the possession or under the
control of DHS by complying with DHS Privacy Act regulations, 6 CFR
part 5.
The Privacy Act requires that each agency publish in the Federal
Register a description denoting the type and character of each system
of records in order to make agency recordkeeping practices transparent,
to notify individuals about the use of their records, and to assist the
individual to more easily find files within the agency. Below is a
description of the Protection Information System.
In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552a(r), DHS has provided a report of
this revised system of records to the Office of Management and Budget
and to the Congress.
System of Records
Department of Homeland Security (DHS)/United States Secret Service
(USSS)-004
System name:
DHS/USSS-004 Protection Information System
Security classification:
Unclassified and Classified.
System location:
Records are maintained at the United States Secret Service
Headquarters, 950 H St., NW., Washington, DC 20223, other locations in
Washington, DC, and field offices.
Categories of individuals covered by the system:
Individuals who have been or are currently the subject of
a criminal investigation by USSS or another law enforcement agency for
the violation of certain criminal statutes relating to the safety of
persons or security of properties, facilities, and areas protected by
USSS;
Individuals who are the subjects of investigative records
and reports supplied to USSS by Federal, State, and local law
enforcement agencies, foreign or domestic, other non-law enforcement
governmental agencies, or private institutions and individuals, in
conjunction with the protective function of USSS;
Individuals who are the subjects of non-criminal
protective and background investigations by USSS and other law
enforcement agencies;
Individuals who are granted or denied ingress and egress
to areas secured by USSS, or to areas in proximity to persons protected
by USSS, including but not limited to: invitees; passholders;
tradesmen; and law enforcement, maintenance, or service personnel;
Individuals who are witnesses, protectees, suspects,
complainants, informants, defendants, fugitives, released prisoners,
and correspondents who have been identified by USSS or from information
supplied by other law enforcement agencies, governmental units, private
institutions, and members of the general public in connection with USSS
performance of its authorized protective functions;
Individuals who have sought an audience or contact with
persons protected by USSS;
Individuals who have been involved in incidents or events
which relate to the protective functions of the USSS; and
Individuals protected by the USSS.
Categories of records in the system:
Individual's name;
Address;
Date of Birth;
Case number;
Arrest record;
Nature and disposition of criminal charges, sentencing,
confinement, release, and parole or probation status;
Records concerning agency activities associated with
protectee movements and other protective measures taken on a
protectee's behalf;
Records containing information compiled for the purpose of
identifying and evaluating individuals who may constitute a threat to
the safety of persons or security of areas protected by the USSS;
Records containing information compiled for the purpose of
a criminal investigation, including reports of informants and
investigators, which are associated with an identifiable individual;
Informant's name and contact information (e.g., address;
phone number);
Records containing reports relative to an individual
compiled at various
[[Page 66942]]
stages of the process of enforcement of certain criminal laws from
arrest or indictment through release from supervision;
Records containing information supplied by other Federal,
State, and local law enforcement agencies, foreign or domestic, other
non-law enforcement governmental agencies, private institutions and
persons concerning individuals who, because of their activities,
personality traits, criminal or mental history, or history of social
deviancy, may be of interest to the USSS in connection with the
performance by that agency of its protective functions; and
Records containing information compiled for the purpose of
background investigations of individuals, including but not limited to,
passholders, tradesmen, maintenance or service personnel who have
access and/or have been denied access to areas secured by or who may be
in proximity to persons protected by USSS.
Authority for maintenance of the system:
The Homeland Security Act of 2002, Public Law 107-296; 5 U.S.C.
301; Federal Records Act, 44 U.S.C. 3101; 18 U.S.C. 3056; 18 U.S.C.
3056A and 6 CFR part 5.
Purpose(s):
The purpose of this system is to assist USSS in protecting its
protectees by recording information necessary to implement protective
measures and to investigate individuals who may come into proximity
with a protectee, including individuals who have been involved in
incidents or events which relate to the protective functions of the
USSS, and individuals who have sought to make contact with a protectee.
Routine uses of records maintained in the system, including categories
of users and the purposes of such uses:
In addition to those disclosures generally permitted under 5 U.S.C.
552a(b) of the Privacy Act, all or a portion of the records or
information contained in this system may be disclosed outside the
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as a routine use pursuant to 5
U.S.C. 552a(b)(3) as follows:
A. To the Department of Justice or other federal agency conducting
litigation or in proceedings before any court, adjudicative or
administrative body, when it is necessary to the litigation and one of
the following is a party to the litigation or has an interest in such
litigation:
1. DHS or any component thereof;
2. Any employee of DHS in his/her official capacity;
3. Any employee of DHS in his/her individual capacity where DOJ or
DHS has agreed to represent the employee; or
4. The United States or any agency thereof, is a party to the
litigation or has an interest in such litigation, and DHS determines
that the records are both relevant and necessary to the litigation and
the use of such records is compatible with the purpose for which DHS
collected the records.
B. To a congressional office from the record of an individual in
response to an inquiry from that congressional office made at the
request of the individual to whom the record pertains.
C. To the National Archives and Records Administration or other
federal government agencies pursuant to records management inspections
being conducted under the authority of 44 U.S.C. 2904 and 2906.
D. To an agency, organization, or individual for the purpose of
performing audit or oversight operations as authorized by law, but only
such information as is necessary and relevant to such audit or
oversight function.
E. To appropriate agencies, entities, and persons when:
1. DHS suspects or has confirmed that the security or
confidentiality of information in the system of records has been
compromised;
2. The Department has determined that as a result of the suspected
or confirmed compromise there is a risk of harm to economic or property
interests, identity theft or fraud, or harm to the security or
integrity of this system or other systems or programs (whether
maintained by DHS or another agency or entity) or harm to the
individual who relies upon the compromised information; and
3. The disclosure made to such agencies, entities, and persons is
reasonably necessary to assist in connection with DHS's efforts to
respond to the suspected or confirmed compromise and prevent, minimize,
or remedy such harm.
F. To contractors and their agents, grantees, experts, consultants,
and others performing or working on a contract, service, grant,
cooperative agreement, or other assignment for DHS, when necessary to
accomplish an agency function related to this system of records.
Individuals provided information under this routine use are subject to
the same Privacy Act requirements and limitations on disclosure as are
applicable to DHS officers and employees.
G. To an appropriate Federal, State, tribal, local, international,
or foreign law enforcement agency or other appropriate authority
charged with investigating or prosecuting a violation or enforcing or
implementing a law, rule, regulation, or order, where a record, either
on its face or in conjunction with other information, indicates a
violation or potential violation of law, which includes criminal,
civil, or regulatory violations and such disclosure is proper and
consistent with the official duties of the person making the
disclosure.
H. To the Department of Justice and other Federal, State, and local
governmental agencies having a prosecution function for the use of
attorneys, magistrates, and judges; and the parole and probation
authorities for the purpose of prosecuting, sentencing, and determining
the parole and probation status of criminal offenders or suspected
criminal offenders; and for civil and other proceedings involving USSS
protective functions.
I. To Federal, State, and local governmental agencies, foreign and
domestic, for the purposes of developing information on subjects
involved in USSS protective investigations and the evaluation of
persons considered to be of protective interest and for the purpose of
protective functions.
J. To Federal, State, and local governmental agencies, private
institutions and private individuals, for the purpose of implementing
protective measures.
K. To personnel of Federal, State, and local governmental agencies,
foreign and domestic, when reasonably necessary to the exercise of the
USSS protective function.
L. To private institutions and private individuals, identifying
information pertaining to actual or suspected criminal offenders or
other individuals considered to be of protective interest, for the
purpose of furthering USSS efforts to evaluate the danger such
individuals pose to persons protected by the agency.
M. To a court, magistrate, or administrative tribunal in the course
of presenting evidence, including disclosures to opposing counsel or
witnesses in the course of civil discovery, litigation, or settlement
negotiations or in connection with criminal law proceedings or in
response to a subpoena from a court of competent jurisdiction.
N. To an appropriate Federal, State, local, tribal, foreign, or
international agency, if the information is relevant and necessary to a
requesting agency's decision concerning the hiring or retention of an
individual, or the issuance of a security clearance, license, contract,
grant, or other benefit, or if the information is relevant and
necessary to
[[Page 66943]]
a DHS decision concerning the hiring or retention of an employee, the
issuance of a security clearance, the reporting of an investigation of
an employee, the letting of a contract, the issuance of a license,
grant or other benefit and when disclosure is appropriate to the proper
performance of the official duties of the person making the request.
O. To the news media and the public, with the approval of the Chief
Privacy Officer in consultation with counsel, when there exists a
legitimate public interest in the disclosure of the information or when
disclosure is necessary to preserve confidence in the integrity of DHS
or is necessary to demonstrate the accountability of DHS's officers,
employees, or individuals covered by the system, except to the extent
it is determined that release of the specific information in the
context of a particular case would constitute an unwarranted invasion
of personal privacy.
Disclosure to consumer reporting agencies:
None.
Policies and practices for storing, retrieving, accessing, retaining,
and disposing of records in the system:
Storage:
Paper and electronic records in this system are stored in secure
facilities behind locked doors. Electronic records media, such as
magnetic tape, magnetic disk, digital media, and CD ROM are stored in
proper environmental controls.
Retrievability:
This system is indexed by case number, name, and other identifying
data and other case related data, in master and magnetic media indices.
Records may be retrieved by any of these indices. Access to the
physical files is located at field offices, Headquarters, and other
Washington, DC locations.
Safeguards:
Records in this system are safeguarded in accordance with
applicable rules and policies, including all applicable DHS and USSS
automated systems security and access policies. Strict controls have
been imposed to minimize the risk of compromising the information that
is being stored, processed, and transmitted. Access to the records in
this system is limited to those individuals who have a USSS approved
need to know the information for the performance of their official
duties and who have appropriate clearances or permissions.
Retention and disposal:
Protective intelligence case records, including non-judicial
protective intelligence cases, are routinely retained for a period of
up to 5 years from the date of last action; or for 10 years from the
date of last action if they contain electronic records. All judicial
records are retained for a period of 20 years from the date of last
action, unless otherwise required to be held permanently for transfer
to the National Archives and Records Administration. Files relating to
issuance of White House Complex passes for employees of the White
House, Secret Service Employees, press representatives accredited at
the White House, and other authorized individuals are retained for a
period of 8 years from the date the file is closed. Records pertaining
to the administration and operations of Secret Service protective
program, shift reports, survey files, and special event files are
retained for a period of 3 to 5 years from the end of the event.
Records pertaining to trip files for domestic travel are retained for 5
years, and trip files for foreign travel are retained for 10 years from
the end of the event. Campaign related files are retained for a period
of 30 years after the end of the campaign and subsequently transferred
to the National Archives and Records Administration.
System Manager and address:
Assistant Director, Office of Strategic Intelligence and
Information; Assistant Director, Office of Technical Development and
Mission Support; and Assistant Director, Office of Protective
Operations, U.S. Secret Service, 245 Murray Drive SW., Building T-5,
Washington, DC 20223.
Notification procedure:
The Secretary of Homeland Security has exempted this system from
the notification, access, and amendment procedures of the Privacy Act
because it is a law enforcement system. However, DHS/USSS will consider
individual requests to determine whether or not information may be
released. Thus, individuals seeking notification of and access to any
record contained in this system of records, or seeking to contest its
content, may submit a request in writing to the USSS FOIA Officer,
Freedom of Information and Privacy Acts Program, 245 Murray Drive, SW.,
Building T-5, Washington, DC 20223. If an individual believes more than
one component maintains Privacy Act records concerning him or her, the
individual may submit the request to the DHS FOIA Officer, whose
contact information can be found at http://www.dhs.gov/foia.
When seeking records about yourself from this system of records or
any other USSS system of records your request must conform with the
Privacy Act regulations set forth in 6 CFR part 5. You must first
verify your identity, meaning that you must provide your full name,
current address and date and place of birth. You must sign your
request, and your signature must either 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. While no specific form is
required, you may obtain forms for this purpose from the Director,
Disclosure and FOIA, http://www.dhs.gov or 1-(866) 431-0486. In
addition you should provide the following:
An explanation of why you believe the Department would
have information on you;
Specify when you believe the records would have been
created; and
If your request is seeking records pertaining to another
living individual, you must include a statement from that individual
certifying his/her agreement for you to access his/her records.
Without this bulleted information USSS may not be able to conduct
an effective search, and your request may be denied due to lack of
specificity or lack of compliance with applicable regulations.
Record access procedures:
See ``Notification procedure'' above.
Contesting record procedures:
See ``Notification procedure'' above.
Record Source Categories:
The Secretary of Homeland Security has exempted this system from
subsections (e)(4)(I) of the Privacy Act pursuant to 5 U.S.C.
552a(j)(2) and (k)(2) and (k)(3); therefore, records sources shall not
be disclosed.
Exemptions claimed for the system:
Pursuant to exemption 5 U.S.C. 552a(j)(2) of the Privacy Act and
the limitations therein, this system is exempt from 5 U.S.C. 552a(c)(3)
and (4); (d); (e)(1), (e)(2), (e)(3), (e)(4)(G), (e)(4)(H), (e)(4)(I),
(e)(5) and (e)(8); (f); and (g). Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a (k)(1),
(k)(2), and (k)(3) this system is exempt from the following provisions
of the Privacy Act, subject to the limitations set forth in those
subsections: 5 U.S.C. 552a(c)(3), (d), (e)(1), (e)(4)(G), (e)(4)(H),
(e)(4)(I), and (f). In addition, to the extent a record contains
information from other exempt Systems of Records,
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USSS will rely on the exemptions claimed for those systems.
Dated: September 22, 2011.
Mary Ellen Callahan,
Chief Privacy Officer, Department of Homeland Security.
[FR Doc. 2011-27883 Filed 10-27-11; 8:45 am]
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