US planning to recruit one in 24 Americans as citizen spies
From: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/07/14/1026185141232.html
By Ritt Goldstein July 15 2002

The Bush Administration aims to recruit millions of United States citizens as domestic informants in a program likely to alarm civil liberties groups.

The Terrorism Information and Prevention System, or TIPS, means the US will have a higher percentage of citizen informants than the former East Germany through the infamous Stasi secret police. The program would use a minimum of 4 per cent of Americans to report "suspicious activity".

Civil liberties groups have already warned that, with the passage earlier this year of the Patriot Act, there is potential for abusive, large-scale investigations of US citizens.

As with the Patriot Act, TIPS is being pursued as part of the so-called war against terrorism. It is a Department of Justice project.

Highlighting the scope of the surveillance network, TIPS volunteers are being recruited primarily from among those whose work provides access to homes, businesses or transport systems. Letter carriers, utility employees, truck drivers and train conductors are among those named as targeted recruits.

http://www.dojgov.net/TIPS-01.htm
Articles on the TIPS system and its ramifications

http://www.prisonplanet.com/news_alert_citizencorps_tips.html
Article with the specifics of the TIPS program (Fact sheet)

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines02/0717-04.htm
Article on TIPS with US Senator interviews