About Citizen CorpsFollowing the tragic events that occurred on September 11, 2001, state and local government officials have increased opportunities for citizens to become an integral part of protecting the homeland and supporting the local first responders. Officials agree that the formula for ensuring a more secure and safer homeland consists of preparedness, training, and citizen involvement in supporting first responders. In January 2002, President George W. Bush launched USA Freedom Corps, to capture the spirit of service that has emerged throughout our communities following the terrorist attacks.
Citizen Corps, a vital component of USA Freedom Corps, was created to help coordinate volunteer activities that will make our communities safer, stronger, and better prepared to respond to any emergency situation. It provides opportunities for people to participate in a range of measures to make their families, their homes, and their communities safer from the threats of crime, terrorism, and disasters of all kinds.
Citizen Corps programs build on the successful efforts that are in place in many communities around the country to prevent crime and respond to emergencies. Programs that started through local innovation are the foundation for Citizen Corps and this national approach to citizen participation in community safety.
Citizen Corps is coordinated nationally by the Department of Homeland Security. In this capacity, DHS works closely with other federal entities, state and local governments, first responders and emergency managers, the volunteer community, and the White House Office of the USA Freedom Corps.www.citizencorps.gov
www.usafreedomcorps.gov/
I then looked up Operation TIPS along with Citizen Corps and I came up with this.
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Operation TIPS--the citizen snitch program set up by the Justice Department--was announced on the Citizen Corps Website in spring 2002. It became the subject of huge controversy--even reaching the mainstream media and Congress--thanks to an article in the Sydney Morning Herald on 15 July. At some point during the resulting denunciations of this Stalinesque plan, the text on the TIPS Website was changed.Although some information was added, some of the changes were deletions of specifics. No more list of the exact professions of the main informants. No more reference to a pilot program of one million people in ten cities.
The language was also softened. The phrase "suspicious terrorist activity" became "suspicious, and potentially terrorist-related activity." The phrase "unusual events... suspicious activity" became "potentially unusual or suspicious activity in public places."
Most notably, the exhortation "Volunteer now!" has been removed. Operation TIPS is now being presented as an elite program created by government and industry rather than as a citizen-snitch program that people can join to spy on their neighbors.
For the record, below are versions of the Operation TIPS Website from before and after the change.
http://www.thememoryhole.org/policestate/tips-changes.htm
George and Company have been very busy, and not simply in the illegal electronic spying realm.