Privacy Digest

Virginia Tech Report Cites Privacy Law Problems: WASHINGTON June 13 -- Complicated privacy laws have left education, health care, and law enforcement officials confused about what they can legally tell one another concerning dangerous and mentally ill people, and that confusion has limited the ability of these officials to prevent the kind of violence that occurred at Virginia Tech, according to a federal report released today.

The federal report also says that many states and communities have done too little to prepare for emergencies and violent incidents in schools. And it says that state laws do not uniformly ensure that the federal firearms database is kept current regarding people who should be restricted from possessing firearms.

As a result of these problems, the federal report says, mentally ill people do not get the counseling and monitoring they need, and weapons are not kept from those who should be not have them.

The report was prepared jointly by the departments of Health and Human Services, Justice, and Education at the request of President George W. Bush.

It calls for new federal guidelines to clarify how information can be shared legally under federal privacy laws, and for the Department of Homeland Security to finance joint training exercises among state, local, and campus law enforcement agencies.

The federal report comes two days after the Virginia state office charged with scrutinizing mental health agencies highlighted other problems in the tracking and treatment of potentially dangerous mental health patients. That report described mental health services in Virginia as being underfinanced and ill equipped to evaluate whether people are a danger to themselves or others.

Both reports came partly in response to questions raised about the handling of Seung Hui Cho by state, local and university authorities. Mr. Cho shot 30 students and 2 faculty members to death at Virginia Tech's Blacksburg campus on April 16; his mental health problems were clearly indicated long before his rampage.

(Read Original Article - Via NYT > Home Page.)