THE FBI'S COMPUTER woes are a long-running and very expensive saga. You might expect that a modern law enforcement agency serving as the front line in the domestic war on terrorism would have modern computer capability; certainly, agencies with three-letter initials in the movies do. But the bureau has struggled to bring its information technology into the late 20th century -- which is, five years into the 21st, just not good enough. The most recent setback is its announcement this month that its long-awaited Virtual Case File software is inadequate and might have to be scrapped entirely. The project -- a system for managing and sharing case-related documents electronically -- has reportedly cost $170 million, and its failure leaves agents with no immediate prospect of modern case management. FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III, who has made fixing the bureau's computer problems a priority, pronounced himself "frustrated" by the delay. But that won't do anymore. He needs to explain how, once again, the bureau paid so much for so little and who, exactly, is responsible.
To be fair, the FBI has made considerable progress. As part of the so-called "Trilogy" project, which has cost nearly $600 million altogether, it has deployed a new, secure network and a wide array of computer hardware. But the case-file software was an essential ingredient that was to make use of this new hardware, replacing the antiquated database system the agency now uses.
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The bureau has had repeated warnings that the Virtual Case File project was not going smoothly; there were delays and reports of problems. The signs were not subtle. But somehow, the FBI stuck with the project. And last month, it managed to receive from the responsible contractor, Science Applications International Corp., an initial version of the software it reportedly considered obsolete by the time it showed up.
How did this happen? The Justice Department's inspector general delivered a draft report on the fiasco last month, a report due to become public soon. That should provide some of the answers. But Congress needs to demand of Mr. Mueller a full explanation of who is accountable. It just isn't acceptable for the government to spend $170 million for software that doesn't work, while the men and women who have to keep America safe still lack adequate computer resources.
