Briefs

Jan 29, 2004. Gov. Olene Walker on Thursday halted Uta's state's participation in the MATRIX pilot program that collects data on residents in Utah and six other states in the name of homeland security.

"We've got to review this ... to look at the benefits in comparison with privacy concerns," Walker said. She promised "with all haste" to set up an oversight group as early as Friday.

The seven-state crime database was launched last year with $12 million in federal funds. The law enforcement officials and private database company behind the Multistate Anti-Terrorism Information Exchange, or Matrix, presented it as merely an investigative tool that helps police quickly gather already-available information on suspects.

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