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",'-.. t t t .- :7,,, il~",'~~~.t'" ' ~ March 1992 m Volume 61 Law Enforcement Bulletin Number 3

\. Features ,I

Air Passenger Processing 1 By Stephan M. Garich A Name is Just a Name-Or Is It? ~ 3lt'\ ~ D 4 By J. Philip Boller, Jr. A Guide to Chinese Names \.3 ~3i 10 By C. Fredric Anderson and Henriette Liu Levy Page 4 19 Police Recruits l3 ~q~ ~ , ~~, '. By Gary M. Post . ,.' R ~ Transnational Crimes l.3 I+'19'!3 1M'! c ~ 26 By Austin A. Andersen

9 Bulletin Reports 18 Book Review

16 Point of View 24 Police Practices By Glenda' E. Mercer Page 26

<, c'\,f' . " Unlt~cI$~' p8Pa~""l1toiJU.tl~. "EJ1It()r~r. Stephen O.Gladl$·· ';, . F8der __ ' Blireauof'nve.tlgatlo~. ·,,,,.n.glngEdlto,..,....Kathryn,E;$Lllew$lthl:l Fed~ral BufeajJof Investigation, 10thand . ~Ol(.r: ProcefJsihg ttiemilli()n~. ()ftrl1vl1/~(s thepuplicatior1Qf thi$perlodical is neCessarY PennsylvaniaA\ienuf:l, N:W., Washington, ... who·u$ethisNatfon'ss.ii'poi'ts··reqyires· .. Inthe tran$8ctlon.ofilieplJplic bLisiness .. D.C. 20535.Seconl;1-Class postage paid at accurate il]fofTT}ation I1nd intl1tagenct '. . .reqUir.~ ..bY.I.aw. 0.• Uheo. epa. rtm.'. e. nt Clf.... J. u. st.iC. e; Washington, D.C., andadditlQnal m~iling . . . cooperation.See.at1iclep!.1~ CQvi3rphotp Use of fundsfor prlntjngthisperl~ical has offices; Postmaster: Send address Changes andifllphotosusedw/th .thls artiple are .• .been approved by the Oitector()fttle Office to FBI Lliw EnforcefJIentBulleti(!, F~deral' .. .cQvrte!3Y of Regirfa Koslcki;' ...... oftv'laha~ementand~udget... . ,... ·~ureauClf Investigation, Washin9\oI'J, O;C . .. 29535.

ISSN 0014-5688 USPS 383-310 - A Name Is Just a Name­ Or Is It? By J. PHILIP BOLLER, JR.

ecently, the victim of a se­ reside there, and the neighbors did aware that a warrant had been rious assault identified her­ know her, but not as Ms. Diaz. issued for his arrest and had been R self to the police as Maria On another occasion, a State eluding law enforcement for some Elena Rodriguez-Diaz. She then in­ trooper stopped an individual in a time. dicated that she wanted to prosecute rural area for a minor traffic viola­ Although the trooper planned to her assailant because he had threat­ tion. His driver's license was in the simply issue a traffic citation and let ened her for some time and was name of Mikhail I vanovich Petro v . the driver leave, the driver thought very likely to assault her again. She The trooper checked this name that he was about to be arrested for also advised the police that she through the National Crime Infor­ the homicide. As a result, the planned to move in the near future mation Center (NCIC) , but NCIC trooper was placed in unnecessary and provided them with her new had no record in the above name. A jeopardy, and a wanted subject address. wan-ant, however, had been entered eluded apprehension. Unfortunately, at the time of the into NCIC in the name of Mikail Law enforcement personnel trial, the police were unable to lo­ Ivanovich, which was the name he come into contact with a wide cate the victim at her new address, was known by in the community. range of people and cultures on a and the neighbors informed them Unknown to the trooper, the daily basis. Therefore, proper and that they did not know a Ms. Diaz. driver was wanted for a violent complete identification of subjects However, the victim did, indeed, homicide. But, the driver was and/or victims is of the utmost

4/ FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin ------importance. What happened in each of the above incidents could and Learning.•. to should have been avoided, but cul­ "understand proper tural and/or ethnic differences -names of various complicated matters and prevented ethnic groups is ... accurate identification. one avenue law Accurate identification of any enforcement should individual is often difficult at best, and it is even more complicated if take toward mutual the officer or investigator is not fa­ respect and miliar with how various cultures understanding. " construct proper names. This article discusses the formation of various proper names. It also offers some Special Agent Boller is assigned to the FBI's New York City Field Office. suggestions that may help law en­ forcement officers identify accu­ rately individuals of cultures com­ mon in American society today, written as, Giuseppe Esposito di though this practice may facilitate including Italians, Filipinos, Mid­ Giovanni e fu Francesca Ferrara. communication among fellow Arab dle Eastern peoples, Nigerians, Rus­ In addition, in certain parts of nations, in the United States, Arabic sians and Ukrainians, Southwest Italy, it is customary for women to names are not always spelled the Asians, Spanish-Americans, and retain their maiden name after same way each time they are written Spanish-speaking indivi,~'Jals. marriage. However, if they immi­ in English. grate to the United States, often­ To foster the uniform English Italians times, they decide to adopt their spelling of Arabic proper names, the In most cases, when construct­ husband's surname. Middle East Studies Association of ing a name, Italians start with the North America (MESA) established given name, which is the first name, Filipinos a standard transliteration system for followed by the surname or last Filipino names are also con­ the transliteration of Arabic names name. I However, in formal or legal structed by placing the given name into only one English equivalent.4 situations, this order is often re­ first followed by the surname.2 Transliteration is the representation versed, and an individual's name is However, in most cases, a Filipino's of letters or words in the corre­ followed by "di" (of) and then the middle name will be the mother's sponding characters of another parents' names. For example, the maiden name. For example, an indi­ alphabet. name Giuseppe Esposito di vidual named Benjamin Herrero For example, the Arabic word Giovanni e di Francesca Ferrara in­ Colo bong has a mother whose "abd" means servant in English. dicates that Giovanni Esposito is the maiden name is Herrero. Howev('!r, these letters represent a father and that Francesca Ferrara is transliteration of the Arabic charac­ the mother of Giuseppe Esposito. If Middle Eastern Names ters for "abd" into the English spell­ both of Giuseppe Esposito's parents Citizens of most Middle East­ ing. Servant is simply the English are deceased, "fu" precedes the ern countries speak and write vari­ translation of the Arabic word father's given name and the ous dialects of the Arabic language.3 "abd." mother's full maiden name,' as in However, written, formal language The MESA system was not de­ Giuseppe Esposito fu Giovanni fu is the same in each Arabic coun­ ~igned to designate a correct En­ Francesca Ferrara. If only one par­ try-it is the language of the Koran, glish transliteration, but merely to ent is deceased, the name would be the Islamic holy book. And, even eliminate multiple-correct, and

------March1992/5 ------~~--~-~-

therefore, possibly mis­ rived from the father's leading transliterations. given name. Thus, a son For example, the name whose father's name is Muhammad has approxi­ Ivan would have the pat­ mately 50 possible English ronymic Ivanovich, and spellings, but only one the daughter would have MESA transliteration. the patronymic Ivanovna. Obviously, applying Care should be taken not to the MESA system has defi­ label the patronymic as the nite practical applications to surname. law enforcement. In fact, In addition, Russian or prior to adopting the MESA Ukrainian surnames have system, the FBI's New both masculine and femi­ York Office initiated 19 nine forms. For example, a separate investigations on married Russian female. the same subject because his whose name is Alexandra name had been spelled 19 different cause they will keep their father's Ivanovna Borisova is the daughter ways. After transliterating each of surname for life. of a man whose given name is Ivan. the various names into their MESA Her last name indicates that her equivalents, the FBI realized that all Nigerians husband's surname is Borisov. Mar­ 19 subjects were actually the same Nigerian names are constructed ried Russian and Ukrainian women individual, and the 19 cases were with the given name first, followed also are never known by their consolidated into one. by the surname.s However, Nigeri­ husband's name, such as Mrs. John Whenever possible, it is very ans may legally change their names J. Doe. Instead, they are known by important to have Arab subjects with the Bureau of Vital Statistics in their own given, patronymic, and write their names in Arabic and in Lagos, Nigeria. They can also family names. English in the manner that they nor­ change their date of birth by having The standard form of address mally use. Then, if the English only one other person affirm the among Russians and Ukrainians in­ spelling of the Arabic name is not accuracy of the new date of birth, cludes the given name and patro­ the same as the MESA translitera­ and then have a birth certificate is­ nymic, but not the surname. For tion, it can later be noted as an alias. sued under their new name with example, Mikhail Sergeyevich In addition, every subject's name, their new date of birth. Therefore, if Gorbachev would be known as written in Arabic, should be pro­ Nigerians wish to hide their identi­ Mikhail Sergeyevich to his ac­ tected as evidence and a photocopy ties for illegal purposes, it may be quaintances. However, within the sent to a translator for an English almost impossible to identify them family and among close friends, di­ transliteration according to the without a complete description and minutives, or nicknames, are used MESA system or to the nearest FBI fingerprints or the assistance of the almost to the exclusion of formal field office for transliteration by an Immigration and Naturalization given names, and one given name FBI language specialist. Service (INS). may have several diminutive forms. In addition, law enforcement For example, "Misha" is one di­ officers should also realize that as is Russians and Ukrainians minutive for Mikhail (Michael) and the case with Italian women, most Russian and Ukrainian names "Sasha" is a diminutive for Arab women do not change their are constructed in a manner similar Alexander. name as a result of marriage or di­ to English names.6 However, the Additionally, the cyrillic alpha­ vorce. Therefore, the concept of middle name is a patronymic and bet is the primary alphabet in the "maiden" and "married" names will the surname is the family name. The Russian Federation. And, because probably be unknown to them be- patronymic, or middle name, is de- there is no standard transliteration system, an English transliteration is iary unit may either precede or fol­ nant alterations do not necessarily largely a matter of choice. As a re­ low the principal units. It may de­ change the name as a whole. sult, the surnames Borissov, note characteristics of family, tribe, To ease this confusion, law en­ Borissoff, and Borisoff, for ex­ or caste, but very often it signifies a forcement officers should obtain the ample, are all viable English trans­ title of respect, such as "Khan," following information from Paki­ literations of the same surname. "Mian," or "Shah," which a person stani subjects in order to identify Therefore, for accurate identifica­ may adopt upon attaining a certain them accurately: tion, it is important that law enforce­ level of social distinction. Such • Full name and occupation ment officers obtain the full and titles of respect are equivalent to • Father's name and occupation complete name, including the given the English title "Mister." The prin­ (For married women, the name, patronymic, and surname. cipal units are essential and husband's name should be Also, subjects should be asked to interdependant as in the common obtained as well.) write their name in the cyrillic al­ Pakistani name Abdur-Rahman. phabet. Then, if their name is simi­ If possible, law enforcement of­ • Date of birth lar to a name in question, further ficers should have Pakistani sub­ • Religion investigation may be warranted. jects write their names in Urdu script in the form and order they • Tribe or caste Southwest Asians normally use. These should then be • Details of residence, including Individuals from Southwest sent for translation. In addition, for the house number, street, Asian countries, such as Afghani­ locality (Mohalla), village or stan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, or Sri city, Tahsil (subunit of a Lanka, construct their names in a district), district, province variety of ways.7 And, a full expla­ ... for accurate identification, it is • Name of the local Pakistani nation of how each culture con­ " police department (Criminal structs proper names is beyond the important that law and identification records are scope of this article. However, for enforcement officers kept at the police station purpose of explanation, the charac­ obtain the full and nearest the subject's residence, teristics of Pakistani names and complete name.... while central records are what information law enforcement maintained only by certain officers should obtain to identify specialized agencies and only Pakistani subjects will be provided with respect to certain types of here. those not intimately familiar with crimes.) A typical Pakistani proper name Pakistani culture and language," it • Place where the passport was may denote various religious, racial, would be best to record accurately issued, as well as the passport ethnic, tribal, or caste characteris­ all units of the individual's name number (This information is tics. Oftentimes, there is no distinc­ and to consider all units as a whole. important because Pakistan tion between the given name and the Additionally, the English spell­ has no central passport office. Muslim or Christian name. There ing of Pakistani names is largely a In addition, the office that are also numerous common names, matter of choice. This often results issued the passport can possi­ and as a result, persons who belong by altering vowels and consonants. bly provide a photo of the to different families may have iden­ For example, Mohammad may person, if necessary.) tical names. In such cases, parentage also be written as Muhammad, usually determines identity. Muhammed or Mohammad; Hispanic and Also, male Pakistani names Ahmed may be written as Ahmad; Spanish-Speaking People usually have three units, two of Hussain as Hossain, Hossein, or which can be described as principal Husain. It should be noted, how­ Hispanic and Spanish-speaking and the third as auxiliary. The auxil- ever, that these vowel andlor conso- persons usually use the surnames of

------March1992/7 both parents to construct their names. Even so, their signatures be wise to use various combinations proper names. 8 Neither surname is may not necessarily represent their of the proper name when conducting ever considered to be a middle full and correct names. This is par­ inquiries. name. The surname of the father ticularly true of Spanish-speaking The United States is home to usually precedes the mother's, and people whose signatures are written people of various ethnic, racial, and the two surnames mayor may not be with many flourishes. Whenever cultural backgrounds. As such, law joined by the conjunction "y" or by there is any doubt as to the correct enforcement officers around the a hyphen. For example, Juan spelling of a person's name, the sub­ country must take this diversity into Romero y Conde is the same person ject should be asked to write it account and must attempt to become as Juan Romero-Conde. Juan is the down. This practice should also familiar with the various customs of given name'; Romero, the father's make it easier to verify previous the individual ethnic groups that surname; and Conde, the surname of records. reside within their jurisdictions. the mother. The following varia­ Learning to record accurately and to tions of the same name may also be understand proper names of various found: Juan Conde Romero, Juan ethnic groups is but one avenue law C. Romero, Juan Conde, Juan ... for individuals of enforcement should take toward Romero C., or Juan Romero. "certain cultures, it may mutual respect and understanding. Legally, a Hispanic female re­ be wise to use various tains her maiden name after mar­ combinations of the riage, but it is also common practice Footnotes to drop the surname of the mother proper name when I Interviews with Special Agent Carmine and to add that of the husbandjoined conducting inquiries. Nigro and Language Specialist Ralph Sigona, by the preposition "de." For ex­ Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York, ample, when Luisa Romero-Conde New York, marries Carlos Villa-Tovar, she will 2 Interview with Del. Benjamin Herrero Additionally, if subjects pro­ Colobong, New York City Police Department. be known as Luisa Romero de Villa. 3 Interview with Dr. L.O. Gowani, Ph.D" Should her husband die, she will be vide only one surname, it will" be Language Specialist, Federal Bureau of known as Luisa Romero V da. de necessary to question them further Investigation, New York, New York. A few of Villa (V da. is an abbreviation for to obtain full and correct names. If the Arab·speaking countries are Algeria, both surnames are not known, or in Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, "viuda," meaning widow). Libya, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, and The preposition "de," with or the case of a married female, all the United Arab Emirates. Other languages of without a definite article, such as three surnames, the persons have the Middle East are Kurdish, Urdu, Pashto, and "el," appears in a number of Spanish not been identified accurately. As a Persian. result, an officer may have difficulty 4 Middle Eastern Studies Association of surnames. Formerly, this preposi­ North America (MESA), Department of Oriental tion was an indication of nobility, locating the individuals at a later Studies, University of Arizona, Tucson, but today, such a distinction no date, since many often use both sur­ Arizona. names interchangeably. 5 Interview with George Fallon, Postal longer exists. However, some fami­ Inspector, New York, New York, lies have retained it as a part of their Conclusion 6 Interview with Eugene W. Fedorenko, surname. Some examples of this are Ph.D., Intelligence Analyst Instructor, Federal the surnames De Haro, De Lora, Del In general, if there are any Bureau of Investigation, New York, New York. Campo, Del Valla, De la Torre, De doubts as to any individual's iden­ 7 Contact with U.S. Department of Justice, tity, it is usually best to have them Drug Enforcement Administration. la Rosa, and De la O. S A Practical Spanish Grallllllarfor Border After Spanish-speaking persons write their entire proper name, in Patrol Officers, U.S. Department of Justice, have resided in the United States for their own handwriting. Also, for in­ Immigration and Naturalization Service, dividuals of certain cultures, it may (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing some time, they may anglicize their Office).

8/ FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin ------