A special unit at AOL that employs a dozen people specializes in turning over subscriber info in response to government requests:

Time Warner Inc.’s America Online Inc. employs more than a dozen people, including several former prosecutors, handling almost 12,000 requests a year from federal state and local police agencies. The unit works 24 hours a day, seven days a week and maintains a special hotline that police or federal agents can call to help them with their queries and tailor their requests. For the last five years the company has published a “Law Enforcement Training Manual” complete with information about how long the company retains basic subscriber information and unread email, to sample subpoena and court-order wordings to speed processing of the police demands.

According to AOL executives, the most common requests in criminal cases relate to crimes against children, including abuse, abductions, and child pornography. Close behind are cases dealing with identity theft and other computer crimes. Sometimes the police requests are highly targeted and scrupulously legalistic, while other times they were seen by the company as little more than sloppy fishing expeditions. AOL says that most requests get turned down.

“We have a very rigorous review process here,” said John Ryan, AOL’s vice president and associate general counsel. “Every request that comes in from law enforcement is vetted, and before any information is turned over an attorney with years of experience reviews it and determines whether or not any turn-around or process is required. I can say — ballpark figure — for every five requests that come in maybe one will fit the standard to a certain level and will be honored.”

In other cases, companies have no choice but to surrender records. New powers granted to the government under the Patriot Act mean that Washington can secretly access people’s records from businesses without having to provide any notification or seek a judge’s permission. Companies are in fact prohibited by the law from disclosing that they had received such requests.

The Justice Department last month reported that the FBI last year issued 9,200 administrative subpoenas known as National Security Letters, seeking information on 3,501 U.S. citizens and legal residents from their banks, credit card, telephone and Internet companies without a court’s approval. The records are supposed to be about people in terrorism and espionage investigations, but the FBI is not required to show how they are connected to any terrorism case.