WASHINGTON – The Federal Bureau of Investigation intends to start allowing agents to track subjects without firm evidence of wrongdoing, several keyed-in officials tell the New York Times.

Existing rules say the FBI's roughly 14,000 agents need to formally open an inquiry in order to tap the agency's comprehensive database and surveillance methods. The new rules reportedly say that agents can utilize these resources without having to show evidence of criminal or terrorist activity, even for low-level investigations called "assessments." The updated manual also eases up a restriction on administering a lie-detector tests as well as searching a person's trash.