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Analysis of the USA Patriot Act.
The USA patriot act was written and decreed in the united states of America amidst the catastrophic September 11th terror attack. It was intended to build up and reorient U.S policy to enable greater judicial power to safeguard the USA from further acts of terrorism. As principles of the Act became clear, public concern was raised over the much freedom given to government agencies. It was seen as a threat to academic and rational freedom as well as civil sovereignty (Fox 21).
Branches of federal police include state, county, city, and tribal organizations. These sub-groups have a responsibility to fight crime and protecting the community in the United States of America. They are distributed geographically. The terror attack led to major federal and state bureaucratic restructuring. At the federal level, the gathering consisted of the FBI stressing on local counterterrorism through organizational changes and adding the manpower dedicated to the mission. A new unit of homeland security was formed which absorbed lots of federal agencies and took over the responsibility of protecting the USA against terror attacks and responding to natural disasters. The department of defense stretched out to capture suspected terrorists and deal with other threats within the USA until civil freedom objections came up (Waxman 381).
The government authorities have conducted surveillance of the citizens. Physical monitoring is carried out by law enforcement officers. Technology has brought about different ways through which observations can be made. Automated surveillance devices have been put in place and are relatively cheaper. These devices are easily hidden and discovering them would be a difficult task, unlike the ancient methods. They are used to monitor law obstructions and also specific persons over long periods of time unbeknownst to them. This enables the majority of people in cities to be under-recorded surveillance hence easy to identify perpetrators and stop them before they commit a crime (Solove & Paul 255).
Communication and storage of data technology have been widely used by the law enforcement team. Federal agents are usually in a position to listen to conversations of those suspected to be lawbreakers. That has also been an important method of gathering evidence. The records are strategically hidden and cannot be recognized by the unintended audience (Solove & Paul 259). With suspects, law enforcement uses this technique to monitor their suspects and perfectly lay out a plan on how and when to strike. Tapping communication networks has gone a long way in tracking conversation and detecting alarming conversations. This has helped curb possible criminal activities.
Several modifications have been made in the hard technology of policing. These include non-lethal weapons, non-electric immobilizing objects, measures to reduce the number of vehicle pursuits as well as technology designed to offer the officers protection. The federal government greatly offers financial support to police technology innovations and policing strategies (Byrne & Gary 25). This enables law enforcement agencies to efficiently curb criminal activities.
Through reinstating judicial oversight, and the integrity of prosecution practices, legal happenings ruled by the PATRIOT Act create additional protection for USA nationalities. This magnifies the diplomatic relationships of the United States with foreign embassies. It promotes increased international corporation as well as intelligence (Fox 29). This helps to curb terror attacks in the United States.
The patriot act has influenced organizations’ security plans in various ways. It requires the money handling businesses especially banks to authenticate the identification of new clients who want to open new accounts. Customers who have been there before are required to certify their identity if it raises suspicions. Also, the Act instructs the financial institutions to put in place systems for customer recognition and authentication as well as record keeping. The Act further instructs these institutions to check 12 different lists kept by federal agencies for customer identification (Ben n.d).
The Act also centers its interests on cash and wire transfers. It requires that any organization handling single transactions exceeding $10,000 should report the transaction to government officials. Automobile dealers, insurance companies, and ornament dealers who deal with sales exceeding $50,000 also have a responsibility under the Act. Penalties for defiling the Act are severe (Ben n.d). Such measures ensure genuine and clean transactions within the united states and the suspicious transaction will be looked into immediately.
Works Cited.
Fox, Mark. “The PATRIOT Act: Liberty Afire.” Themis: Research Journal of Justice Studies and Forensic Science. Vol, 1. No,1. 2013. Pp, 3.
Waxman, Matthew C. “Police and national security: American local law enforcement and counterterrorism after 9/11.” J. Nat’l Sec. L. & Pol’y. Vol, 3. 2009. Pp, 377.
Solove, Daniel J., and Paul M. Schwartz. Privacy, Law Enforcement, and National Security. New York: Wolters Kluwer, 2015.
Byrne, James, and Gary Marx. “Technological innovations in crime prevention and policing. A review of the research on implementation and impact.” Journal of Policy Studies. Vol, 20. No,3. 2011. Pp, 17-40.
Ben Currier. PATRIOT ACT IMPACTS SMALL BUSINESSES. Retrieved from: https://www.m-s-lawyers.com/about-us/colorado-attorney-publications/patriot-act-impacts-small-businesses.html.