The USA Patriot Act is very important to everyone in the United States of America. There are many people that are anti-patriot act because they feel it infringes on there constitutional rights. At the same time, there are enormous amounts of people that are pro-patriot act putting the safety of the home front as their number one priority. This act was very instrumental in giving our intelligence agencies the tools necessary to intercept terrorist messages and fore warn us of any possible attacks. The Patriot act positives out weigh the negatives.
The positives are law enforcement being able to use surveillance that investigators used to investigate organized crime and drug traffickers. The Federal Bureau of Investigations can now use wiretaps to investigate possible terrorist when before they were only allowed to use them to investigate organized crime and drug traffickers. The Patriot Act allowed enforcement or investigating agencies to collect information when looking into terrorism-related crimes, including: chemical-weapons offenses, the use of weapons of mass destruction, killing Americans abroad, and terrorism financing. The Act allowed the FBI to seek court authorization to use the same actions in national security investigations to track terrorists such as roving wiretaps. Federal courts in constricted circumstances have allowed law enforcement agencies to delay for a limited time when the person’s judicially approved search warrant is executed. Notice is always given, but the delay gives law enforcement time to identify the criminal’s associates, eliminate immediate threats to our communities, and coordinate the arrests of multiple individuals without tipping them off beforehand.
Enforcement agencies can now pull records of business, and bank records to see what transactions possible terrorist are doing and whom they are dealing with. Law enforcement, intelligence, and national defense communities no longer have to worry about the legal constraint before talking to each other to protect the welfare of the United States citizens. The United States government can now use up to date equipment to fight the digital battle in gathering information. Warrants can be obtained in any district in which terrorism-related actions happened, in spite of where they will be executed. Victims of computer hacking can now give authorities permission to track hackers and treat them the same as physical trespassers. The Patriot act has also increased penalties for those that intend to commit a terrorist crime.
These are most of the positive of the USA Patriot Act. The American Civil Liberties Union represents the negatives of the USA Patriot act. Disadvantages are the USA Patriot act take away checks on law enforcement . Some citizens believe it gives the law enforcement agencies to much control.
The invasion of privacy threatens the very rights and freedoms that we are struggling to protect. For example, without a warrant and without probable cause, the FBI now has the power to access your most private medical records, your library records, and your student records and can prevent anyone from telling you that your records were checked. The government is given more power and control than it already has. My personal opinion is the positives of the USA Patriot Act far outweigh the negatives. I would rather sacrifice some of my privacy for the greater good of the country.
Soldiers and citizens staying alive because of well-informed intelligence is the right answer. No life should be lost due to restrictions on intelligence or legal actions. I believe law enforcement agencies should have all the tools necessary to maintain the safety of the citizens of the United States of America.
