The Importance Of The Patriot Act

The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 devastated the United States people. As they mourned over the deaths caused by the destruction of the World Trade Center in New York City, Americans began looking for a way to prevent anything like this from happening again. Consequently, an act known as the USA PATRIOT act was passed by Congress. This act opened up many doors previously closed to law enforcement and intelligence agencies. With these new opportunities available to them, they have the capability to obtain information about specific individuals believed to be involved in terrorist activities and organizations. Very beneficial to the United States, the Patriot Act provides easier access for different government law enforcement agencies to share information, allows government agencies investigative tools that non-terrorist crimes already use, and helps to dismantle the terrorist financial network. Although many people claim that the Patriot Act violates the United States Constitution and the freedoms of the American people, it contains many elaborate safeguards to fight against such abuse.

When an incident occurs the government and public react in various has changed the mind set of many Americans. Terrorism on the rise around the world made government officials to take proper precautions and changes in protocol. Our nation attempted to prepare for the worse scenarios. Events of 9/11 shocked most citizens and government officials. In response President Bush signed the Patriot Act, however since provisions expired later President Obama had to reactivate the Patriot Act. Most citizens were unaware of reaction from our government. The Patriot Act impacted of America, the Director of National Intelligence, and the agencies that report directly towards the DNI.

The USA Patriot Act grants government agencies powers in terrorism investigations that it already uses in non-terrorist crimes. Several law abiding citizens have been approached, questioned, and interrogated without probable cause of any criminal activity, basically for engaging in political speech protected by the constitution (Bailie, 2012). The Act freely eliminates privacy rights for individual Americans, it creates more secrecy for government activities, which make it extremely difficult to know about actions the Government are taking.

Several weeks after the horrible terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, The Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism (USA PATRIOT ACT) Act was rushed through Congress by Attorney General, John Ashcroft. This particular Act, however, was established with a ruling hand of fear. Life for Americans changed dramatically in those immediate days, weeks, and months after the attack. America had been spoiled with luxury for so long, that the illusion of control had ingrained itself into our very nature as Americans. That act of terror, on September 11, 2001, brought that belief crashing down, almost immediately. Fear and anger were rampant though out America; a dangerous

     The United States of America is a country that is based upon a principle of balancing the rights of an individual, while still preserving public order. The U.S. Constitution (specifically the Bill of Rights) guarantees every American certain Individual rights. Some of these rights include; freedom from unreasonable search and seizures, a right to due process of law, and protection against cruel and unusual punishment (The 4th, 5th and 8th Amendments). Historically the criminal justice system has preserved these rights of peopled accused of crimes. However on September 11, 2001, the United States became the victim of the largest terrorist attack the World has ever seen. According to Schmalleger in 2003, that

The primary concern of this paper is to establish the impact of the USA Patriot Act on local law enforcement and its potential for net widening. This paper will cover three primary areas to provide a proper public safety case analysis. First the paper will describe the public safety agency and its roles in relation to the USA PATRIOT ACT. Then the paper will provide a detail explanation of the leadership, management, and administration roles of the public safety agency chosen. Finally this paper will cover the importance of efficient administration in public safety.

The United States government changed the face of computer and internet use when it signed the USA Patriot Act on October 26, 2001. This act was created in the wake of the terrorist attacks in New York City on September 11 that same year. Many people believe that this act is a good thing and will help in defense against any future attacks. What most people do not know, however, is the effect of this act on the more general public. This includes individual people, public libraries, colleges and universities, and even trucking or hauling companies.

A) The main points of this reading is to show how the American people should wake up and care about what the government is doing in the years since 9/11 happened. The American people should understand what the affect the Patriot Act on the, “…takes away checks on law enforcement and threatens the very rights and freedoms that the nation is struggling to define,” (127). The Patriot Act goes against everything the constitution stands for and takes away American citizens rights. The last point the two authors are trying to make is why Iraq was invaded and why troops were needed to be deployed. The author points out it all come back to the world marker and the struggle to stay one top.

The Patriot Act was signed into law on October 26, 2001 by President George W. Bush. The act expanded the surveillance capability of both domestic law enforcement and international intelligence agencies. When this law was passed it was under the assumption “to deter and punish terrorist acts in the United States and around the world, to enhance law enforcement investigatory tools, and for other purposes” (The USA Patriot). The Patriot Act has given the government the power to spy on the average American through monitoring phone records and calls, gaining banking and credit information, and even track a person’s internet activity. This is an unbelievable amount of power intelligence agencies wield all under the umbrella of national security. This power has gone too far, is unjustified, unconstitutional, and infringes on the privacy of the

A. Thesis: The Patriot Act is violating American’s right to privacy. Mainly, the right to hold a private phone conversation.

For anyone reading who does not remember the aftermath of 9-11, let me boil it down for you. By playing the terrorism fear card, Hoover’s boys got their wish for expansive powers that circumvented the need for those pesky nuisances known as “warrants”.

Section 215 of the patriot act states that the government can gain access to any citizens records from businesses like Verizon to retrieve information from their phone records, purchase history, and even financial information. I personally condone this act and I believe that is an advancement that is necessary for today's modern society. We keep on progressing technologically and becoming more dependent on technology for many things. With that said our protection and understanding of the use and misuse of technology needs to advance as well. Even though this act can be seen as an invasion of privacy to many people. I believe that without it the internet would not have enough restrictions to stop large amounts of crime from happening. It is

Although, the Patriot Act does entirely breach the Fourth Amendment, the law does indeed assist in searching for terrorism. The Patriot Act allows classified organizations, such as, the FBI to use tools that organized crime and drug trafficking investigators use, since these tools were previously prohibited to use in terrorism investigations. Without the Patriot Act, delays in terrorism investigations may have occurred because the FBI formerly had to wait until the federal court approved and provided a warrant, therefore, the terrorist(s) may become suspicious and discontinue all communications. The Patriot Act also gives the FBI the power to search through personal records, therefore, discovering leads to whom the terrorist(s) might be and

The government's success in preventing another catastrophic attack on the American homeland since September 11, 2001, would have been much more difficult, if not impossible, without the USA Patriot Act. The authorities Congress provided have substantially enhanced our ability to prevent, investigate, and prosecute acts of terror.

After the devastating attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001, this country scrambled to take action to provide future protection. New techniques had to be developed to protect the nation from the menace of terrorism. Along with the new techniques came the decision to enact laws that some believed crossed the threshold of violating civil liberties this county and those living in it were guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States. “On October 26, 2001, the Public Law 107-56, Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism, also known as the USA Patriot Act, was signed into effect” (Stern, 2004, p. 1112). While speaking to Congress,