Analysis of USA PATRIOT ACT - Research Paper Example

THE USA PATRIOTIC ACT Introduction The USA Patriotic Act was passed into law by the United s of America Congress due to the 9/11 attack. It gives the relevant authorities the power to intercept phone calls and other forms of communication and to track their sources. The act is also after closing the US border and detain or eliminate those within its borders. The treasury secretary is also vested with the power to deal with issues of money laundering. New crimes, penalties and procedural efficiencies are implemented to fight terrorists.

Criminal investigations: Gathering and tracking information.The law has a three faced system which include respecting the privacy of; face-to-face, mobile and telephone and computer communication. At the same time, it enables the federal authorities to identify and intercept communications made with malicious intentions (Henderson, 2001).The fourth amendment does not cloak information such as an individual’s bank and telephone records to and from an individual’s account. Title III of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Street Act of 1968 limits some of the authorities given by the patriotism act, while at the same time living a very narrow margin for electronic surveillance (Kraft & Furlong, 2013).

Criminal Investigations and accessing Foreign Intelligence Information:The act certainly intended for a close, and symbiotic relation amongst foreign intelligence investigations, criminal investigators, much greater emphasis was in international terrorism cases. Due to this, it amends the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). Initially to apply for FISA, an order to do some surveillance under FISA required one to certify that the reason for the surveillance is to obtain foreign intelligence information.

This lead to the defendants frequently questioning whether the FISA order was applied to them to avoid the predicate crime threshold. This led to the notion that there might be other reasons for the application of the FISA order. Criminal prosecution was in the spotlight, and it was required to end the surveillance or secure an order under Title III (Henderson, 2001).Foreign Intelligence Investigations: Even though, both foreign intelligence and criminal investigations are carried out in the US.

A criminal investigation is after information about illegal activities whereas foreign intelligence is not restricted to hostile, criminal or governmental activities since what is important is it being foreign (Henderson, 2001). Though a complete ban on FISA Act is not present, the Supreme Court cleared the air by saying presidential authority to attain national security was not enough to excuse warrantless tapping of a suspect with no identifiable foreign connections (Henderson, 2001).Pros and cons of the patriotic act.

One of the provisions of the patriotic act is the allowance of the roving surveillance. This does not include the courts to obtain a permit to access an individual’s personal information. It only needs the signature of the FBI or CIA leader, and that is enough to get the personal information from the banks and telephone companies. If there are going to be any changes to these act, it will be to respect the rights of the Americans without compromising their safety. Well for there to be economic development in any country or region there has to be peace and order apart from, laws that are favorable for business.

The patriotism act came because of the increased global terrorism attacks. It can, therefore, be concluded that it has attained its purpose of protecting the American citizenry from terrorist attacks on American soil. Hence, it should be followed to the later for best results (Henderson, 2001). ReferencesHenderson, H. (2001). Terrorism. New York: Facts on File.Kraft, M. E. & Furlong, S. R. (2013). Public Policy: Politics, Analysis, and Alternatives (4th ed.). Washington, DC: Sage Press Masters Level Analysis of Policy.