ipl-logo

The Pros And Cons Of The Patriot Act

999 Words4 Pages

September 11, 2001, was the deadliest terrorist attack in United States history. The attackers were members of the Islamist terrorist group, al-Qaeda, who believed that the United States oppressed Muslims throughout the world. Nearly 3,000 people died and 6,000 people were injured in the attacks in New York, Washington D.C., and Pennsylvania (Corbett, 2014). After September 11th, the American people were united in fighting terrorism and terrorist threats. Many new stricter laws and regulations were put in place to increase national security and change foreign policy (9/11 and Its Aftermath, 2023). Although the laws and regulations that resulted from the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks benefited national security, they also raised many …show more content…

Section 505 of the Patriot Act allows the attorney general to order the personal information of an individual to be turned over to government agencies. This can be anything from e-mails, financial statements, personal records, and telephone records. Before the Patriot Act there had to be “reasonable suspicion” before a subpoena was issued, but after the Patriot Act the attorney general can acquire anyone’s personal records without judicial oversight (Torr, 2004). Another controversial section of the Patriot Act is Section 203, which allows the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and other government agencies to more easily share information acquired in intelligence investigations. Although this information should not be used in a criminal case, civil activists object to Section 203 because there is no judicial supervision of how personal information is distributed (Torr, 2004). Another controversial part of the Patriot Act is how the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) is now allowed to use surveillance and searches for criminal

Show More
Related

Pros And Cons Of The US Patriot Act

165 Words | 1 Pages

The United States of America’s Patriot Act is a law or bill in place that is meant for our government to spy on terrorists. This Act is a very nice tool that the FBI, CIA, Army, and many other branches can use to track people. It came into effect after the September 11, 2001 attack on the twin towers. The USA Patriot Act includes information sharing, roving wiretaps, access to records, foreign intelligence, wiretaps and searches, “Sneak and Peek” warrants, and material support. Although there is plenty of people that do not support the Act it is very beneficial and goes through a couple of reforms every once and awhile.

Read More

Pros And Cons Of The USA PATRIOT Act

255 Words | 2 Pages

In a world of continuous technological advancements, as a substantial advantage, the USA PATRIOT Act modernizes the law to recognize present-day threats and attacks. Based on reports by the Justice Department, prior to the introduction of the USA PATRIOT Act, some laws within the United States failed to account for modern-day technological advancements (Department of Justice, 2017). As an example, under the USA PATRIOT Act, government or law enforcement agencies are permitted to utilize advanced technological means to locate or identify individuals, if necessary. Furthermore, with technological advancements allowing for long-distance planning and attacks, contributors to the Congressional Digest report that the USA PATRIOT Act allows some officials

Read More

The Pros And Cons Of The Patriot Act

174 Words | 1 Pages

This act increased the federal powers imposed on the citizens in order to help their efforts towards investigating terrorists. These powers included telephone taps, internet taps, voice mail, grand jury information, immigration, money laundering, and crime. While these powers made it easier for the government to track down possible suspects of terrorism, it interfered with the people’s right to privacy. All the provisions under the Patriot Act can be used on the citizens with the approval of a court order. Furthermore, it interfered with the Fourth Amendment.

Read More

Pros And Cons Of The Patriot Act

255 Words | 2 Pages

Due to the enactment of the The Patriot Act back in 2001 after the 9/11 attacks, the United States has felt its effect on their right to privacy. Many believe that the US has taken advantage of the act to spy on innocent Americans rather than actually gathering information on terrorists. Certain methods are used such as eavesdropping on phone calls, The Prism Program which contains vital information of americans across the internet. A bulk database of phone numbers etc, The Patriot Act does have its positive aspects in certain areas except privacy. However, it also comes with its cons as well.

Read More

The Pros And Cons Of The Patriot Act

490 Words | 2 Pages

In the Patriot Act some people might find parts of it hard to understand it more so some people might agree to the terms and some people might disagree. When they

Read More

Patriot Act Pros And Cons

953 Words | 4 Pages

The moment that the Twin Towers fell in New York, America became destined for change. In the wake of these attacks, the USA PATRIOT Act of 2001 was quickly passed through congress, and signed by then-president, George W. Bush. The act itself gives the FBI and other government agencies the ability to do and use certain methods, many of which are already used by other law enforcement organizations, to help prevent future terrorist attacks. Since then, this piece of legislation has been the center of much debate and controversy. But, there is ample reason to believe that the Patriot Act is needed and effective.

Read More

Pros And Cons Of The USA Patriot Act

863 Words | 4 Pages

I also lay out important realities of the law, including how it is being used, and examine whether the intrusions it imposes on American citizens are reasonable. I also discuss the backlash against the law. I conclude with a discussion on the likely future of the law and implications of the law for the criminal justice discipline. The main purpose of the paper is to thoroughly summarize and critically analyze the USA PATRIOT Act, for the benefit of those working in the discipline of criminal justice – who have, as of the current day largely ignored the law. The USA PATRIOT Act stands for "Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism.

Read More

The Pros And Cons Of The USA Patriot Act

1074 Words | 5 Pages

A highly successful program of the Patriot Act in reducing the threat of homegrown terrorism is through the increased attack on fraudulent money laundering. By targeting money laundering, the primary source of funding for terrorist organizations is effectively reduced. This act also expanded other forms of surveillance as well, increasing the authorization for wiretaps and searches by requiring very little evidence to enable one. The act further relaxes pre-measures for the invasion of US residents with the “Sneak and Peak” provision which allows law enforcement to search a suspect’s home without immediately notifying them, potentially for months (“Is the USA Patriot Act Necessary”, 2005). The USA Patriot Act played a huge role in setting current standards for immigrant treatment, “Once it became statutory, the Act gave the legal authorities the unfettered right to detain foreigners for an unlimited length of time, based solely on distrust, without the detainees having due process of law” (Smith, C. S., & Hung, L., 2010, p. 32).

Read More

The Pros And Cons Of The Patriot Act

676 Words | 3 Pages

Many of these concerns were given credibility in 2013 when NSA contractor Edward Snowden leaked information showing that the National Security Agency was using the law to acquire the bulk collection of data related to millions of communications. “NSA cited Section 215 of the Patriot Act as justification for the program, which the agency said was aimed at helping to identify and track possible terrorism suspects. In addition, federal officials said that the special-purpose Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court had approved the NSA's data-collection practices on multiple occasions. But in May 2015, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York ruled that the program violated the Patriot Act in an opinion on a lawsuit filed by the ACLU. The PATRIOT Extension Act expired as scheduled at the start of June 2015 after the Senate was unable to agree on a proposed extension.”

Read More

The Patriot Act Of 2001 Pros And Cons

535 Words | 3 Pages

As the result of 9/11, a fear of another terrorist attack swept over the country. It was shortly after 9/11 that the U.S.A. P.A.T.R.I.O.T Act of 2001 (also known as the United and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001) was passed by Congress.

Read More

The Pros And Cons Of The Patriot Act

598 Words | 3 Pages

This allows the FBI to obtain your personal information, including phone, computer, credit, and banking records. The craziest part is that they don't even need permission from a judge and are not even required to tell you, which they very often don't inform you, in a common practice informally called "Sneak & Peek". This technique directly goes against the constitutional rights citizens were granted in the Bill of Rights 247 years ago by our nations founding fathers. The bill claims to fight terrorism, but in reality it makes citizens suspect

Read More

The Pros And Cons Of The Patriot Act

866 Words | 4 Pages

The Patriot Act allows investigators to use the tools that were already available to investigate organized crime and drug trafficking. George W. Bush decided to create and push the Patriot Act as a way of protection for the people just 45 days after the attack on the World Trade Center on 9/11. Bush placed this act in hopes that he would be able to prevent any types of terrorist or unsafe act from happening again. Today, people are quick to disagree with this idea due to the idea that they are being watched constantly. Although it is understandable, knowing that privacy is not considered when it comes to our personal lives, the government is just monitoring us to keep us protected.

Read More

Patriot Act Pros And Cons

1130 Words | 5 Pages

The war on terror – prompted by the 9/11 terrorist attacks – has resulted in the change in law enforcement in concern for nation’s safety and privacy. The USA Patriot Act was the first legislation in the awake of 9/11. Forty-five days after the September 11, terrorist attacks on the United States, Congress passed the USA Patriot Act also known as the “Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism.” The purpose of this act is found in its full name. It was created with the decent intention of finding and prosecuting international terrorists operating on the land of America and secure our nation from future terrorist attacks.

Read More

Pros And Cons Of NSA Surveillance

650 Words | 3 Pages

Following the national outrage of September 11, the Bush administration passed the Patriot Act in 2001. This allowed the government to surveillance suspected terrorists without a warrant. These government powers were extended in the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) in 2006. These laws were passed through congress. Arguments by some that this warrantless surveillance violates the Fourth Amendment ignores the legal concept of ‘substantive due process.’

Read More

Pros And Cons Of National Security

1878 Words | 8 Pages

National Security and Violations of Civil Liberties National security has been a hot button topic issue for over a decade. After 9/11 President bush rolled out the Homeland Security Act and the USA PATRIOT Act. Part of the USA PATRIOT Act includes allowances for the NSA to surveil and collect data on American citizens. This issue gained notoriety and national attention when Edward Snowden came forward with information about how the NSA was collecting information from Verizon everyday on phone numbers in the U.S. and out.

Read More

More about The Pros And Cons Of The Patriot Act

Open Document