Free Paper Example on Examining the USA Patriot Act: Balancing Security and Civil Liberties

The USA Patriot Act is a law that was formed by the government to detect and punish US terrorist attacks. The Patriot Act also detects terrorist attacks in the whole world at large. This Act was passed in the year 2001 (Chardel et al., 2016). After being passed, the enforcement agencies gained the right to investigate and prevent crimes. Moreover, the passing of this act made the penalties associated with terrorist attacks increase at a higher rate. The Act aims to bring Americans together and make them strong through the provision of the right tools against terrorism.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Order now

The purpose of the Act is mainly to detect terrorist attacks and prevent actions of money laundering. This Act allows the utilization of tools mainly used for drug trafficking and other criminal investigations. For example, in order to determine which criminals are purchasing materials to make a bomb, the investigators might use court orders so as to be allowed to take a look at a hardware’s sales records. Police officers are even allowed to look at bank records of people suspected of offering financial support to suspected criminals.

The USA Patriot Act has a positive impact on financial institutions that take part in cross-currency triangulation. It enhances this through the provision of Title III. Title III has the title “International Money Laundering Abatement and Financial Anti-Terrorism Act of 2001” (Aurasu & Rahman, 2018). It is dedicated to preventing illegal activities like money laundering that bring down the financial systems in the USA. Money laundering is usually the main source of finance for terrorist groups. Research says that finances that arise from illegal activities like money laundering and drug trafficking usually constitute up to 5% of the US gross Domestic Product (GDP) (Weltevrede, 2020). However, with the intervention Title III, these negative impacts have been controlled and restricted by eradicating these illegal money sources.

Hate Crime

An example of a hate crime recorded on the internet is that of an Indian man who intimidated his black neighbor and was in illegal possession of firearms. It is said that after seeing employees cutting a tree in the neighbor’s compound, he began intimidating the black man and his employees. He rushed to put a cross on the neighbor’s fence and burned it. On the opposite side of the fence, he placed a swastika. Close to the Swastika, he placed a huge sign with anti-black racial insults and a machete. He went to the extent of throwing rotten eggs at the neighbor. The neighbor was forced to report the matter to the authorities. Police responded quickly and arrested the Indian man. Luckily, the defendant was later charged guilty. The Indian man faced an imprisonment of 10 years and a fine of $350,000 for each crime he committed.

Incidences that made the above situation a hate crime included; verbal abuse, damage to property, physical assault, and racist words on the sign. Public Order Act 1986 states that crimes in these sections have to be those of threats or abuse and their intentions should be those of stirring hatred based on one race. The Crime and Disorder Act 1998 also clarifies under which conditions can an incident be considered a hate crime (Purser, 2017).

The police arrested the Indian. They did this following the crime statutes of the 41 states whereby one should be extremely penalized for crimes of bias and racial discrimination. The police decision to respond to the incident fast enough was because the victim was in danger. A quick response by the police towards a hate crime calms the situation. Further investigation of the crime by the police and providing the evidence required for the trial was a great response. The success of the Indian guy’s arrest was dependent on how the police, court, and prosecutors operated together as a group.

A Comparison of Intelligence and Investigation

Information Gathering and Analytical Techniques.

The ways in which information is collected in both are similar. This includes; document reviews, site physical observations, and interviews with informative people. Some data collection methods might however be more linked to one activity compared to the other. For example, in order to distinguish the operations of certain manufacturers, intelligence opts to review their copyrights. Investigation however might opt to keep the trash safe since it is abandoned property

While investigation aims at finding the right answer, Analytical techniques usually aim at getting the right tasks for the anticipated future events.

Skills Requirements.

Employees in the investigations department need skills in law enforcement in order to perform day-to-day activities. Experience is also needed and this can only be gained through training. One also needs to portray very high levels of professionalism. An Intelligence analyst requires the skill of critical thinking so as to dig into the cause of events that happened in the past. Other skills needed by experts in this area include; writing, the ability to speak fluently, and active listening.

How Information is Utilized

When it comes to intelligence, the data collected is usually kept private and not made available to the citizens. On the other hand, data collected through the process of investigation is made public and the people can actually scrutinize it.

References

Aurasu, A., & Rahman, A. A. (2018). Forfeiture of criminal proceeds under anti-money laundering laws. Journal of Money Laundering Control.

Chardel, P. A., Harvey, R., & Volat, H. (2016). The French Intelligence Act: resonances with the USA patriot act.

Purser, E. (2017). The Criminalisation of Hate Crimes in a Democratic Society: Attempting to Achieve Equality. NEL Rev., 5, 29.

Weltevrede, M. (2020). Planning for Money Laundering Investigations.