Government Wants To Increase Police Powers To Spot Terrorists

Government Wants To Increase Police Powers To Spot Terrorists

Hey everyone, I came across a news article on The New York Times entitled "How to Spot a Terrorist" [linked], so I thought hmm let me check this out and I found it slightly disturbing.

Let me tell you why, it started off reasonably but here are some quotes that did not sit well with me:

... the Nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting Initiative. Federal, state and local law enforcement officials have set up “fusion centers” for the program in about a dozen cities, including Boston, Chicago and Houston, where reports of suspicious activities made by citizens and the local police are collected and analyzed for disturbing patterns.

Some reasoning to get people to think its okay:

One need only look to the events of the past year — the shootings at Fort Hood, Tex.; the attempted bombing of a jetliner on Christmas Day; the Times Square bombing attempt; the New York subway plot — to see the point.

They say the power will not be abused:

As Michael German, the security policy counsel of the American Civil Liberties Union and a former F.B.I. special agent, put it last year, “The revised guidelines for suspicious activity reporting establish that a reasonable connection to terrorism or other criminal activity is required before law enforcement may collect Americans’ personal information and share it.”

From what I understand that is what he said last year and this is what he is saying now:

Nonetheless, the A.C.L.U. is now taking issue with the program, saying that it “increases the probability that innocent people will be stopped by police and have their personal information collected.” Mr. German worries that an effort like this “moves the police officer away from his core function, to enforce the law, into being an intelligence officer gathering information about people.”

Are these powers justified:

The attacks of the last year suggest that they are. As for the idea that it will bring police departments into new territory, surely police officers have always been on the lookout for precursor conduct — burglars casing a home or bank, for instance. The difference here is one of degree.

So if I understand correctly, this is a increase in police powers, to 'spot terrorist' yet police officers have already been looking out for 'precursor conduct'. It appears that this would allow police to gather information and share it with intelligence agencies.

The intentions may or may not be innocent, but I can't help but feel something is not right, please share if you have more insight into what is going on here. I'm not sure if I am 100% right about this, or whether it should be worrying or not.

Peace out.