The United States of America experienced one of the worst terrorist attacks in history whereby more than 3000 people lost their lives on September 11, 2001. In an effort to combat terrorism, President George W. Bush pushed for the enactment of the Homeland Security Act in 2002, which became effective on March 1, 2003. It involved reorganization of several United States’ government civil agencies, forming the United States Department of Homeland Security. The goal was not however to take care of terrorism but also included protection against other hazards, whether human-made or natural disasters. However, the reorganization has had an impact in the way criminal investigations are conducted, trammeling the liberties of Americans.
Crime investigation is one area that is sensitive and requires a lot of intelligence. Several procedures are followed and start with reporting that a crime has occurred or is suspected to have occurred. Research has been done on various types of crimes, contributing to changes in these procedures and processes.
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Terrorism acts are indeed dangerous and greatly disrupts normal economic activities of any nation. But in as much as we try to fight it, investigations and law enforcement should strictly remain within the boundaries of the constitution. The Homeland Security has displayed unethical procedures in dealing with terrorism and general security in the United States of America.
For instance, in trying to stop terrorism, law enforcement officials and other leaders in the government now have the right to conduct searches of private homes and offices without a search warrant, or better said notice. The constitution clearly stipulates that police officers should obtain a search warrant before they conduct any search. Otherwise doing so without notice is a violation of the constitution’s Fourth Amendment. An example here is the case of Mincey v.Arizona in which unlawfully seized evidence was used against Mincey, leading to his imprisonment.
The United States Custom and Border Protection (CBP) is also pursuing warrantless searches of general aviation aircraft while the Transport Security Administration (TSA), which is in charge of providing efficient and effective passenger security and freight transportation in the U.S is engaging in searches of personal cars that are parked at airports without a warrant. The same agency (TSA) is carrying out searches at transit stations, rail stations and other public joints across the country leading to individuals being arrested for minor offences-say for example drug possession. State governments are also joining hands with TSA to have checkpoints on highways to search for trucks and other vehicles for drugs. Department of Homeland Security has also been noticed to give grants to cities and towns for them to provide vital information through video surveillance systems and license plate readers.
Other tactics the Department of Homeland Security is using is a Stingray device, which was a provided to Tacoma as a grant. The device is capable of “sweeping” up the records of all mobile phones that are half-mile from the device including text messages, calls and data transfers. Monitoring of computers and also email messages is a tactic used to carry out investigations. All these activities are intrusive and expensive and are therefore considered unacceptable as they threaten the very most fundamental constitutional rights of individuals who may not even have any connection with terrorism. Some of the agencies are even given powers to execute tasks that they were initially not allowed to.
The changes in the criminal investigative techniques and methods in an attempt to address the terrorism issue have considerable impacts on several stakeholders. To start with, it may put the relationship of the police and the community in question. For example, the community can see the police as an enemy but not an agent to keep the citizens safe. If police can search individuals, cars, vehicles and other personal items without notice, then the relationship cannot be that straightforward and genuine in terms of provision of evidence, for example. The fight against terrorism can still be fought while respecting the liberties of Americans.
On criminal prosecutions, the tactics employed in a criminal investigation may lead to unfair judgment. Let us take an example whereby the police may suspect that a crime has occurred and they carry out searches without a search warrant, and in the process; they find other objects that are illegal to possess. Many times these objects are used as evidence in courts of law to prosecute those found in possession. This is unfair and amounts to a violation of the rights of citizens. Again, if we consider cases of agencies that lack the capacity to investigate incidences, we can say that they may find themselves in a dilemma not knowing what procedures to apply in the investigation, or when to consider actions by citizens as terrorism or not. This may be due to lack of the necessary skills and training which is normally offered to specific groups to carry out specific tasks. The effect of this may be increased prosecution or letting free suspects who could actually be perpetrators of criminal activities.
In addition, changes in criminal investigative techniques may have an impact on the ability of the police to investigate major crimes. Firstly, it was observed that the first year of this move bore fruits with criminal investigations increasing virtually in all areas. Indictments rose by almost 18%, criminal arrests by about 30%, drug possession arrests by over 40% and ammunition and weapon seizure by almost 762%. This was notably a good job in protecting citizens. On the other hand, inadequate training of some officers may lead to improper investigations, especially when the police do not know the limits to stick to.
It is worth noting that the police are able to investigate major crimes under the new Homeland Security. This can be explained by the effort that has been made by the Homeland Security investigation team that has managed to dismantle and disrupt several criminal organizations across the globe. Police can now capture details of personal computers and mobile phones in areas where they suspect crime have occurred and sometimes lead them to make arrests. However, technical challenges are still a problem making the task more difficult. To respond to these challenges, there has been rapid advances in science and technology which has enabled the police to carry out more specialized investigations including but not limited to areas such as cyber-crime, forensic accounting, fraud, theft of preserved cultural objects, child photography and internet stalking, terrorism and human trafficking.
The big question here is whether the processes are carried out within the law. Many Americans have willingly relinquished some of their freedoms that they are entitled to constitutionally for the sake of improving the security of the country. The pentagon and World Trade Center terrorist attacks of September 11 led to this compromise. What Americans need to know is that the limitations of some freedoms in order to counter terrorism may cause clashes between civil liberties and national security. The fact that they agree to compromise their rights and freedoms may mean that the same freedom becomes the subject of conflict in future, especially during times of war. In a nutshell, security concerns and freedom will provide room for conflict.
