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Identify and discuss at least one legislative statute/law which has enabled intelligence-led policing at the Federal, State or Local level. Explain how this new law has provided LE with new intelligence tools to investigate and prosecute terrorism related cases or other criminal activities such as money laundering. In your response discuss whether these new laws have resulted in successful investigations and prosecutions or infringed civil rights or due process.
The US Patriot Act was enacted and authorized in 2001. The act was established with the purpose of giving law enforcement the tools to appropriately investigate, intercept and disrupt terrorism (U.S. Department of Justice, n.d.). The Patriot Act took tools that were used already by law enforcement to investigate organized crime and other crimes, and expanded their use to be applicable to investigating terrorism. Laws for surveillance, obtaining records, wire taps, and even updating laws to reflect technological advances were loosened in order for more secrecy in investigation, where a subject of investigation could not even know they were being investigated (U.S. Department of Justice, n.d.). Additionally, the act set increased penalties for terrorist related crimes.
The Patriot Act has been largely deemed as successful. Utilizing provisions of the act, the FBI and other law enforcement entities have been able to successfully prosecute many terrorism cases. In some of the cases, investigation revealed material and financial assistance being provided to terrorist organizations. Under previous law, these would have been investigated simply as criminal acts of money laundering and others; however, under the Patriot Act, the fact that these crimes were conducted for the support of terrorism, allowed them to be investigated and prosecuted as such (Abramson et al., 2005). Critics of the Patriot Act argue that the Patriot Act allows anything to be investigated and claimed to be investigated as potential terrorism, without prior judicial approval (ACLU, 2022). The American Civil Liberties Union specifically cites the National Security Letter (NSL) provision of the Patriot Act, which allows investigators to compel internet providers and other service providers to turn over records about its customers. Additionally, the NSL allows investigators to require these providers not to share the fact that they received and complied with the information request (ACLU, 2022).