The Government Knows and Hears Everything (Blog Post # 10)

I was not aware of the fear that spread throughout the country when the World Trade Center was struck by airplanes that were hijacked by terrorists. All I knew was that a half day out of school was the cause and I was ecstatic. Following the events of 9/11, The USA Patriot Act was established and from its passing wiretapping ensued to monitor phone calls to make sure that lines were secure and there were not any discussion of terrorist activity just in case. In regards to this, I have thought about how far technology has come and how many different sectors technology has crossed including crime.

Crime is an activity that wants to be controlled by law enforcers and government officials yet people still manage to break the law anyway. Crime is a field that technology is starting to break into as police departments and criminals find ways to utilize technology to get accessed to their end result. Whether the criminal ends up getting away with the crime or the law enforcer catches that rule breaker, technology will be the next issue that people around the world will have to tackle.

For instance, law enforcers are becoming more creative in their searching for criminals. They are finding more creative ways to trace criminals and find out all necessary information on a suspect. Using Google, they are looking at social media sites such as Facebook to help in their search.

“Police can Google suspects and check their Facebook profiles to gather information. Friend says the Santa Cruz department has had more luck posting photos of wanted suspects to the official department Facebook page than through traditional police channels” (Kelly, CNN).

Criminals and law enforcers are going to have to become smarter and tech-savvy to try and get around this. Understanding how technology works will balance the scale in either side and fighting against technology will only make it harder in the long run. As our world becomes more interconnected digitally, technology will be a big impact on many people lives. Law enforcers are arguing that this could cut into the method of a policeman who often relies on personal instinct rather than computers to figure out who is a criminal and who is not. Yet, there are benefits from using technology to help police cut down time on other tasks to allow for more efficiency for searching for the suspect.

“Seasoned patrol cops rely on their instincts, developed over years of experience walking the same streets and patrolling familiar neighborhoods. Experts say this new technology can cut down on paperwork and make policing more efficient so the police can focus on what they do best” (Kelly, CNN).

On the other side of law enforcers wanting to protect people from criminal activity and searching for criminals, many have argued that this is an invasion of privacy. This argument was enhanced by the Stop Online Piracy Act which was a battle between companies like Google and Wikipedia who are advocating for an open and “free” internet in contrast to companies who are protecting their interests such as Hollywood film industries. Some technological companies want to push for stronger protection for privacy in the country.

“Companies, including Amazon.com, AOL, eBay, Google, Microsoft, Intel, and AT&T, the ACLU, and Americans for Tax Reform have been lobbying to update federal privacy law to do just that: require warrants before police can access e-mail or track Americans' cell phone locations” (McCullagh, CNET).

My personal opinion on cyber crime and crime in general is that with most aspects in life there needs to be a fair balance between the protection of privacy and safety. I think that people should not submit their freedom based on fear. It should be a logical reason for why law enforcers are using these technologies and not to snoop or use the information for the wrong reasons. I think that we need to understand that crime should be regulated and enforce but not controlled. If law enforcers start to put in harsher punishments, it will only cause for more resentment and a push to commit these crimes. I do not think that crime should by no means be permitted however I would like everyone to have an accurate representation in the justice system and should not use dirty tactics to get there.

Works Cited:

Kelly, Heather. “Police embracing tech that predicts crimes.” CNN. Date Pub: 9 July 2012. Date Acc: 12 Nov. 2012. http://www.cnn.com/2012/07/09/tech/innovation/police-tech/index.html.

McCullagh, Declan. “Obama faces piracy, privacy tests in his second term.” CNET. Date Pub: 7 Nov 2012. Date Acc: 12 Nov. 2012. http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-57546170-38/obama-faces-piracy-privacy-tests-in-his-second-term/