Current Event Posting Number: 2
Topic: Civil Rights
Title of Article: Police Monitoring and a Climate of Fear
Author: Michael Powell
Publication Name: New York Times
Date of Publication: February 27, 2012
Length of Article:776 words/2 pages
As the New York Times and the Associated Press reported last week, the New York Police Department surveyed and infiltrated on a big scale various Muslim groups, mosques and businesses, even outside their jurisdiction, such as in Newark, New Jersey. Apparently the New York police department send undercover police officers to infiltrate and spy on these groups and organizations, even in the absence of any reasonable suspicion of wrong-doing. "The Associated Press broke the news that the Intelligence Division of the New York police had extended its writ hundreds of square miles east and west, carefully detailing mosques, dollar stores and restaurants, from Konak’s Turkish Cuisine in Farmingville, on Long Island, to this luncheonette on the western edge of Newark. They carefully recorded names, license plates and nationalities." They even kept a close eye on Muslim students at various local and Ivy league universities, such as Yale, Columbia, Syracuse, Rutgers, New York University, Brooklyn College and public state universities. These investigations were apparently prompted by continued fear of terrorist attacks, although the last terrorist attack happened by more than ten years ago. Many politicians and columnist at newspapers, such as Mike Lupica at the New York Daily News, support these warrant less activities, although they probably violate the Fourth Amendment and the Civil Rights of the people surveiled. The New York city Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly of course defend the action as being completely legal and justified by the effort to keep the country safe. However, There are also people concerned about civil liberties and the constitution, who worry that this unchecked behavior of the New York Police Department goes too far and who point out that no terrorist attack has been prevented by this program. Even New Jersey Gov. Chris Christies, a known conservative, express mild disapproval.
Clearly, it is important that police departments are active to prevent other acts of terrorism of happening in the US in their jurisdiction. This task may sometimes appear to be in opposition to the rights of citizens against warrant-less searches and surveillance. However, in the case of actual suspicion of terrorist planning no judge would deny a warrant. Therefore, one would expect the police to act within the law and ask for a warrant rather than to engage in wide spread fishing expeditions, which typically yield no results.
Article can be found here: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/28/nyregion/nypd-muslim-monitoring-and-a-climate-of-fear.html?scp=1&sq=nypd%20muslims&st=cse
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