Section 605 of Proposed Patriot Act
Section 605 of the House version of the Patriot Act renewal legislation. It calls for the creation of a Federal Police Force. Your imperial presidency at work.
"A permanent police force, to be known as the ‘United States Secret Service Uniformed Division,’" empowered to "make arrests without warrant for any offense against the United States committed in their presence" … "or for any felony cognizable under the laws of the United States if they have reasonable grounds to believe that the person to be arrested has committed or is committing such felony."
I post this specifically for the benefit of my friend Jerry, who thinks what George is doing OK, because its been going on for a long time anyway. Huh? I don’t recall any other administration wanting a uniformed federal police force.
A uniformed officer is hardly “Secret” – and no law enforcement officer anywhere needs a warrant to arrest you if you commit a felony in their presence yadda yadda. In other words the uniformed division of the Secret Service is being given the exact same law enforcement powers that your local beat cop has.
Logic trumps hysteria every time.
It is truly unbelievable how some people will so totally exaggerate something they have not bothered to research. CHECK YOUR FACTS before posting such unreal allegations.
First: Your allegation that this is a NEWLY CREATED Police Force (you would have us believe this is a group of Storm Troopers) is completely WRONG. Check out 3 USC 203 to find out the truth. On June 28, 1948 (under President TRUMAN) Congress created the White House Police Force. The section was revised on June 30, 1970 to rename them the Executive Protective Service (Under President NIXON). Under President CARTER, on November 15, 1977, the name was again changed to the Secret Service Uniformed Division, the same Division referred to in Patriot Act section 605. All the Act does is add slightly to the people and places the Uniformed Division will be tasked to protect, and also codifies the fact the Service will provide and pay for uniforms.
Second: The arrest provision you refer to is simply an extension of 18 USC 3056 (the section that will be immediate before this section) that already gives these powers to the Secret Service as a whole.
Your unwarranted (pun intended) implication that the Patriot Act conveys some “super power of warrantless arrest” is a complete red herring. EVERY POLICE OFFICER in the country has this power (not to mention EVERY CITIZEN under Citizens Arrest provisions.) How would you like it if a Police Officer, seeing a crime being committed, had to run to a Judge to get a warrant BEFORE arresting the suspect?? Talk about anarchy, then the inmates would certainly run the asylum.
There is much more than meets the eye to your innuendo. GET THE FACTS before passing judgment.