Could you imagine the abuse that's going on? USA as a police state-
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/16/us/more-federal-agencies-are-using-undercover-operations.html?_r=0
WASHINGTON — The federal government has significantly expanded undercover operations in recent years, with officers from at least 40 agencies posing as business people, welfare recipients, political protesters and even doctors or ministers to ferret out wrongdoing, records and interviews show.
At the Supreme Court, small teams of undercover officers dress as students at large demonstrations outside the courthouse and join the protests to look for suspicious activity, according to officials familiar with the practice.
At the Internal Revenue Service, dozens of undercover agents chase suspected tax evaders worldwide, by posing as tax preparers, accountants drug dealers or yacht buyers and more, court records show.
At the Agriculture Department, more than 100 undercover agents pose as food stamp recipients at thousands of neighborhood stores to spot suspicious vendors and fraud, officials said.
Undercover work, inherently invasive and sometimes dangerous, was once largely the domain of the F.B.I. and a few other law enforcement agencies at the federal level. But outside public view, changes in policies and tactics over the last decade have resulted in undercover teams run by agencies in virtually every corner of the federal government, according to officials, former agents and documents.
Continue reading the main story
Plainclothes Forces in the United States
Agencies across the federal government have undercover teams to monitor threats, fraud, theft and other illegal activity.
Supreme Court Police
Monitor activists and detect possible terrorist attacks or criminal activity during protests near the Supreme Court building.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Focus on counterintelligence of NASA employees and contractors, as well as theft or illicit trafficking of technology.
Small Business Administration
Identify organizations involved in committing fraud and abuse of federal lending and contracting programs.
Department of Energy
Protect the movement of nuclear materials within the United States.
Government Accountability Office
Verify vulnerability assessments of government agencies, airports, borders, railroads and other related sectors.
Internal Revenue Service
Investigate money laundering, identity theft and also bank, mail and tax fraud.
Department of Agriculture
Root out illegal food stamp transactions by individuals and businesses or any financial fraud involving U.S.D.A. programs.
Some agency officials say such operations give them a powerful new tool to gather evidence in ways that standard law enforcement methods do not offer, leading to more prosecutions. But the broadened scope of undercover work, which can target specific individuals or categories of possible suspects, also raises concerns about civil liberties abuses and entrapment of unwitting targets. It has also resulted in hidden problems, with money gone missing, investigations compromised and agents sometimes left largely on their own for months.
“Done right, undercover work can be a very effective law enforcement method, but it carries serious risks and should only be undertaken with proper training, supervision and oversight,” said Michael German, a former F.B.I. undercover agent who is a fellow at New York University’s law school. “Ultimately it is government deceitfulness and participation in criminal activity, which is only justifiable when it is used to resolve the most serious crimes.”
Some of the expanded undercover operations have resulted from heightened concern about domestic terrorism since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
But many operations are not linked to terrorism. Instead, they reflect a more aggressive approach to growing criminal activities like identity theft, online solicitation and human trafficking, or a push from Congress to crack down on more traditional crimes.
Replies