U.S. Police Surveillance Questioned

Even as civil libertarians challenge police surveillance of citizens, 
including anti-war organizers, judges and lawmakers across the nation 
are easing long-standing restraints on police in the name of homeland 
security. The changes will help guard against terrorists, proponents 
said. "The Constitution's protections are unchanging, but the nature 
of public peril can change with dramatic speed, as recent events 
show," U.S. District Judge Charles S. Haight wrote in a ruling 
loosening restrictions on police surveillance of political groups in 
New York City that took effect March 25. Police said they need the 
authority to keep order in a time of large-scale demonstrations - and 
to protect officers themselves. "It's not really a Big Brother 
state," said police Capt. Bill Fisher, commander of the civil affairs 
unit in Philadelphia, who has made contacts with anti-war groups. 
Officers videotape demonstrations, he said, partly to have "proof 
that we weren't breaking the law" in the event of brutality 
allegations. But critics warned that allowing undercover agents to 
infiltrate anti-war organizations, tap phones of political groups and 
keep files on individual activists could have a chilling effect on 
free speech and free assembly.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/04/06/politics/main548010.shtml