Police using GPS to thwart the 4th Amendment

From CNN.

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- It's the stuff crime movies are made of: Determined police officers shadowing their suspect as he drives around town, watching and waiting for his next move, always careful not to lose him.

David Lee Foltz Jr. faces trial on abduction and sexual battery charges after police tracked him using GPS.

But now, investigators can track a potential bad guy without ever leaving their desks, thanks to the Global Positioning System, or GPS.

The technology is easy to use and the devices are hard to detect.

All police have to do is attach a GPS receiver to a suspect's car and they easily go along for the ride online, tracking the individual's exact location in real time from their computer.

But because investigators often track without a warrant, privacy advocates say the tactic threatens to monitor innocent people as well.

"Those who would give up essential freedom for temporary security neither deserve nor receive either."

England's top cop: "Put children on DNA list"

From The Observer.

Primary school children should be eligible for the DNA database if they exhibit behaviour indicating they may become criminals in later life, according to Britain's most senior police forensics expert.

Gary Pugh, director of forensic sciences at Scotland Yard and the new DNA spokesman for the Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo), said a debate was needed on how far Britain should go in identifying potential offenders, given that some experts believe it is possible to identify future offending traits in children as young as five.

'If we have a primary means of identifying people before they offend, then in the long-term the benefits of targeting younger people are extremely large,' said Pugh. 'You could argue the younger the better. Criminologists say some people will grow out of crime; others won't. We have to find who are possibly going to be the biggest threat to society.'

Someone once said that those who would give up freedom for security neither deserve nor recieve either. How much freedoms can a nation give up before they realize they've become the same as what they claim to fight against?

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