Surveillance : Citizens and the state, 2nd report of session 2008-09, Vol. 2: Evidence

Chronic diseases are common and costly, yet they are also among the most preventable health problems. Comprehensive and accurate disease surveillance systems are needed to implement successful efforts which will reduce the burden of chronic diseases on the U.S. population. A number of sources of surveillance data-including population surveys, cohort studies, disease registries, administrative health data, and vital statistics-contribute critical information about chronic disease. But no central surveillance system provides the information needed to analyze how chronic disease impacts the U.S. population, to identify public health priorities, or to track the progress of preventive efforts. A Nationwide Framework for Surveillance of Cardiovascular and Chronic Lung Diseases outlines a conceptual framework for building a national chronic disease surveillance system focused primarily on cardiovascular and chronic lung diseases. This system should be capable of providing data on disparities in incidence and prevalence of the diseases by race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and geographic region, along with data on disease risk factors, clinical care delivery, and functional health outcomes. This coordinated surveillance system is needed to integrate and expand existing information across the multiple levels of decision making in order to generate actionable, timely knowledge for a range of stakeholders at the local, state or regional, and national levels. The recommendations presented in A Nationwide Framework for Surveillance of Cardiovascular and Chronic Lung Diseases focus on data collection, resource allocation, monitoring activities, and implementation. The report also recommends that systems evolve along with new knowledge about emerging risk factors, advancing technologies, and new understanding of the basis for disease. This report will inform decision-making among federal health agencies, especially the Department of Health and Human Services; public health and clinical practitioners; non-governmental organizations; and policy makers, among others.

A riveting history of the Supreme Court decision that set the legal precedent for citizen challenges to government surveillance The tension between national security and civil rights is nowhere more evident than in the fight over government domestic surveillance. Governments must be able to collect information at some level, but surveillance has become increasingly controversial due to its more egregious uses and abuses, which tips the balance toward increased—and sometimes total—government control.This struggle came to forefront in the early 1970s, after decades of abuses by U.S. law enforcement and intelligence agencies were revealed to the public, prompting both legislation and lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of these programs. As the plaintiffs in these lawsuits discovered, however, bringing legal challenges to secret government surveillance programs in federal courts faces a formidable obstacle in the principle that limits court access only to those who have standing, meaning they can show actual or imminent injury—a significant problem when evidence of the challenged program is secret. In Being Watched, Jeffrey L. Vagle draws on the legacy of the 1972 Supreme Court decision in Laird v. Tatum to tell the fascinating and disturbing story of jurisprudence related to the issue of standing in citizen challenges to government surveillance in the United States. It examines the facts of surveillance cases and the reasoning of the courts who heard them, and considers whether the obstacle of standing to surveillance challenges in U.S. courts can ever be overcome. Vagle journeys through a history of military domestic surveillance, tensions between the three branches of government, the powers of the presidency in times of war, and the power of individual citizens in the ongoing quest for the elusive freedom-organization balance. The history brings to light the remarkable number of similarities among the contexts in which government surveillance thrives, including overzealous military and intelligent agencies and an ideologically fractured Supreme Court. More broadly, Being Watched looks at our democratic system of government and its ability to remain healthy and intact during times of national crisis. A compelling history of a Supreme Court decision and its far-reaching consequences, Being Watched is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand the legal justifications for—and objections to—surveillance.

Developing a team of experts that can successfully gather intelligence in the backwoods for hours, days or weeks at a time requires officers who show real commitment and a leader with vision. Former Special Forces officer and counterintelligence agent Van Ritch recognized the dire need for local law enforcement agencies to be able to cover all the ground in their jurisdictions and wrote this book for any organization or individual who needs to conduct searches or surveillance in a rural environment. In it, you will learn how to plan a mission, assemble a team, handle the environment, move covertly, maintain constant security and more. Crime doesn't stop where the pavement ends. If you must have access to every corner of your territory, you need this guide.

This title was first published in 2000: The development of 'search and surveillance' powers are amongst the most controversial issues to confront modern policing and studies of criminal law and criminal justice. This book is the first to challenge the orthodox concept of 'search' in the context of police investigation. Drawing upon extensive international case studies, it provides a fundamental new 'definition' of the highly charged debate surrounding the powers of law enforcers to gather evidence and information for use in criminal proceedings. The book also evaluates the compatibility of these powers of investigation with constitutional and human rights, set in the context of the changing objectives of investigators. Its balance of practical evaluation and in-depth analysis will make it a key text for academics and practitioners alike.

The decade after 11 September 2001 saw the enactment of counter-terrorism laws around the world. These laws challenged assumptions about public institutions, human rights and constitutional law. Those challenges are particularly apparent in the context of the increased surveillance powers granted to many law enforcement and intelligence agencies. This book brings together leading legal scholars in the field of counter-terrorism and constitutional law, and focuses their attention on the issue of surveillance. The breadth of topics covered in this collection include: the growth and diversification of mechanisms of mass surveillance, the challenges that technological developments pose for constitutionalism, new actors in the surveillance state (such as local communities and private organisations), the use of surveillance material as evidence in court, and the effectiveness of constitutional and other forms of review of surveillance powers. The book brings a strong legal focus to the debate surrounding surveillance and counter-terrorism, and draws important conclusions about the constitutional implications of the expansion of surveillance powers after 9/11.