The Use of EMS Personnel as Intelligence Sensors: AKA Spies

[entrigger]

I got this article sent to me from a message board on how Dept of Homeland Security wants EMS workers to spies on people since we enter all types of places. Read, Comment and Enjoy....

The direct link to Homeland Security Affairs Journal
http://www.hsaj.org/?fullarticle=3.3.6

and this is for the pdf version
http://www.hsaj.org/pages/volume3/issue3/pdfs/3.3.6.pdf

Jason
--
Procrastinators unite tomorrow!

[medic pathetic]

um.... and run an even greater risk of getting put in harms way due to bad people who have something to hide, or a person with a grudge against big brother being too involved in their lives? No, i'm not feeling it.

[Jreb892]

I am a provider of emergency medical care; I am not a criminal investigator. Of course I would report a meth lab or terrorist group, but this should not be mandatory. How slippery is this slope and what will EMS providers really have to sacrifice?

Screw spying for the government, I am an EMT, not a police officer!

[BCoFD vollie]

to put it quite simply, hell no. we have a responsibility to tx all people without prejudice and by playing eyes and ears to big brother we violate Pt-doctor privledge.

[anthonyt]

to put it quite simply, hell no. we have a responsibility to tx all people without prejudice and by playing eyes and ears to big brother we violate Pt-doctor privledge.

Perhaps, if you were a doctor. :)

[BCoFD vollie]

Perhaps, if you were a doctor. :)

we operate under a doctor's license, therefore many of the legal and ethical issues that apply to physicians extend to us. I have nothing against calling PD to "secure the scene" because of dangerous materials found while onscene, and if we happen to find terrorists that way, fine. But like hell I am going to sit back and rat on anybody who has a tick up their a$$ at our government. Hell, I have a bit of a tick up my a$$ about them too from time to time.

[musicemt]

Absolutely not. I think it's an ethical violation of what I'm here to do as a medic. For me, this falls outside the gray area of what's acceptable and what's not.

[smiley]

! WTF ! Some of you “Chicken hearts” make me sick. You would report the Molestation of a child, Child pornography; abuse of a Elderly P/T, Meth lab.....shall I continue…………....Wouldn’t you report things like that….. What’s the difference?

$hit all the report is asking is to obtain some “Recognition Training” and forward that to a early warning group whom from there would act and or begin surveillance based upon your “OBSERVATIONS”.

Why does the majority of EMS try to pawn off any type of responsibility? This probably explains the physique of many EMS personnel.

The response here really burns my ***. Maybe when someone close to you, and or something you enjoy / love becomes destroyed due to some extremist whack job, domestic or foreign some opinions will change, Ball$ will grow or finally drop...

Remember proactively addressing problems, LIKE TERRORISIM is key to halting the old “Written in Blood” reactions. And maybe just maybe you could save a few lives by heeding an impending attack.

Dumbasses.

[CHASgirl6204]

! WTF ! Some of you “Chicken hearts” make me sick. You would report the Molestation of a child, Child pornography; abuse of a Elderly P/T, Meth lab.....shall I continue…………....Wouldn’t you report things like that….. What’s the difference?

$hit all the report is asking is to obtain some “Recognition Training” and forward that to a early warning group whom from there would act and or begin surveillance based upon your “OBSERVATIONS”.

Why does the majority of EMS try to pawn off any type of responsibility? This probably explains the physique of many EMS personnel.

The response here really burns my ***. Maybe when someone close to you, and or something you enjoy / love becomes destroyed due to some extremist whack job, domestic or foreign some opinions will change, Ball$ will grow or finally drop...

Remember proactively addressing problems, LIKE TERRORISIM is key to halting the old “Written in Blood” reactions. And maybe just maybe you could save a few lives by heeding an impending attack.

Dumbasses.

I don't think anyone is denying the fact that they would report suspected terrorist activity if they saw it. I think the point is that if the idea is out in the open for EMS personnel to be used in that fashion....basically it's putting a scarlet letter on somebody (for lack of a better term). How 'bout everybody just keeps on the lookout; let's just not make it a job requirement. And while we're at it, let's not make the job any more dangerous for some.

[jozak78]

i actually read some of this and it looks like they are looking into this because they want us to to say hey that old lady that i just took to the hospital had a couple tons of fertilizer and some drums of what smelled like diesel fuel in the living room or whatever, they're not looking for us to report some jackass smoking a blunt in his bedroom. and they appear to be concerned about our saftey and the medical / legal issues that can arise from this stuff. and i for one don't think it's that bad of an idea and i doubt that it would affect our day to day lives or operations in the field.