Majority of Americans Support Increased Surveillance, Poll Shows

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL | August 17 2006

Flashback: Majority Of Americans Oppose Surveillance State

A majority of Americans favor increasing surveillance of suspected terrorists through cameras, banking records and cellphones, a new Harris Interactive poll shows. But many say such actions should require authorization by Congress.

Surveillance techniques have, for the most part, inched up in public approval, according to the telephone poll of 1,000 U.S. adults. In July, 70% of Americans said they favor "expanded camera surveillance on streets and in public places," up from 59% in June 2005 and 63% shortly after Sept. 11, 2001. Support for police monitoring of chat rooms and other online forums has also risen. In the latest poll, 62% of respondents said they favor such monitoring, up from 50% in February 2004 and 57% a year earlier.

While Americans are largely divided as to whether the government should be able to monitor cellphones and email to intercept communications, support rose to 52% in the latest poll, up substantially from 37% in June 2005.

However, nearly six in 10 respondents said these techniques should be done only with authorization by Congress, compared with 38% who wouldn't require Congressional approval.

The poll -- conducted July 21-24, 2006, before news of a terrorist plot to blow up trans-Atlantic flights from London -- also shows that public opinion of the Bush Administration's efforts at fighting terrorism is falling: 45% said it has done an excellent or pretty good job, down from 57% in June 2005 and 70% in February 2004. Nearly a third of Americans in the latest poll said the White House has done a poor job of fighting terrorism.

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