The USA PATRIOT Act is a federal law (statute) passed in response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The official title of the USA PATRIOT Act is: Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism (USA PATRIOT) Act of 2001.

The purpose of the USA PATRIOT Act is to deter and punish terrorist acts in the United States and around the world; to enhance law enforcement investigatory tools; and other purposes, some of which include:

• To strengthen U.S. measures to prevent, detect, and prosecute international money laundering and financing of terrorism;

• To subject to special scrutiny foreign jurisdictions, foreign financial institutions, and classes of international transactions or types of accounts that are susceptible to criminal abuse;

• To require all appropriate elements of the financial services industry to report potential money laundering;

• To strengthen measures to prevent use of the U.S. financial system for personal gain by corrupt foreign officials and facilitate repatriation of stolen assets to the citizens of countries to whom such assets belong.

The vast scope of the USA PATRIOT Act can be seen in part from the titles of the sections of the statute:

• Title I—Enhancing Domestic Security Against Terrorism

• Title II—Enhanced Surveillance Procedures

• Title III—International Money Laundering Abatement and Anti-Terrorist Financing

• Title IV—Protecting the Border

• Title V—Removing Obstacles to Investigating Terrorism

• Title VI—Providing for Victims of Terrorism, Public Safety Officers, and Their Families

• Title VII—Increased Information Sharing for Critical Infrastructure Protection

• Title VIII—Strengthening the Criminal Laws Against Terrorism

• Title IX—Improved Intelligence

• Title X—Miscellaneous

The USA PATRIOT Act is a comprehensive federal statute enacted in response to the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. Its primary goals are to bolster law enforcement's ability to detect, prevent, and prosecute terrorism and related crimes, including international money laundering and the financing of terrorism. The Act enhances surveillance and investigatory powers, imposes stricter regulations on financial institutions, and increases interagency information sharing. While New Jersey state law is subject to the overarching provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act, the Act itself is a federal law and thus applies uniformly across all states. New Jersey law enforcement agencies and financial institutions must comply with the requirements of the USA PATRIOT Act, including reporting suspicious activities that may be related to terrorism or money laundering. The Act's broad scope is reflected in its various titles, which address everything from domestic security and surveillance to border protection and intelligence gathering.