I believe you can have National Security without living in a police state. I believe that for this to occur there must be a mechanism to protect the whistle-blower and insure that his/her concerns are addressed. After Benghazi, NSA , and the IRS scandal these reforms must be enacted ASAP (see below)
(1) An office is set up for civilians and those who work with National Security to anonymously report abuses.
(2) Individuals who place a report with the office are given a number where they can tract the progress of their complaint and print copies of it. They are given a time frame when an address to the complaint must be received.
(3) This report is immediately given to those in the departments who can make the needed changes. They must respond to the complaint in a time-frame that is dependent on the seriousness of the report.
(4) If the individual is unsatisfied with the response of the report they notify the office which then sends the report to a congressional committee responsible for handling these issues. The congressional committee is given a time table to response to this complaint.
(5) If the individual is still unsatisfied with that response then the office will send this report in general (to avoid security concerns) to respected officials in the press.
(6) If the report leads to improvements in the system. The individual receives a reward for their help in improving the system (anonymously if need be) .