[ocius]

My standpoint is that banning encryption or adding backdoors to it is not a feasible way of attacking this problem. Encryption methods don't stop to exist just because the government declares them illegal. Programs to encrypt messages will stay around and will continue to be used. Even if police set out to find anyone using encryption by spying on their traffic, the traffic could just be hidden as part of legitimate traffic.

But perhaps I'm underestimating the stupidity of criminals - perhaps they'd just stick to unencrypted communication. However, if the usage of Tor for illicit activities is any hint, I'd say that is unlikely.