Posted on 01/20/2015 9:39:16 AM PST by upchuck
Radar devices that can "see” through walls have been deployed to agencies, a move that is raising a red flag among privacy advocates battling government surveillance overreach.
Two years ago, police departments, the FBI and U.S. Marshals Service began equipping their officers with the radar systems that reveal whether there are people inside homes, according to USA Today.
However, the agencies have not been giving notice to courts about when or where the devices are being used, which may contravene a Supreme Court ruling that officers cannot employ high-tech sensors to find information about a person's house without first obtaining a search warrant.
The radars use radio waves to detect movements, such as a person breathing from more than 50 feet away, and can calculate whether a person is in a building or house, as well as their exact position and whether they are moving, according to the newspaper.
Although the radars could help officials if they need to storm buildings or homes in hostage situations, privacy activists are outraged that law enforcement agencies may be using the radars without receiving approval from courts beforehand.
"The idea that the government can send signals through the wall of your house to figure out what's inside is problematic," said Christopher Soghoian, the American Civil Liberties Union's principal technologist. "Technologies that allow the police to look inside of a home are among the intrusive tools that police have."
The Range-R radars were first designed to help keep troops safe as they cleared out buildings and homes of enemy fighters during war in the Mid-East.
The technology is now being used by authorities in the U.S., setting off a firestorm of criticism in the wake of the furor surrounding the mass collection of phone and Internet data of Americans by the National Security Agency.
(Excerpt) Read more at newsmax.com ...
Now Big Brother is literally watching you.
This, obviously, needs to stop. Why did these police agencies decide using these devices without a warrant was legal?
Has the law been broken?
Saw through my wall and clocked my couch doing 107...
In before the “if you aren’t doing anything illegal, you have nothing to worry about” crowd.
The Patriot Act mission creep, now viewing into our homes.
There are no terrorists here.
Sheriff Arpaio should step up from the audience and arrest him.
Because the 4th Amendment means nothing.
Has anyone here seen or had any experience with type of equipment?
For every surveillance measure, there is an equally effective counter-measure.
The trick is to find out how the surveillance system works, the mode of operation (ie: optical, microwave, RF, etc.) and either confuse, swamp, or overload (destroy) the sensors involved.
Leading to jail for the homeowner and confiscation of property for daring to defy the gestapo.
To be fair, the government DOES own all the houses.
Nah, you can claim you are trying to stop the neighbors from stealing wifi.
No chance that depraved cops will get off on watching people have sex in their homes. No chance they will pick just such a time to beat doors down. Nope. /sarc
Should they be allowed to use them at all? Should they be allowed to do whatever they want as long as they have a warrant? I don’t trust the govt (courts included) to make wise decisions.
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