Posted on 09/26/2016 3:28:35 PM PDT by Lorianne
The proliferation in local police departments use of surveillance technology, which in most places has occurred without any community input or control, presents significant threats to civil rights and civil liberties that disproportionately impact communities of color and low-income communities.
Here is a list of costly and invasive surveillance technologies that might be recording you, your family, and your neighbors right now:
1.) Closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras
CCTV allows the police to monitor us any time we are in a public space, even if they have no reason for doing so. Despite proof that CCTV is ineffective in reducing crime, these cameras are widely deployed, especially in communities of color and low-income communities.
2.) Stingrays
The device mimics a cell phone communications tower, causing your cell phone to communicate with it. Once linked, the Stingray can track your location and intercept data from your phone, including your voice and typed communications. Used often without a warrant, these devices can sweep in the information of hundreds or thousands of phones at a time, while interfering with your cell phones signal.
3.) Electronic toll readers or E-Z Pass
Although the devices are sold as toll-payment devices, they are frequently used for non-toll purposes without the badge holders knowledge or permission. The data captured by electronic toll readers can be used to monitor traffic patterns and create a record of where you travel.
4.) Automatic license plate readers (ALPRs)
Mobile or fixed-location cameras that take photographs of license plates, digitize them, and enable the captured data to be stored, processed, and searched in real time or over the course of months or years. The data collected allows the government to track where you travel in in your car, including where you sleep at night.
5.) Surveillance enabled light bulbs
LED surveillance light bulbs are presented as energy efficient upgrades to incandescent light bulbs, but they can actually conceal tiny cameras and microphones that can stealthily monitor their surroundings and transmit their feeds back to a central monitoring station. If installed on streetlamps and put into widespread use, privacy would become as old-fashioned as the incandescent bulbs they are replacing.
6.) X-ray vans
The mobile technology uses x-ray radiation to see what no human eye can, including through clothing and car exteriors. Government purchasers of these vans have not disclosed exactly how they are using them, but it could be unconstitutional and a possible threat to public health to deploy them on public streets in non-emergencies without a warrant.
7.) Social media monitoring software
This software can be used to covertly monitor, collect, and analyze your public and private social media data from platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, mapping your private relationships and activities. It improperly affects scores of innocent people disproportionately from communities of color with the potential to discourage freedoms of speech, assembly, and association online.
8.) Biometric surveillance technology
Biometric technologies allow you to be identified and tracked using a physical trait, run against DMV, social network, and other databases. Technological limitations and biased engineering practices can lead to false-positives, especially amongst people of color, which results in innocent people unjustifiably drawing the attention of law enforcement.
9.) Hacking software and hardware
These tools allow the government to hack into to your personal laptop, cell phone, and other devices as well as your password-protected websites or accounts. They can be activated in person and remotely without your permission. Because these tools leverage vulnerabilities in commonly used software and services, they make the systems protecting your private information more vulnerable to criminals.
10.) Predictive policing software
Predictive policing software uses mathematical and analytical techniques to attempt to predict future criminal activity, offenders, and victims. Historically biased data is input into an algorithm of unknown accuracy, which produces biased results that will only continue the trend of over-policing communities of color and low-income communities.
They don’t use any of this before breaking into the wrong house, of a supposed suspect, killing the innocent dog and homeowner.
/eyeroll
I hate cops. They are nothing but revenuers for the king.
This nation went to revolutionary war because the king wouldn’t stop taxing, taxing, taxing, taxing, taxing, taxing, taxing, taxing, taxing, taxing, taxing, taxing, taxing, taxing, taxing, taxing, taxing, taxing, taxing, taxing, taxing, taxing, taxing, taxing, etc.
Everywhere we turn there is a tax to pay. It is why the US Constitution has the $20 clause in it that requires a jury trial; the founders got fed up with paying a “fine” every time they turned around.
To all those merchants out there that are finding it harder and harder to get customers: Tough! Our money has gone to the king. There is none left for you!
The savages are no threat to the government. We are. Why do you think they want to disarm the law abiding? It’s because criminals will never rebel and hang politicians and bureaucrats from the lampposts. The law abiding when pushed too far will and boy do they intend to push.
Burgularies don’t raise money for the government. Traffic enforcement does.
Nazi-Pass
I always suspected that certain gov employees get “free rides” by zeroing out their balance every month.
Even if the system is run by private contractors, what a great, clandestine way to give gifts to your favorite candidates.
bump
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.