“Increased patrols do not protect anyone … they are actively harmful to poor and oppressed people who are routinely harassed, brutalized, and surveilled by the police in Boston and across the country.”
CAUGHT ON CAM-SHARE: BPD SEEKS ACCESS TO PRIVATE SECURITY CAMERAS, EXPERIMENTS WITH NEW SURVEILLANCE NETWORK
For now, the BPD wants to help officers more quickly locate and access footage. However, if the program expands beyond its small introduction—about 13 locations, according to BPD records—it could develop into a centralized surveillance network.
CROCK SPOTTER: SURVEILLANCE WITHOUT OVERSIGHT IN CAMBRIDGE
Rather than performing its own evaluation, perhaps using its highly regarded Crime Analysis Unit, Cambridge Police met with the Department of Homeland Security’s Urban Areas Security Initiative, the granting agency, and ShotSpotter to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the ShotSpotter.
PROBLEM EQUIPMENT: WILL LEGISLATORS STAND UP TO THE MILITARIZED POLICE STATE?
It is through small decisions like this, town by town, that our police departments are slowly changing to look less like the people they serve, and more like occupying armies.
FLAME WAR: COUNCIL GREENLIGHTS SOCIAL MEDIA SURVEILLANCE DESPITE LACK OF BPD TRANSPARENCY
“We’re asking whether we should hand the BPD the capability to … do what exactly? They didn’t say. We need to know before we appropriate funds.”
GUEST MEDIA FARM: BOSTON POLICE SOCIAL MEDIA MONITORING PLAN ENDANGERS US ALL
Even the government’s own reports admit that bulk data collection programs have never actually prevented a major violent attack.
CAUGHT WITH OUR GANTRIES DOWN
Everything you think you know about the new Mass tolls is wrong
GUEST EDITORIAL: WHEN PENALTIES REPLACE PRIVACY
Even though it has been 18 years since digital tolling debuted on the Pike, there is still not even a data retention policy.
GUEST EDITORIAL: MASS SURVEILLANCE CANNOT SAVE US
Last time the surveillance agencies were actually confronted on their assertion that mass surveillance had helped, the agencies’ claims shriveled under scrutiny like an ice-cream in the sun
THE YEAR IN MASS SURVEILLANCE
You’d be better off using divination sticks than relying on TV to find out what’s going on regarding these matters, so we keep track of it all. Here’s a brief overview of this year’s surveillance-related news in the Commonwealth.
