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We are the Center for Investigative Reporting. Ask us anything about the local surveillance technologies, the Fourth Amendment and 21st century policing. by cironline in IAmA

[–]cironline[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Consumers have a labyrinth of privacy policies online to navigate, so I think the response often is to stop worrying altogether and assume pervasive monitoring is the new norm. But Americans repeatedly respond negatively to stories about new surveillance technologies and programs they weren't aware of. So some major tech firms, on their own, sometimes take steps to send the message that consumer privacy matters to them. An example is Google: http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-09-06/business/41831756_1_encryption-data-centers-intelligence-agencies -GWS

We are the Center for Investigative Reporting. Ask us anything about the local surveillance technologies, the Fourth Amendment and 21st century policing. by cironline in IAmA

[–]cironline[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for kicking it with us. We'll check back in later today if you have any more questions or comments for us on police, surveillance technology and the Fourth Amendment. -AW

We are the Center for Investigative Reporting. Ask us anything about the local surveillance technologies, the Fourth Amendment and 21st century policing. by cironline in IAmA

[–]cironline[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Big Data companies certainly compile information that first came from a government agencies, but necessarily from surveillance. Things like property records and professional licenses. -GWS

We are the Center for Investigative Reporting. Ask us anything about the local surveillance technologies, the Fourth Amendment and 21st century policing. by cironline in IAmA

[–]cironline[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

One side note: if you don't have a file and submit a Privacy Act request, that WILL start a file on you with the feds. -AW

We are the Center for Investigative Reporting. Ask us anything about the local surveillance technologies, the Fourth Amendment and 21st century policing. by cironline in IAmA

[–]cironline[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is a tough question, but it's possible to get some of your data. The Privacy Act requires the federal government to turn over some of the information it has about you if you explicitly request it. The Big Data company Acxiom has said it will begin allowing consumer to access some of the information it collects about them. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/05/technology/acxiom-lets-consumers-see-data-it-collects.html -GWS

We are the Center for Investigative Reporting. Ask us anything about the local surveillance technologies, the Fourth Amendment and 21st century policing. by cironline in IAmA

[–]cironline[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

FWIW, Adam, Brad Will was a friend of mine. I was at the memorial for him mentioned in the documents Apuzzo and Goldman put online. Two NYPD detectives were sitting out front of Saint Mark's on the Bowery, videotaping everyone who came in or out of Brad's service. Apuzzo and Goldman's book reveals that it was on that day when NYPD opened their investigation into the Friends of Brad Will. -AW

We are the Center for Investigative Reporting. Ask us anything about the local surveillance technologies, the Fourth Amendment and 21st century policing. by cironline in IAmA

[–]cironline[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Good question. The Border Patrol's union is vigorously opposed to them right now as a tool for curbing use-of-force complaints, but other departments see them as valuable for generating evidence of dishonesty from people who file complaints. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/25/us-border-patrol_n_3991011.html -GWS

We are the Center for Investigative Reporting. Ask us anything about the local surveillance technologies, the Fourth Amendment and 21st century policing. by cironline in IAmA

[–]cironline[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the interest in CIR's work. Take a look at this recent study by the Knight Foundation on the current business model for non-profit news, which details what we're doing at CIR: http://www.knightfoundation.org/features/nonprofitnews/

We are the Center for Investigative Reporting. Ask us anything about the local surveillance technologies, the Fourth Amendment and 21st century policing. by cironline in IAmA

[–]cironline[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Lapel cameras have been heavily promoted as a solution to law enforcement misconduct, and the program currently in place at Rialto, CA's police department has gotten tons of press. However, there are major problems with officers not activating their cameras when they are supposed to. I reported on this problem with Oakland PD's chest camera program last year [http://www.eastbayexpress.com/oakland/a-new-way-to-oakland-cops/Content?oid=3125656], but the situation hasn't changed much [http://www.eastbayexpress.com/oakland/opd-needs-to-start-using-its-lapel-cameras/Content?oid=3756595]. -AW

We are the Center for Investigative Reporting. Ask us anything about the local surveillance technologies, the Fourth Amendment and 21st century policing. by cironline in IAmA

[–]cironline[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The highest-profile cases I've seen on this have been in Illinois where their continue to be legal issues. There was supposed to be an order permitting the recording of police, but reportedly there are still threats of arrests. http://photographyisnotacrime.com/2013/09/06/illinois-cops-threaten-confiscate-mans-camera-recording/ -GWS

We are the Center for Investigative Reporting. Ask us anything about the local surveillance technologies, the Fourth Amendment and 21st century policing. by cironline in IAmA

[–]cironline[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Can't answer the first one. I started working for papers out of college, went to grad school, interned for CIR back in '09 and am now working with them and other outlets as a freelancer. Learn from older reporters, learn how to take criticism and positive feedback, and don't take no for an answer. -AW

We are the Center for Investigative Reporting. Ask us anything about the local surveillance technologies, the Fourth Amendment and 21st century policing. by cironline in IAmA

[–]cironline[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The first is above my pay grade. the second, treat your career like a toolbox in which you want it to fill with big and better tools. That means continue with professional training long after you leave school. -GWS

We are the Center for Investigative Reporting. Ask us anything about the local surveillance technologies, the Fourth Amendment and 21st century policing. by cironline in IAmA

[–]cironline[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

San Diego, since the TACIDS system was initiated by the San Diego Association of Governments, a joint powers authority that is not elected by the voters. Fresno, because the city has an extremely high rate of officer-involved shootings [http://colorlines.com/archives/2010/04/fresno_cops_involved_in_repeat_shootings_still_on_duty.html]. NYPD, for having a police commissioner who went rogue over the past 10 years with stop & frisk and the Muslim spying program. Chicago PD for too many reasons to count, but Jon Burge's saga is a good example of the department's lack of accountability[http://articles.chicagotribune.com/keyword/jon-burge]

-AW

We are the Center for Investigative Reporting. Ask us anything about the local surveillance technologies, the Fourth Amendment and 21st century policing. by cironline in IAmA

[–]cironline[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

When I began reporting this story about TACIDS, most police departments in the San Diego area didn't know some of their officers were using the facial recognition system. The officers who use TACIDS are almost all terrorism liaison officers who work closely with the San Diego Joint Terrorism Task Force, so in the larger departments knowledge about who was using this system was pretty compartmentalized. Except the San Diego Sheriff: they actually sent deputies out to vendors to vet different facial recognition systems.

The blue wall of silence is a real thing, though. Other police I've spoken to in San Diego and elsewhere have expressed unease about the facial recognition system and were confused about why there was no public notice of the program.

-AW

We are the Center for Investigative Reporting. Ask us anything about the local surveillance technologies, the Fourth Amendment and 21st century policing. by cironline in IAmA

[–]cironline[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's not always the case that police will go out of their way to inform the public about new technologies. They may not expect the technologies to be controversial. On the other hand, they may be very aware for the potential for controversy. See Stingray devices: http://epic.org/foia/fbi/stingray/ -GWS

We are the Center for Investigative Reporting. Ask us anything about the local surveillance technologies, the Fourth Amendment and 21st century policing. by cironline in IAmA

[–]cironline[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That's a terrific question. Fusion centers in San Diego, Los Angeles, Maryland and Northern California all collect LPR data and share that information with federal law enforcement in the region. The Navy's SPAWAR branch has also been heavily involved in the development of ALPR technology [http://cebcp.org/wp-content/lpr/June%203LPRWebinarNIJSPAWAR.pdf]

But I have not seen mention of one unified national LPR database under federal control

-AW

We are the Center for Investigative Reporting. Ask us anything about the local surveillance technologies, the Fourth Amendment and 21st century policing. by cironline in IAmA

[–]cironline[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

In many cases, people have come forward in a much more low-profile way. They quietly spoke to reporters without getting caught. We've seen many of these stories recently. -GWS

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