Archive for the 'Police State' Category
Predictive Policing
June 25th, 2014Via: Guardian: The algorithm at play is performing what’s commonly referred to as predictive policing. Using years – and sometimes decades – worth of crime reports, the algorithm analyses the data to identify areas with high probabilities for certain types of crime, placing little red boxes on maps of the city that are streamed into […]
New Handheld X-Ray Scanner
June 23rd, 2014Via: DefenseOne: Superman had X-ray vision. Now, so does the United States military, in the form of an X-ray gun that can see through fabric, rubber and aluminum to find drugs, money, explosive liquids and even people. The recently released X-ray gun is the first device of its kind that a soldier or would-be superhero […]
Prison Inmates Offer Captive Market for Gadget Makers
June 23rd, 2014Via: NBC: Even in the cooler, Americans are hot for tech. U.S. inmates are increasingly buying gizmos from prison commissaries, including MP3 players and flat-screen televisions — spending about $750 million annually on their gadget habits as several companies quietly seize this massive, captive audience and take niche marketing to an entirely different place. Sign […]
Florida: Cops Hid Use of Phone Tracking Tech in Court Documents at Feds’ Request
June 20th, 2014Via: Ars Technica: On Thursday evening, the ACLU published a 2009 e-mail exchange (PDF) between police departments in Sarasota, FL and North Port, FL indicating that local law enforcement had concealed the use of cell phone-tracking Stingray devices in court documents. Stingray is a trademark, but it has come to generally mean devices that can […]
California to Investigate Illegal Sterilization of Female Inmates
June 19th, 2014Via: Time: An investigation of the California prison system revealed troubling numbers of female inmates who had been sterilized without their consent, in addition to many other breaches of protocol. A report released on Thursday by the California State Auditor examined 144 cases of tubal ligations (more commonly referred to as having one’s “tubes tied”) […]
Harley-Davidson Refining Electric Motorcycle Design
June 19th, 2014Via: AP: Harley-Davidson will unveil its first electric motorcycle next week, and President Matt Levatich said he expects the company known for its big touring bikes and iconic brand to become a leader in developing technology and standards for electric vehicles. Harley will show handmade demonstration models Monday at an invitation-only event in New York. […]
U.S. Pushing Local Cops to Stay Mum on Surveillance
June 15th, 2014Via: AP: The Obama administration has been quietly advising local police not to disclose details about surveillance technology they are using to sweep up basic cellphone data from entire neighborhoods, The Associated Press has learned. Citing security reasons, the U.S. has intervened in routine state public records cases and criminal trials regarding use of the […]
Feds Snatch Mobile Phone Tracking Records Away from ACLU
June 10th, 2014Via: Naked Security: The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a run-of-the-mill public records request about cell phone surveillance with a local police department in Florida. The US Marshals Service last week reacted by swooping in and snatching those records out from under the ACLU’s nose just hours before they were supposed to review them. […]
Coincidence: Las Vegas Shooter Jerad Miller Interviewed by NBC News During Bundy Standoff
June 9th, 2014Imagine that. Here’s how the clip ran back in April. Via: NBC: Related: Dad of Female Las Vegas Shooter Begged Her Not to Marry Jerad Miller
War Gear Flows to Police Departments
June 9th, 2014Via: New York Times: Inside the municipal garage of this small lakefront city, parked next to the hefty orange snowplow, sits an even larger truck, this one painted in desert khaki. Weighing 30 tons and built to withstand land mines, the armored combat vehicle is one of hundreds showing up across the country, in police […]
