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Police Robo Stalkers in a Location Near You

Loaded on March 15, 2021 by Douglas Ankney published in Criminal Legal News April, 2021, page 50
Filed under: Police State-Surveillance. Location: United States of America.

by Douglas Ankney

Today’s RoboCops are not armed predators (yet), but they read license plates, track cellphones, and report “suspicious” persons. According to the Electronic Freedom Frontier, companies like Boston Dynamics and Knightscope market robots to law enforcement. About 100 robots from Knightscope are deployed in America’s shopping malls, grocery stores, neighborhood streets, and other public places. The police department in Huntington Park, California, sent a proposal to the mayor stating each robot has infrared cameras capable of reading license plates, as well as wireless tech “capable of identifying smart phones within its [500-foot] range down to the MAC and IP addresses.” Of course, the data are recorded. In our Orwellian society where some law enforcement personnel unofficially label groups like Black Lives Matter and Antifa as “terrorist organizations,” it’s all too apparent that cops might use robots to record protestors’ cellphone data for future identification and harassment.

The RoboCops are presented to the public as benign and “fun.” Many resemble rolling trash cans. They dance and let you take selfies. But all the while they are gathering and recording information – and they are programmed to report suspicious persons to police. Yet alarmingly it’s unclear what information the robots use to “decide” to report as “suspicious activity.” Do the machines monitor skin tone – the darker the skin the higher the suspicion? And we all are aware that police merely responding to a report of suspicious activity often results in the killing or maiming of unarmed, innocent civilians. 

So be aware: The next time you are at the mall, that “trash can” may be watching you, recording you, and reporting you. 

 

Source: eff.org

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More from this issue:

  1. Faulty Forensics and Wrongful Convictions, by Matthew Clarke
  2. Seventh Circuit Affirms Vacatur of Death Sentence Based on Newly Discovered Evidence of Defendant’s Intellectual Disability, by Douglas Ankney
  3. Machinery of Death: When the Government Acts as Judge, Jury and Executioner, by John W. Whitehead
  4. Seventh Circuit: Indiana’s Sex Offender Registration Act’s ‘Other Jurisdiction Requirement’ Unconstitutional Violation of Right to Travel, by Douglas Ankney
  5. Ohio Supreme Court: Retroactive Application of Sexually Violent Predator Law Violates Ex Post Facto Clause, by Dale Chappell
  6. Alabama Supreme Court Announces Testimony About Cell-Site Location Data Is ‘Scientific’ Expert Testimony, Not Lay, Triggering Daubert Analysis, by Anthony Accurso
  7. Maryland Court of Appeals: MTA’s Fare Sweep Constitutes Suspicionless Seizure in Violation of Fourth Amendment, by Douglas Ankney
  8. North Carolina Supreme Court: Judge May Not Reject Informed Guilty Plea Because Defendant Refuses to Admit He’s Factually Guilty, by David Reutter
  9. How the Criminal Justice System Fails People With Mental Illness, by Jordan Smith
  10. Third Circuit: Brady Claims in Habeas Petitions Timely When Filed Within One Year of Date Reason to Believe Prosecutor Violated Duty To Disclose, by Douglas Ankney
  11. Pennsylvania Supreme Court Announces Departure From SCOTUS’ Vehicle Exception to Warrant Requirement, Commonwealth’s Constitution Provides Greater Protections, by Anthony Accurso
  12. California Court of Appeal: Lack of Notice of Filing Deadline Due Process Violation, Allowing Late Challenge to Erroneous Parole Designation, by Dale Chappell
  13. Ninth Circuit Announces Un-Mirandized Statement Used in Criminal Proceeding Violates Fifth Amendment and Supports § 1983 Claim, by Douglas Ankney
  14. Massachusetts Supreme Court Announces ‘Habitual Offender’ Statute Allows for Sentence of Probation Only, by Dale Chappell
  15. Hawai’i Supreme Court Announces Clarification of When Self-Induced Intoxication Exception of HRS § 702-230 Applies, by Matthew Clarke
  16. STAR Program Redirecting Mental Health Emergency Calls Away From Police a Success in Denver, by Kevin Bliss
  17. Kentucky Supreme Court Announces Appellate Standard of Review for Domestic Abuse Exemption to Violent Offender Parole Eligibility, by Anthony Accurso
  18. Fifth Circuit: Evidence of Simple Drug Possession Insufficient to Search Cellphone Photos for Evidence of Drug Trafficking, by Anthony Accurso
  19. California Supreme Court Announces SB 1437 Bars Second-Degree Murder Based on Natural and Probable Consequences Doctrine, by Douglas Ankney
  20. New Drone Tech Being Deployed by Police, by Anthony Accurso
  21. Pennsylvania Supreme Court: Officer Testified as Expert on Child Sexual Abuse Without First Being Qualified and 42 Pa.C.S. § 5920 Overruled Dunkle, by Douglas Ankney
  22. "Kentucky Supreme Court: Hearing on Defense Counsel’s Fitness Is Critical Stage at Which Defendant Has Right to Be Present With Conflict-Free Counsel", by Douglas Ankney
  23. D.C. Circuit: Differing Counsel Effectiveness Findings Create Possible Injustice in Wired Plea Offer, by David Reutter
  24. Second Circuit: Jury Instructions Regarding Defendant’s Motive to Testify Falsely Improper, by Anthony Accurso
  25. California Court of Appeal Overturns Child Sex Abuse Convictions Based on Prosecution’s Violation of Brady Obligations by Withholding Witness Impeachment Evidence, by Matthew Clarke
  26. Fourth Circuit: Conditions of Release Banning Internet Access and Legal Pornography Overbroad and Not Reasonably Related, by Douglas Ankney
  27. Kentucky Supreme Court Reverses Murder Convictions Due to ‘Flagrant Prosecutorial Misconduct’ in Misleading Jury, by Matthew Clarke
  28. Capitol Police Department Repeatedly Sued Over Racial Discrimination, by Casey Bastian
  29. Hundreds Serving Life Due to Less Than Unanimous Jury Verdicts, by Edward Lyon
  30. Nevada Supreme Court Reverses Conviction for Murdering Sixth Wife Due to Improper Prior Bad-Act Evidence Regarding Murder of Second Wife, by Matthew Clarke
  31. Washington Supreme Court Announces Misconduct of Petitioner’s Own Counsel Can Be Basis for Equitable Tolling in Habeas Proceeding, by Douglas Ankney
  32. Hidden Sentences, by Jayson Hawkins
  33. Law Degree for South Carolina Magistrates Optional, by Michael Fortino, Ph.D
  34. Policing Prostitution in New York, by Jayson Hawkins
  35. Tech Company Enables Total Surveillance, by Jayson Hawkins
  36. Image of Men Urinating on Grave Protected by First Amendment, by Michael Fortino, Ph.D
  37. Shifting View of Criminal Justice in U.S., by Jayson Hawkins
  38. Philadelphia Man Exonerated After Police Cover-Up Exposed, by Casey Bastian
  39. New Jersey Man Wrongly Arrested Due to Flawed Face Recognition Match, by Anthony Accurso
  40. Man Serving 505-Year Sentence Granted Compassionate Release Due to COVID-19
  41. Police Robo Stalkers in a Location Near You, by Douglas Ankney
  42. News in Brief

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