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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:
- Faulty Forensics and Wrongful Convictions, by Matthew Clarke
- Seventh Circuit Affirms Vacatur of Death Sentence Based on Newly Discovered Evidence of Defendant’s Intellectual Disability, by Douglas Ankney
- Machinery of Death: When the Government Acts as Judge, Jury and Executioner, by John W. Whitehead
- Seventh Circuit: Indiana’s Sex Offender Registration Act’s ‘Other Jurisdiction Requirement’ Unconstitutional Violation of Right to Travel, by Douglas Ankney
- Ohio Supreme Court: Retroactive Application of Sexually Violent Predator Law Violates Ex Post Facto Clause, by Dale Chappell
- Alabama Supreme Court Announces Testimony About Cell-Site Location Data Is ‘Scientific’ Expert Testimony, Not Lay, Triggering Daubert Analysis, by Anthony Accurso
- Maryland Court of Appeals: MTA’s Fare Sweep Constitutes Suspicionless Seizure in Violation of Fourth Amendment, by Douglas Ankney
- North Carolina Supreme Court: Judge May Not Reject Informed Guilty Plea Because Defendant Refuses to Admit He’s Factually Guilty, by David Reutter
- How the Criminal Justice System Fails People With Mental Illness, by Jordan Smith
- 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
- Pennsylvania Supreme Court Announces Departure From SCOTUS’ Vehicle Exception to Warrant Requirement, Commonwealth’s Constitution Provides Greater Protections, by Anthony Accurso
- California Court of Appeal: Lack of Notice of Filing Deadline Due Process Violation, Allowing Late Challenge to Erroneous Parole Designation, by Dale Chappell
- Ninth Circuit Announces Un-Mirandized Statement Used in Criminal Proceeding Violates Fifth Amendment and Supports § 1983 Claim, by Douglas Ankney
- Massachusetts Supreme Court Announces ‘Habitual Offender’ Statute Allows for Sentence of Probation Only, by Dale Chappell
- Hawai’i Supreme Court Announces Clarification of When Self-Induced Intoxication Exception of HRS § 702-230 Applies, by Matthew Clarke
- STAR Program Redirecting Mental Health Emergency Calls Away From Police a Success in Denver, by Kevin Bliss
- Kentucky Supreme Court Announces Appellate Standard of Review for Domestic Abuse Exemption to Violent Offender Parole Eligibility, by Anthony Accurso
- Fifth Circuit: Evidence of Simple Drug Possession Insufficient to Search Cellphone Photos for Evidence of Drug Trafficking, by Anthony Accurso
- California Supreme Court Announces SB 1437 Bars Second-Degree Murder Based on Natural and Probable Consequences Doctrine, by Douglas Ankney
- New Drone Tech Being Deployed by Police, by Anthony Accurso
- 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
- "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
- D.C. Circuit: Differing Counsel Effectiveness Findings Create Possible Injustice in Wired Plea Offer, by David Reutter
- Second Circuit: Jury Instructions Regarding Defendant’s Motive to Testify Falsely Improper, by Anthony Accurso
- 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
- Fourth Circuit: Conditions of Release Banning Internet Access and Legal Pornography Overbroad and Not Reasonably Related, by Douglas Ankney
- Kentucky Supreme Court Reverses Murder Convictions Due to ‘Flagrant Prosecutorial Misconduct’ in Misleading Jury, by Matthew Clarke
- Capitol Police Department Repeatedly Sued Over Racial Discrimination, by Casey Bastian
- Hundreds Serving Life Due to Less Than Unanimous Jury Verdicts, by Edward Lyon
- Nevada Supreme Court Reverses Conviction for Murdering Sixth Wife Due to Improper Prior Bad-Act Evidence Regarding Murder of Second Wife, by Matthew Clarke
- Washington Supreme Court Announces Misconduct of Petitioner’s Own Counsel Can Be Basis for Equitable Tolling in Habeas Proceeding, by Douglas Ankney
- Hidden Sentences, by Jayson Hawkins
- Law Degree for South Carolina Magistrates Optional, by Michael Fortino, Ph.D
- Policing Prostitution in New York, by Jayson Hawkins
- Tech Company Enables Total Surveillance, by Jayson Hawkins
- Image of Men Urinating on Grave Protected by First Amendment, by Michael Fortino, Ph.D
- Shifting View of Criminal Justice in U.S., by Jayson Hawkins
- Philadelphia Man Exonerated After Police Cover-Up Exposed, by Casey Bastian
- New Jersey Man Wrongly Arrested Due to Flawed Face Recognition Match, by Anthony Accurso
- Man Serving 505-Year Sentence Granted Compassionate Release Due to COVID-19
- Police Robo Stalkers in a Location Near You, by Douglas Ankney
- News in Brief
More from Douglas Ankney:
- Texas Court of Criminal Appeals: Trial Court Deprived Defendant of Opportunity to Present Complete Defense, June 15, 2023
- California Court of Appeal Reiterates ‘Three Strikes’ Law Does Not Limit ‘Presentence’ Custody Credits, Defendant Entitled to Credits Calculated Under Penal Code § 4019, June 15, 2023
- Ninth Circuit: Government’s Inflammatory Arguments in Sentencing Memorandum and at Sentencing Hearing Implicitly Breached Plea Agreement Promise Not to Recommend Sentence in Excess of Low-End Guidelines Range, June 15, 2023
- Georgia Supreme Court Announces Overruling Longstanding Rule That Anything Filed by Defendant While Represented by Counsel Is Always a ‘Legal Nullity’, June 15, 2023
- Fourth Circuit: Denial of Motion for Compassionate Release Abuse of Discretion Where District Court Failed to Properly Address Numerous Health Issues, Advanced Age, and Relevant § 3553(a) Factors, June 15, 2023
- Fourth Circuit Declines to Enforce Appeal Waiver and Procedural Default Excused by ‘Cause and Actual Prejudice,’ Reverses Denial of § 2255 Motion to Vacate § 924(c) Conviction Based on Hobbs Act Conspiracy, June 15, 2023
- First Circuit: Plain Error Where District Court Based Upward Variant From Sentencing Guidelines Range on New Information Not Already in the Record at the Time of Sentencing, June 15, 2023
- Indiana Supreme Court: Petitioner Entitled to File Belated Appeal More Than 21 Years After Conviction, Holding He Acted ‘Promptly’, June 15, 2023
- Fourth Circuit Announces Rehaif Applies to All § 922(g) Firearms-Possession Offenses and Applies Retroactively to Initial § 2255 Motions, June 15, 2023
- Arkansas Supreme Court Reverses 11 Counts of Possession of Child Pornography Because CGI Images Do Not Depict Image of a Child, June 15, 2023
More from these topics:
- Inspector General Report: FBI Routinely Abused Access to Private Communications, June 15, 2023. FBI, Police State-Surveillance, Abuse of Position of Trust, Official Report.
- Specialized Police Units Hunt People for ICE, June 15, 2023. Police State-Surveillance, Immigration Law/Offenses.
- Police Can Get More From Your Phone Than You May Believe, June 15, 2023. Police State-Surveillance, Searches - Cellphones/Computers/Internet.
- Police Sketch Bot Arrives, June 15, 2023. witness misidentification, Police State-Surveillance, EP2P Software.
- New Orleans Authorizes Facial Recognition to Identity Suspects, June 15, 2023. Police State-Surveillance, EP2P Software, Identification of Targets.
- Proactive Online Stings Do Little to Protect Children, May 15, 2023. Internet, Police State-Surveillance, Sexually Dangerous Persons/Sexual Violent Predators.
- TSA Tests Facial Recognition Technology at Airports, Lawmakers Criticize Increased Surveillance, May 15, 2023. Mechanical Searches/Scanners, Police State-Surveillance, Electronic Surveillance, Transportation Security Administration (TSA).
- Florida Governor Ron DeSantis Rejects Federal Central Bank Digital Currency, Signs Groundbreaking Bill Safeguarding Personal Finances from Government Control and Surveillance, May 13, 2023. Government Misconduct, Police State-Surveillance, Drug-Tainted Currency, Currency Transaction Reports (CTRs).
- FBI Continues Its War Against Public Key Encryption but Fails to Provide Evidence Requested by Congress, May 13, 2023. FBI, Police State-Surveillance, Electronic Surveillance.
- Secret Service and ICE Used Stingray Devices Without Warrants, Watchdog Finds, May 12, 2023. Immigration, Police State-Surveillance, Cell Site Location Information ("CSLI").
