CBP recently reached a record high number of intrusive phone, computer, and other device searches. “This is essentially a limitless authority that they claim for themselves to search travelers without a warrant to search the full scope of information people carry on them,” Bhandari

Every minute that is spent debating if ShotSpotter is an effective tool for making communities safer is a minute that we're not dedicating to actually addressing the roots of gun violence. www.cityviewnc.com/stories/duke...

NEW: In what appears to be one of the largest expansions of surveillance in IL history, we found hundreds of new Flock license plate readers—all paid for by AG Kwame Raoul's office in the last 3 years. Issues with Flock Safety's data sharing practices are mounting. Will our sanctuary status hold?

According to a report from @wcp.bsky.social, the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department only respond to ShotSpotter alerts if they receive confirmation of a shooting from another source. What is notable about this is the honesty: even MPD admits that ShotSpotter doesn't do what the company claims.

Love that SoundThinking cites the NYU Policing Project's report at the Cambridge City Council today. They paid for this report. At the time of the report, ShotSpotter was an annual donor and CEO Ralph Clark was on the advisory board of the Policing Project. www.policingproject.org/shotspotter

ShotSpotter is a case study in how the prison–industrial complex has evolved in response to the advent of the data economy: more policing & surveillance, justified by false promises of how tech will deliver public safety—when all it really delivers is profit for corporations. inquest.org/turning-...

SoundThinking partnered with Rekor to offer ALPRs and compete with Flock Safety. News out of VA: "Moreover, the law bars Virginia police agencies from sharing their Flock data with their counterparts in other states without a warrant, subpoena or court order." www.pilotonline.com/2025/05/04/y...

This is a screenshot from a #ClearviewAI facial recognition usage report from the St. Johns County, FL Sheriff's Office. In this 61 page report, the most common reason given for a scan appears to be for suspected "retail theft/shoplifting." Police protect the interests of capital.

Fun to read this post after reading minutes from an Atlanta fusion center meeting from 2024 where the retired NYPD presenter had some "interesting" historical takes and "advice" for the group gathered. Here's a portion of the minutes.

👀

Wait, you're telling me that ShotSpotter and the police do not stop gun violence but there are alternatives that can? thetriibe.com/2025/04/prit...

USCIS just re-upped its subscription to LexisNexis for $3.4 million—I've previously covered how ICE uses this sprawling database of personal data to locate immigrants in this country theintercept.com/2021/04/02/i...

The NYPD renewed its contract for ShotSpotter even after data from the Comptroller's office proved that ShotSpotter is a waste. Why? Police don't want ShotSpotter because it "works." Police want it because it increases their power over the communities they police. statescoop.com/nypd-extends...

Oversight measures are passed with the best of intentions but in practice these policies are often used to justify, not eliminate, the use of surveillance tech. The only way to prevent the violence of surveillance tech is to never adopt the tech. www.biometricupdate.com/202504/overs...

This needs to become a much bigger story. We cannot let Palantir get this contract. www.wired.com/story/palant... @chrislhayes.bsky.social

Recently, SoundThinking announced that, "ResourceRouter's customer base more than doubled in 2024" (www.stocktitan.net/news/SSTI/so...) ResourceRouter is the company's predictive policing product. It's built from the company's purchase of Hunchlab and PredPol. www.soundthinking.com/press-releas...

On Monday, the FTC will kick off its antitrust trial against Meta. Tech Policy Press Associate Editor Cristiano Lima-Strong discussed the case against the social media giant with two competition law experts who both served in government: William (Bill) Kovacic and Gene Kimmelman.

After the fight over ShotSpotter, Chicago is throwing money at surveillance tech even Department of Homeland Security says is bad. In a study of ZeroEyes conducted by DHS in 2022, evaluators, "questioned the utility of [ZeroEyes] in emergency response operations." www.dhs.gov/sites/defaul...

super helpful breakdown of the open-records lawsuit against the Atlanta Police Foundation and why it matters, not just for this case, but for the future of government transparency broadly! by bestie/life partner @hannahcrileyy.bsky.social slate.com/news-and-pol...

it feels like i’m screaming into the void sometimes

We are in court with the Atlanta Community Press Collective fighting for basic records about #CopCity and the "private" police foundation's role in it. 1/2 slate.com/news-and-pol...

Amid growing concerns over Big Tech firms aligning with Trump administration policies, people are starting to move their digital lives to services based overseas. Here's what you need to know with @alanayzola.com. Full guide: www.wired.com/story/trump-...

Clearview AI is often quietly procured and more widely used than the general public knows. We found that the Atlanta Police Department quietly signed a contract for about $97,000 last year. We've also counted 19 agencies in North Carolina using Clearview in the last few years. More to come.

With all of the money flowing to police surveillance firms, you'd think that community safety is a product that can be bought and sold.

"The only way to prevent the Trump administration from accessing surveillance data on everyone in Seattle is to not collect it in the first place." - @stopsurveillance.bsky.social www.theburnerseattle.com/post/seattle...

This is why we say we live in a Police State. “When the range of factors that can get a person arrested stretches from political speech to a paperwork error, we are in territory described by the Russian saying, 'Give us a person and we’ll find the infraction.'" -M. Gessen

Fighting fascists is the only way. Appeasing them is folly. www.nytimes.com/2025/04/08/u...

She has a message for progressive politicians: We don't need your handshakes! We don't need your statements! We need you to TAKE ACTION We need Somerville to abandon the BRIC spy center, to stop data collaboration with ICE, to shut down shotspotter, to dismantle surveillance state

Elected officials and corporations ignoring what communities say they need and just giving more toys to police.

Databases are the most banal form of surveillance.

Replacing ShotSpotter with another technology is not going to make life better for Chicago's residents. Each of the possibilities named in the article will only increase the power of CPD, making every Chicagoan less safe. abc7chicago.com/post/drones-...

🗣️ Be smart and be prepared. Take a look at some easy steps before you head out to the streets. 👇

c’mon bro, just one more surveillance tech. this time it’ll really solve everything

What of your data does DOGE have access to? The folks at New America made a tool to show you based on your life circumstances and interactions with the federal government. www.newamerica.org/oti/briefs/q...

Companies like SoundThinking, Flock, Fusus, Motorola, ClearviewAI, among others are some of the biggest threats to safe and healthy communities in the US. Profit matters more than people to these companies.

Once again, community voices are ignored calling for meaningful public investment towards addressing gun violence and a contract for ShotSpotter is renewed. statescoop.com/after-heated...

The city says it paid $700,000 for a “law enforcement search engine” from the maker of ShotSpotter. But no one will say whether they’re using it. | ✍️ Shawn Mulcahy

In less than 24 hours, Israel has killed 420 Palestinians and injured over 500. US media is asking whether maaaaaaybe they broke the ceasefire. I can’t with this world.

Not only is Chicago still flirting with SoundThinking for ShotSpotter but it appears that the Chicago Police Department signed a contract for CrimeTracer. Not a good look for Mayor Johnson. chicagoreader.com/news/crimetr...

As opposition to ShotSpotter grows across the United States with more and more cities cancelling and blocking contracts, SoundThinking is turning its eyes to other countries to satisfy investors.

Another example of the US exporting violence: SoundThinking with the PR about their new contract in Brazil. finance.yahoo.com/news/soundth...

They don't care that ShotSpotter is a tool of violence as long as it builds their wealth: "Smaller agencies, often overlooked by bigger players, could flock to SoundThinking if federal dollars trickle down via block grants or anti-crime initiatives." www.forbes.com/sites/jaimec...

Love to see the Atlanta Police Foundation "coordinating" with ShotSpotter to deploy a pilot of the notorious tech for the Atlanta Police Department in 2022. News reports said APD rejected using ShotSpotter because of the cost (even though APF was going to buy it like APF does so often for APD 🤔).

NEW: Surveillance company Flock is threatening an open source developer who is mapping their cameras at a site called DeFlock. DeFlock is refusing to comply and is fighting back: www.404media.co/flock-threat...

Like all police surveillance tech, ShotSpotter is a tool of violence. Cambridge needs to cancel their contract. www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...

Police want ShotSpotter because it increases their power, not because it "works." This report from Pasadena shows how police enable SoundThinking to lie about the effectiveness of ShotSpotter, keeping contracts in place and encouraging more to be signed. lapublicpress.org/2025/02/pasa...

In a letter to a US senator, a Florida-based data broker says it obtained sensitive data on US military members from a Lithuanian company, revealing the global nature of commercial online ad surveillance. 🔗 www.404media.co/eskimi-2/

Needless to say but this is quite disappointing from Chicago's mayor. This RFP is not going to magically uncover a surveillance technology that makes Chicago's communities safer. chicago.suntimes.com/city-hall/20...