Bringing the argument home about domestic spying (Look no further than the Los Angeles Police Dept.)
http://www.laactivist.com/2013/06/21/bringing-the-argument-home-about-domestic-spying
Besides the SARs and iWatch programs, the LAPD also has several cameras positioned around the city that use TrapWire technology, a predictive software that can allegedly detect suspicious behavior in connection with terrorism.
Another technology employed by the LAPD is a suitcase-sized device called StingRay. It mimics a cell phone tower, tricking every cell phone in a neighborhood into connecting to it. Once connected, police can grab information from everyone’s phone in the area, not just the suspects.
StingRay was purchased with Dept. of Homeland Security Funds. It was meant for counterterrorism, but according to documents obtained by LA Weekly, in 2012, the LAPD used StingRay 21 times within four-months in burglary, drug and murder investigations.
The LAPD has said their use of StingRay is legal. However, the department remains extremely secretive about it, declining to explain how the devices are used, how much money was spent on them or whether or not the department adequately explains the power of the technology to judges when seeking search warrants.
(Much more at the link. Cross-posted from Occupy Underground.)
For more reading:
How LAPD are made into a tentacle of the DHS
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022154200
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