Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Police surveillance: The US city that beat Big Brother
"Police-community relations in Oakland are terrible," says Ali Winston, a reporter with the East Bay Express. "They have been terrible for a long time."
But Winston and his colleague Darwin BondGraham were still not fully prepared for what they would discover in the summer of 2012, when they were going through court records and council papers.
"We saw some things that raised questions. Why are they running fibre optic cables out there? That kind of thing," says BondGraham.
Winston recognised the name of a security company on a council agenda and knew immediately what they were dealing with - a Domain Awareness Centre.
But Winston and his colleague Darwin BondGraham were still not fully prepared for what they would discover in the summer of 2012, when they were going through court records and council papers.
"We saw some things that raised questions. Why are they running fibre optic cables out there? That kind of thing," says BondGraham.
Winston recognised the name of a security company on a council agenda and knew immediately what they were dealing with - a Domain Awareness Centre.
( Note: these are also called Fusion Centers and they are quietly being built nationwide)
Read how the secret center was stopped, and how Oakland is teaching other cities how do stop secret spying of citizens:
http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-37411250
