Policing

How to Spot Police Surveillance Tools

Over the last three weeks, hundreds of thousands of Americans have gathered across the country to protest police violence and racial injustice in the wake of George Floyd’s death. But here’s something to be aware of: If you’re attending a protest, there’s a good chance the police in your city can—and will—know you’re there.

From body cameras to cell-site simulators, license plate readers, social media monitoring tools, and drones, the police have eyes on the ground, road, subways, internet, and practically any protesting site you can imagine.

In the past two decades, police departments around the company have become a hot target for commercial technology companies. Firms like Amazon and Axon market products to police departments that promise to make their jobs easier, better, and more effective. But this tech often results in poor policing, says Dave Maass, senior investigative researcher for the Electronic Frontier Foundation(EFF).

“Police departments are doing less outreach, less legwork, and fewer investigations,” Maass tells Popular Mechanics.