Berkeley Borrows License Plate Reader Trailer from Local Fusion Center

 License plate readers  No Responses »
Dec 062015
 
Berkeley Borrows License Plate Reader Trailer from Local Fusion Center

As part of an effort to identify a suspect in kidnapping attempts near Willard Middle School in Berkeley, the Berkeley Police Department borrowed an automated license plate reader (ALPR) from the Northern California Regional Intelligence Center (NCRIC), the local fusion center. The ALPR is part of a trailer that at first appears to be just a sign to get drivers to slow down. The ALPR consists of cameras facing cars driving towards and away from the trailer. The trailer uses Willard Middle School to power the license plate cameras and signs, using an electrical power cord that extends from the […]

Piedmont License Plate Reader Analysis Shows 99.97% of Data Collected is Useless

 License plate readers  2 Responses »
Sep 072015
 

In 2013, the City of Piedmont, California, spent almost $600,000 to purchase 39 license plate readers covering most of its border with Oakland. With a population of less than 11,000 people, these 39 license plate readers collect photographs and license plates from more than 1,000,000 vehicles every month. The City of Piedmont sends this data to a regional license plate data warehouse at the Northern California Regional Intelligence Center (NCRIC), where it is stored for one year, even if the data does not generate a “hit” as a stolen vehicle, being registered to a wanted individual, etc. The City of […]

California Highway Patrol Bought 216 Vigilant Video License Plate Readers

 License plate readers  No Responses »
Sep 012015
 
California Highway Patrol Bought 216 Vigilant Video License Plate Readers

According to documents from the California Highway Patrol (CHP), it has purchased 216 Vigilant Video license plate readers between June 2011 and April 2015. In addition, an undated document on automated license plate reader statistics indicates that there were 86,899 alerts for 27,545,659 license plate reads, a hit percentage of 0.3%. In other words, 99.7% of the data gathered by the CHP’s license plate readers was essentially mass surveillance on people not suspected of or charged with a crime. The license plate readers were purchased using homeland security funds in batches of 120 on June 30, 2011, 73 on February […]

RedFlex 2014 Reports on Red Light Cameras in California Cities

 Red light cameras  No Responses »
Aug 262015
 

California Vehicle Code 21455.5 (i) requires “A manufacturer or supplier that operates an automated traffic enforcement system” to submit an annual report to the Judicial Council. Below are reports from RedFlex, for the 43 California cities in which their red light cameras are deployed. Bakersfield Baldwin Park Beverly Hills Citrus Heights Commerce Culver City Daly City Del Mar Elk Grove Encinitas Fremont Garden Grove Hawthorne Highland Inglewood Laguna Woods Los Alamitos Lynwood Marysville Menlo Park Modesto Montebello Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority (MRCA) Napa Newark Oakland Oceanside Oxnard Rancho Cordova Redding Riverside Sacramento San Leandro San Mateo San Rafael Santa […]

FBI Won’t Say If it Has Contract J-FBI-09-211 (But it Does)

 Cell site simulator  1 Response »
Aug 012015
 

In a letter dated July 28, 2015, the FBI said it could neither confirm nor deny that it has contract J-FBI-09-211, which has to do with “Landshark” restricted software used with the Harris StingRay. This document is referenced in FBI letters to Harris Corporation in which the FBI notifies Harris of its approval of a law enforcement agency’s non-disclosure agreement. This non-disclosure agreement is required before the law enforcement agency can purchase a cell site simulator such as a StingRay, KingFish, or HailStorm from Harris Corporation. The letter from the FBI states, Please be advised that upon reviewing the substantive […]

Newark Memorial High School Gets ShotSpotter SecureCampus for Free

 Audio surveillance  No Responses »
Jul 202015
 
Newark Memorial High School Gets ShotSpotter SecureCampus for Free

On June 18, 2015, ShotSpotter issued a press release announcing the installation of its SecureCampus product at Newark Memorial High School in Newark, California. The contract was signed on December 16, 2014, by Bryan Richards, the Chief Business Official for the Newark Unified School District. Since the contract doesn’t cost anything in its first year (although the contract values it at $110,389), it did not go before the Newark School Board for approval, which means that the community and staff have not had an opportunity to discuss the privacy implications of the 35 microphones already installed throughout the campus. The […]

FBI Won’t Say If it Has Agreement with Harris (But it Does)

 Cell site simulator  No Responses »
Jun 182015
 

In a letter dated June 8, 2015, the FBI responded to my request for a copy of the April 6, 2010, agreement between the FBI an Harris Corporation. This April 6, 2010, agreement is referenced in the approval of law enforcement agency’s non-disclosure agreements that are required before the law enforcement agency can purchase a cell site simulator such as a StingRay, KingFish, or HailStorm from Harris Corporation. The letter from the FBI states, Please be advised that upon reviewing the substantive nature of your request, we can neither confirm nor deny the existence of records responsive to your request […]

Pennsylvania State Police Release Redacted StingRay Use Policy

 Cell site simulator  No Responses »
Jun 082015
 

In a response to a public records request from April 22, 2015, on June 1, the Pennsylvania State Police released a redacted administrative regulation for the use of “Telecommunication Identification Interception Devices” also known as cell site simulators, IMSI catchers or Stingrays. Administrative regulation AR 9-16 references Pennsylvania’s Wiretapping and Electronic Surveillance Control Act and specifically refers to interception of electronic communications. The Pennsylvania State Police FAQ on cell site simulators (CSS) claims that the CSS “cannot intercept the content of voice calls or text messages” nor can it obtain “cellular telephone numbers…of any user of a cellular device.” While […]

Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Releases Unredacted FBI Non-Disclosure Agreement

 Cell site simulator  No Responses »
Jun 072015
 

In a May 28, 2015, response to a public records request, the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA), released an unredacted non-disclosure agreement with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Despite releasing the unredacted NDA, the BCA still claims that portions of the Harris Corporation Terms and Conditions, descriptions of what it purchased and their prices are still exempt from disclosure: It should be noted that portions of these documents have been redacted pursuant to Minnesota Statute 13.82, subd. 25 as they would reveal deliberative processes or investigative techniques of this agency that would disclose the […]

Phoenix PD Releases FBI NDA; Makes Interesting Redactions

 Cell site simulator  No Responses »
May 262015
 

In response to a January 28, 2015, public records request and after I sent $1.14 to cover the cost of copies, the Phoenix Police Department sent a copy of its February 11, 2013, non-disclosure agreement with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. With other non-disclosure agreements from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, Erie County Sheriff’s Office, San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Office, Baltimore Police Department, and Ventura County Sheriffs Office, we can readily determine what text was redacted from the NDA. Nearly all of the redactions are references to hiding information about the StingRay from the judicial system. From the bottom […]

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