BPD Commissioner William Gross has had a bad few days. Last week, ACLU Massachusetts sued the city of Boston for using “a system—nicknamed the ‘gang packet’—which awards points for choice of clothes and social media selfies, and [is] used to designate ‘gang affiliation’ without any accompanying allegations of criminal Continue Reading
Boston researchers have spent years helping government agencies plan and simulate operations to troll potential terrorists. Despite controversial practices and lackluster results, the covert operations continue.
BPD seeks access to private security cameras, experiments with new surveillance network The Boston Police Department wants to deputize your surveillance system. After a crime, police canvass for private security cameras. Sometimes, they obtain a warrant for the tapes or data, or simply ask for the owner’s consent to access Continue Reading
The true beginning of a false narrative: an investigation into the Hub’s Neighborhood Watch Eight days after 16-year-old Norman Hawkesworth shot and killed Stephen Lanigan, John Winston found the murder weapon — a .22 caliber long pistol — while jogging in West Roxbury and contacted the police. According to Suffolk County court documents, Hawkesworth had Continue Reading
Council greenlights social media surveillance despite lack of BPD transparency With the dawn of a new kind of surveillance upon us, it’s critical to trace the advent of social media monitoring in Mass back to its roots. There is a demonstrable history of the Boston Police Department and other city Continue Reading
