Police scanned Flock cameras in a single town in Illinois more than 1,200 times to investigate cases of loitering.
Cops Are Using Flock to Spy on People for the Crime of Standing Around
https://theintercept.com/2026/09/09/flock-cameras-police-loitering-curfew-surveillance/
34 Comments
Telorand@reddthat.com · 57 pts · 16d
Go outside, but only in a state-sanctioned way
snooggums@piefed.world · 36 pts · 16d
Corporate sanctioned.
Telorand@reddthat.com · 20 pts · 16d
Fair. Getting harder to distinguish the two anymore
snooggums@piefed.world · 7 pts · 16d
They do align the majority of the time for sure.
LibertyLizard@slrpnk.net · 13 pts · 16d
Not actively spending money? Straight to jail.
BeMoreCareful@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 16d
That's literally the definition of theft™️
empireOfLove2@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 52 pts · 16d
Oh oh oh but I thought I was told these cameras are only simple license plate readers and do not track pedestrians or faces???
Corkyskog@sh.itjust.works · 29 pts · 16d
There pointed at playgrounds... we all know what the Epstein class is using them for.
FluorideMind@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 15d
IDK who told you that. They have ai face scanning and can identify vehicles from stickers and damage.
empireOfLove2@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 4 pts · 15d
My own local police department when justifying them covering every city entrance and exit with them. ._.
Kolanaki@pawb.social · 45 pts · 16d
Loitering is the dumbest illegal thing right up there with jay walking and criminalizing not having a home.
gAlienLifeform@lemmy.world · 13 pts · 16d
Either choose to participate in capitalism or they stick you in a box and commodify your imprisonment
aceshigh@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 16d
Are you loitering if you’re walking the dog? What about if you’re smoking outside? What about if you’re sitting on a bench in a park?
MagicShel@lemmy.zip · 16 pts · 16d
It depends. Is someone richer than you upset about it? Then it's loitering.
aceshigh@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 16d
Checkmate. I guess I’m done for today.
floquant@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 39 pts · 16d
I remember when I was 14 or something and first looked up what "loitering" meant and I was like... In the US cops can harass you for just being somewhere? Not even private property, just existing on a sidewalk? Still doesn't make sense
MagicShel@lemmy.zip · 33 pts · 16d
Mate, the laws are written so that if someone wealthy or powerful doesn't like what you're doing, it's illegal. And if what you're doing isn't illegal, they find something you're doing that is.
LettyWhiterock@lemmy.world · 9 pts · 15d
I mean loitering is clearly aimed at homeless people as a justification to arrest them for basically being homeless.
MagicShel@lemmy.zip · 4 pts · 15d
Poors hanging out in rich folk places is a superset of the homeless situation.
MangoCats@feddit.it · 8 pts · 16d
Coral Gables has laws against carrying "burglar tools" - well, a credit card or even a state issued ID card can be used to open a locked door, so there's a handy "burglar tool" charge just as soon as the cop asks to see your ID.
LogicalDrivel@sopuli.xyz · 5 pts · 16d
Only if your not white though. Or white, but wearing a hoodie because hoodies are scary.
MangoCats@feddit.it · 11 pts · 16d
You know, it's really about poor... black is shorthand for poor, so it looks like racism, but underneath it all, they'll abuse poor people just like they abuse black people.
MangoCats@feddit.it · 7 pts · 16d
When the cops in our town were ineffective at keeping the teenagers from loitering in the parking lot of the 24 hour drug store, the retiree busy-bodies got the city council to make the drugstore close at 9pm.
spacegoat@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 15d
Land of the free means land of the rich are free to fuck you up
HertzDentalBar@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 4 pts · 15d
Literally the plot of rambo
deliriousdreams@fedia.io · 3 pts · 16d
This, even after they were told they could no longer stop and frisk you for just standing around.
Zombiepirate@lemmy.world · 18 pts · 16d
Thank the gods that police can now use big tech to harass people instead of relying on their teensy little brains. I bet their metrics have improved significantly.
TRock@feddit.dk · 15 pts · 16d
Land of the free
queerlilhayseed@piefed.blahaj.zone · 15 pts · 16d
Reminder since it's coming up, October is International Mass Surveillance Appreciation Month! Don't forget to stock up on all the holiday essentials:
Halloween is often a busy time for law enforcement so please be conscientious about when you observe IMSAM. But, as they say, better late than never!
Hope you all have a safe and productive IMSAM. Remember, you don't have to celebrate all the time, but if everyone celebrates a little bit, the season can last all year 🖤🖤🖤
ummthatguy@lemmy.world · 14 pts · 16d
Zwuzelmaus@feddit.org · 10 pts · 16d
Guns built in already?
popekingjoe@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 15d
Not yet, but that's only a matter of time.
melsaskca@lemmy.ca · 8 pts · 15d
knacht1@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 16d
Paywalled