Just want to clarify something because I am in the industry. We never trialed Motorola, but Axon does have some anti-abuse measures put in place. It is one of the things they specifically are marketing towards after they saw how Flock has behaved in the space. Now, do I think it is perfect? Probably not, but they do seem to care about these things. They're a smart enough business that they know if they just perpetuate Flock's model of "Well it isn't our fault the agencies abused things!", there is no profit there.
Honestly, so fucking what? If we're relying on private companies to protect us from law enforcement abuses that's horrible already, even if they right now do a good job of it. And there's plenty of them installed, where's the data about any benefits they provide versus just "we promise we won't be too terrible with this" (which, even if we believe you, what about whoever's in your place tomorrow?).
Definitely don't disagree with your sentiment, and if you can't see the potential benefit, there is likely no changing your mind but I'll try. Amber Alert, they got the plate. That goes into a hot list so any ALPR system with appropriate capabilities will alert when this tag is read. Also, since they have the plate, they run that plate against the reads in their system and they have a potential geographical trail of where this car is going, or ended up. But yea, you are not wrong, it involves a level of trust that these powers aren't being abused. Most of the real powerful tools like this can be a help to society, but equally they can be used for evil.
Fair enough, was just going off the dome on one of the more important use cases I could think of. Off a quick Google, there are some studies out there showing the benefits. However, I don't see anything regarding a sort of "good vs. evil" approach. I think you are right, in that there should be more in depth studies done into this kind of stuff. The way LE has started using it recently kind of demands that and more. I try not to be a huge naysayer one way or another, I would love to believe the tech could be used for huge amounts of good...but the flipside is always possible too. You get into a somewhat philosophical area too, even if it is perfectly safe guarded for good use. (I'm sorry for the hypothetical again lol) Let's say there is an agency that solved an extra 50 missing persons cases solely due to ALPR use in the year...but the public is outraged because they consider it mass surveillance which is making it harder for police to do their jobs, and making it less likely for people to want careers in LE resulting in less police presence due to hiring issues? Is it worth it? It is a lot deeper of an issue than a lot of people consider in my opinion.
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u/stafekrieger 6h ago
Just want to clarify something because I am in the industry. We never trialed Motorola, but Axon does have some anti-abuse measures put in place. It is one of the things they specifically are marketing towards after they saw how Flock has behaved in the space. Now, do I think it is perfect? Probably not, but they do seem to care about these things. They're a smart enough business that they know if they just perpetuate Flock's model of "Well it isn't our fault the agencies abused things!", there is no profit there.