Thanks to explosive revelations by Edward Snowden, Americans are much more aware about how the Federal government is spying on them. But what many don't realize is that local police departments are adopting many of the same techniques.
Technology now exists to create a phony base station — sometimes called "Stingrays" — which causes all nearby phones to reveal their identity. Federal agencies like Homeland Security are now buying these devices and local police are following.
I recently asked San Diego police for documents related to these devices. They gave me one document, mostly redacted, suggesting they purchased a Stingray device from Harris Corporation for $33,000. They refused to produce any other documents.
One of the aspects of the US that makes it unique is that we tolerate dissent. To protect this, government spying on their own citizens needs to be exposed, monitored, and limited.
--MR
