A not-so-clear fine line - with more than one recurring fact brought to light:
The entire system was paid for by a private donor, allowing the PD to sidestep its transparency obligations to the public
"The Baltimore PD can still use its flying spies, says the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. The aerial surveillance program -- first "introduced" on accident in 2016 -- allows the PD to track the movement of people across the entire city, thanks to high-powered cameras mounted on airplanes. The surveillance system (created by Persistent Surveillance Systems) can capture 32-square miles. People and vehicles are reduced to pixels despite the power of the 192-million-megapixel cameras, but combining this footage with street-level surveillance allows the PD to deanonymize moving pixels observed near crime scenes.
The entire system was paid for by a private donor, allowing the PD to sidestep its transparency obligations to the public. After the initial run ended, the PD resurrected it -- this time following the proper processes for introducing new surveillance systems to the city.
Earlier this year, a federal court rejected requests for an injunction, stating that the observations of moving pixels didn't amount to a Constitutional violation. Even though these pixels could be identified using ground-based surveillance, the court didn't see anything in the system that amounted to persistent, intrusive surveillance with Fourth Amendment implications
Appeals Court Says Baltimore PD's Aerial Surveillance Program Doesn't Violate The Constitution
from the long-term-tracking-of-people-is-fine...-as-long-as-it's-only-12-hours-a-day dept
All-seeing 24/7 video surveillance technology, first developed for use in war, is now affordable enough to be used domestically to fight crime and terrorism. Some lawmakers are wary.
After a shooting in West Baltimore, Persistent Surveillance Systems technology mapped the path of cars nearby.
Photo: Persistent Surveillance Systems
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