From Pine View Farm

Enforcers category archive

Disparate Treatment 0

At the San Francisco Chronicle, law professor Samantha Buckingham wonders how Donald Trump’s numerous criminal trials might have gone if he were not protected by his (reputed) wealth.

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The Surveillance Society 0

Joanna Pozzulo, writing at Psychology Today Blogs, warns about the increasing use of automated surveilance technology, particularly facial recognition. She points out that, despite the faith that persons put in these machines, they are by no means infallible.

She makes three main points:

  • Surveillance cameras are becoming ubiquitous with facial recognition software often present as well.
  • The accuracy of facial recognition significantly decreases for women, young adults, and racialized people.
  • Mistaken identification can lead to wrongful prosecution and conviction.

Given the proliferation of these technologies, I think her piece is well worth a read.

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Fiction Comes Alive 0

And you thought that the Keystone Kops were just something from old movies that your grandparents watched on black and white telly visions.

Nope. They are very real and may be at your doorstep today.

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Shotspitter 0

The EFF has long warned of the dangers of certain technologies with which law enforcement seems enamored, such as shotspotter and facial recognition. Here’s a bit from their latest article on the topic:

On January 25, while responding to a ShotSpotter alert, a Chicago police officer opened fire on an unarmed “maybe 14 or 15” year old child in his backyard. Three officers approached the boy’s house, with one asking “What you doing bro, you good?” They heard a loud bang, later determined to be fireworks, and shot at the child. Fortunately, no physical injuries were recorded. In initial reports, police falsely claimed that they fired at a “man” who had fired on officers.

In a subsequent assessment of the event, the Chicago Civilian Office of Police Accountability (“COPA”) concluded that “a firearm was not used against the officers.” Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling placed all attending officers on administrative duty for 30 days and is investigating whether the officers violated department policies.

Follow the link for context.

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Suffer the Children 0

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.

Words fail me.

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Facebook Frolics 0

A Tennessee police department found out the hard way that, even though a frolicker posts something stupid and disrespectful and insipid, it ain’t inherently a crime.

We are becoming an uncivil society. And “social” media is accelerating our desce–oh, never mind.

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Immunity Impunity 0

In related news . . . .

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Immunity Impunity, Rule of Lawless Dept. 0

Read the news report that Farron discusses.

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A Notion of Immigrants 0

The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Will Bunch makes a strong case that Texas Governor Abbott is simply being mean for the sake of mean.

I think a pretty strong case can be made that, if the majority of immigrants at our Southern border were white like me, they’d not be greeted with such hostility.

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Freedom of Suppress, Updated 0

Read more from Wichita, Kansas, NPR station KMUW.

Addendum:

And here’s an update from the Kansas City Star.

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Presumed Guilty 0

I wonder just why oh why something like this could have happened?

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Full-Face and Profiled 0

The EFF reports on a court’s finding about farcical recognition. A snippet (emphasis added):

In a victory for transparency in police use of facial recognition, a New Jersey appellate court today ruled that state prosecutors—who charged a man for armed robbery after the technology showed he was a “possible match” for the suspect—must turn over to the defendant detailed information about the face scanning software used, including how it works, source code, and its error rate.

Follow the link for details.

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Disparate Treatment 0

Frame One, captioned

Click for the original image.

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Different Strokes at Different Folks 0

Eric Foster tells a tale or people, pigment, and perception.

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“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0

Once again, politeness becomes child’s play.

Too many guns and too much stupid is a lethal mixture.

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Can You Spot the Difference? 0

Frame One:  White guy in car in traffic stop talking on his cell phone says,

Via Job’s Anger.

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Immunity Impunity 0

I suspect that I am not alone in avoiding watching the video of five Memphis, Tennessee, police officers murdering Tyre Nichols. I can be aware of it without subjecting myself to experiencing it in a (quasi-)first-hand manner.

Commenters routinely point out that both the victim and the perpetrators were black. Some would use this to argue that racism was not a factor, as if to pretend that America’s history of institutionalized and societal racism somehow does not insidiously affect everyone in some way or another.

At Psychology Today Blogs, Kevin Cokley considers this event and its implications. Here’s a short excerpt (emphasis added); the entire piece is worth you while.

Let’s be clear that just because the police officers are Black does not mean that institutional racism was not involved. One of the lessons we should learn from this is that Black people can be pawns in the perpetuation of institutional racism. This is one of the reasons why focusing on individual acts of racism is an insufficient intervention for ending anti-Black racism. Racism is embedded in institutional culture, policies, and practices. It was acceptable to all five officers to brutalize Tyre and to the other officers who were privy to their actions. This speaks to the culture of policing that is all too prevalent in many police departments.

(Broken link fixed.)

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Immunity Impunity 0

B-b-b-but everyone knows they all look alike.

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.

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The Pick-Up Artist 0

You can’t make this stuff up.

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Grasping at a Broken Straw 0

The Las Vegas Sun editorial board if we can’t get rid of the guns, we have to get rid of the prejudice.

I reckon their hearts are in the right place.

And, in other news, pigs, wings.

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