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Oakland Is Building a Big Data Center For Police Surveillance

Posted by samzenpus on from the all-the-better-to-police-you-with dept.

rjmarvin writes "$7 million in federal grant money originally tasked with terrorism prevention is now being used to fund construction of a new data center in Oakland to electronically gather and analyze data around the clock from a variety of sensors and databases, displaying selected info on a bank of giant monitors. The center will mine massive data streams, helping the police department tap into 911 calls, port and traffic cameras, license plate readers, gunshot sensors, social media posts and commuters' electronic toll payments."

92 comments

  1. Get used to it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    1984 will be a true story

    1. Re:Get used to it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Not true. 1984 had full employment. Because the Party didn't bother with computers, real people had to do the work, and that meant jobs for all.

    2. Re:Get used to it by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 3, Interesting

      It's always been about technology to do stuff and the surplus of wealth necessary to pay for that. In the 1850s, the Austrian-Hungarian monarchy was trying to curb "undesirable writings", so they employed censors to take care of things. But since the quill was the most advanced IT tool by then, and because they could employ something like fifty people, not much was accomplished. Reading letters en masse was just a pipe dream, so they didn't even try. Ditto for the secret police - it sucked by today's standards. By the 1950s, the secret police organizations of the assorted socialist countries were enjoying steam envelope openers (what with seals on letters having fallen out of use) and could read millions of letters every year. Also, the economy, despite still being lousy, improved to the point that the police machinery could have been funded much more generously. And now? With the computational power at hand, immense disk arrays, and with most stuff being electronic, they can store and analyze volumes of letters that the socialist agents of our past could only dream of. It's never been about "will we do that?" for the governments - it's always been about "can we afford that?".

      --
      Ezekiel 23:20
    3. Re:Get used to it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So how soon do you figure the technology will be affordable to curb undesirable thinkings, hmm?

    4. Re:Get used to it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Stop thinking about thinking, prole!

    5. Re:Get used to it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      I think you are conflating "socialist" with "totalitarian"

    6. Re:Get used to it by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 1

      There's been a lot of talk about "socialism with a human face" in my country back then, but somehow it never materialized. ;/

      --
      Ezekiel 23:20
    7. Re:Get used to it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      imagine a boot stamping on a human face forever

    8. Re:Get used to it by MickyTheIdiot · · Score: 3, Insightful

      In 1984 the government actually cared about the citizens more than our government does.

      Now let that sink in for a minute.

    9. Re:Get used to it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Don't get too impressed with '1984' society. There are 'jobs for all' in a slavery based society too. There were jobs for all in the soviet union. 'Jobs for all' were an important promise of a certain german dictator too. You may want to look at work conditions before you join.

      'Jobs for all' is trivial for dictators with no need for human rights. The talented/useful is always easy to employ. Of the rest, the trustable can always be used in a STASI-like organization, the remaining can sweep streets or work farms.

    10. Re:Get used to it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's never been about "will we do that?" for the governments - it's always been about "can we afford that?".

      Wrong. Your examples are real enough - but there are also plenty of countries that did not bother opening letters by steam. And today they enact privacy laws.

    11. Re:Get used to it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Farming and street-sweeping are both good honest jobs, and far more productive than the alleged "work" performed by the average American office drone. But everybody wants a useless desk job and meanwhile the streets are filthy.

    12. Re:Get used to it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      'Jobs for all' were an important promise of a certain german dictator too.

      Austrian dictator. FTFY. The more you know

    13. Re:Get used to it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Socialism is not totalitarianism. Totalitarianism can exist in a corruption of socialism, or any other form of governance besides a truly REPRESENTATIVE democracy.

    14. Re:Get used to it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ot true. 1984 had full employment. Because the Party didn't bother with computers,

      It's easy to have jobs for everybody, we could do it today. There are all sorts of ways to get it done, the quickest and most effective is to simply execute anybody who doesn't have a job. Be careful what you ask for.

    15. Re:Get used to it by wooferhound · · Score: 1

      1984 will be a true story

      Yes, If it was titled "2014" it would have been real. He just missed it by 3 decades.

      --
      We are Dead Stars looking back Up at the Sky
    16. Re:Get used to it by lgw · · Score: 2

      Don't think "jobs for all" means "pay for all". I used to work with a guy who grew up in Bulgaria under communism there. Starting at about age 13, he was required to work a few hours every day in a local factory.

      The sort of exploitation of workers, especially child labor, that was normal for capitalism in the late 19th century was normal for communism in the late 20th century. People are just dicks, and changes in economic systems can't fix that.

      --
      Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
    17. Re:Get used to it by airdweller · · Score: 1

      "I used to work with a guy who grew up in Bulgaria under communism there. Starting at about age 13, he was required to work a few hours every day in a local factory. The sort of exploitation of workers, especially child labor, that was normal for capitalism in the late 19th century was normal for communism in the late 20th century."
      I call bullshit. I asked several people born in the USSR and a coworker born in Poland in 1955: they said "Maybe during WW2, but unthinkable after that"; the Polish guy said "I wanted to work as a paperboy when I was 14 and the newspaper needed my parents' permission".

    18. Re:Get used to it by lgw · · Score: 1

      In the USSR it was farmers - they took your land (and all stored food) and offered you the opportunity to work on government farms - but child labor was normal on farms throughout history, so maybe that's a bad example.

      But Poland and the USSR were both quite prosperous compared to Bulgaria, Romania, and the like. Conditions were worse in the satellites, in general.

      --
      Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
    19. Re:Get used to it by MickyTheIdiot · · Score: 1

      I'm not impressed with 1984 society at all. That's the point. When our government cares about citizens less than THEY did then it's a problem.

  2. $7M is a big data center? by king_nebuchadnezzar · · Score: 2

    Since when does $7m get you a large data center, more like a single rack...

    1. Re: $7M is a big data center? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      But it has a donut vending machine next to the rack (separate power line though 'cuz that's what $7 mil gets you).

    2. Re:$7M is a big data center? by Bob_Who · · Score: 1, Interesting

      Since when does $7m get you a large data center, more like a single rack...

      Good point. Nevertheless, its being used as budgeted. The only subtle distinction is that the terror that we need to worry about are increasingly of the domestic variety. That may always have been the case, but this spending is being done more conspicuously on the municipal scene. I credit the government for being more transparent in this regard. I just wish they would focus the money on jobs for humans and not cash for import data centers... One day at a time a guess.

    3. Re:$7M is a big data center? by Gravis+Zero · · Score: 4, Insightful

      The only subtle distinction is that the terror that we need to worry about are increasingly of the domestic variety.

      the important question is if the increase is the cause of our actions or effect of them.

      --
      Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
    4. Re:$7M is a big data center? by Mitreya · · Score: 2

      The only subtle distinction is that the terror that we need to worry about are increasingly of the domestic variety.

      the important question is if the increase is the cause of our actions or effect of them.

      Sadly, we won't be able to tell much until someone defines "terrorism"

      Right now, it could be anything. Regular crime, cyber-crime, hateful propaganda, having a wrong name...

    5. Re:$7M is a big data center? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      the terror that we need to worry about are increasingly of the domestic variety.

      No, the only terror we have to worry about, is the anti-terrorism activity that seems to be gathering steam daily.

      TSA has NEVER caught anyone that I am aware of. Not once. Based on that, I am more worried about TSA than the terrorism that it doesn't prevent.
      Unless you are operating on an assumption that TSA scares of terrorists that came into existence on 9/11, but were not really around beforehand.

    6. Re:$7M is a big data center? by ICLKennyG · · Score: 1

      7M will get you about what 5-10 racks? Depending on what you put in it. Even if you are only building the physical infrastructure and not the computers to fill the racks, 7M will get you about 6-10k sqft of data center space. Not even close to a 'big' data center. Also, every single source, with the possible exception of PUBLIC social media posts, in this article were things that the municipal government already had known (and logical) access to.

      I am all for the tinfoil hat outrage on government snooping, but stop michael-mooring this issue. When you create a tempest from a teacup you end up desensitizing the real issues and have no credibility left when the big issue is discovered.

    7. Re:$7M is a big data center? by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 2

      Since when does $7m get you a large data center, more like a single rack...

      For $7M, they could at least throw in a free nose job to go with your new rack.

      --
      Ezekiel 23:20
    8. Re:$7M is a big data center? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Perhaps in this case, terrorism is monitoring commuters?

    9. Re:$7M is a big data center? by KernelMuncher · · Score: 1

      It sounds more like "We're a government agency with funds to spend. What can we waste it on ?"

      I think the money is likely to go into to some contractor's pocket who is friends with the politically connected. I can't see the value to society in any of their expenditures (other than as an example of what not to do).

    10. Re:$7M is a big data center? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      7M will get you about what 5-10 racks?.

      Where do you people go shopping? We just put in four racks to service all the needs of 500 people and light (email, some storage) access to 20,000 students. It cost less than a new BMW. So what do you spend the other 6.9 million dollars on? IT is for business efficiency. Those kind of overage numbers are for Governments and software developers.

      That reminds me of our last budget meeting. As the development group explained their huge budget needs, "Cheetos, Tab and that's how we Mtn. Dew."

    11. Re: $7M is a big data center? by pgnas · · Score: 1

      Certainly it is important that he technology is used with the best intentions. Police departments can do quite a bit with technology that is available. ALPR (license plate readers) DO locate stolen vehicles on a regular basis. Dash cam or In Car Video as well as body cams go a long way to protect citizens and officers, after all when you can see how things unfolded it is hard to dispute. Gunshot detection systems can detect within several feet the type of of gun being shot (and knows the difference between car backfire or fireworks), smart tactical mapping in the vehicle can help close up all of the egress spots and if there is a camera in the area, it can automatically move to the direction of the detection.
      Good records management and CAD(computer aided dispatch) can warn the officer ahead of time what he /she might be walking into.
      There are many ways technology can assist the agency in resource allocation for effectively assigning personnel to locations or determining staffing which can significantly reduce overtime that costs the cities money.
      A good reporting system can get a cop from one assignment to another more efficiently as the reporting can be optimized, decreasing response time. Field identification can prevent the need to bring someone to a station for identification, the booking process can be cut down by at least 50-60%, which gets the cop back on the street where you want them.

  3. Embarassing Point by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    "Tap into 911 calls" I think it'd be a bit embarrassing but someone ought to point out to the Oakland police that calls to 911 are in fact often calls to the police, so the only thing they'd need to tap into them is, well pick up the bloody ringing phone to be honest.

    1. Re:Embarassing Point by Xest · · Score: 1

      I suspect what it means is tapping into information from 911 calls to try and link it up with other information.

      If a gunshot sensor detects a shot and the police go to investigate and a guy just says he accidentally discharged it or was shooting in his yard the police may think nothing of it and go away.

      If the police get a report that they've not seen an employee for a few days they may turn up and say there's no reason to think they should worry.

      If the police get a report of a neighbour digging in their yard or stuffing something into the boot of their car in the middle of the night it by itself may just be dismissed if a separate set of officers visit without prior knowledge.

      If however the system links the fact that the missing employee lived at the address of the gunshot and alerts officers visiting the address for the report of digging/stuffing something in the boot in the middle of the night then the police are much better equipped to say "Are you sure you haven't just killed your wife? May we please see what you were digging or get forensics to check your boot for blood?".

      The problem is if you have different sources of information and different officers on different nights attending events at the same address then it's easy for the bigger picture to be lost. If the same officers attend they'll probably figure it out, but that's not guaranteed through different shifts, sickness and many other factors.

      It'd be hard for 911 operators to keep track of everything they've recorded over maybe a few weeks and put two and two together, especially if different operators take the calls. If reports can be automatically linked based on geographic location and similar then it makes things easier for them to see what may have happened.

  4. some definitions for the non-native by nimbius · · Score: 5, Insightful

    As an Oakland native, i think its only fair to clarify what the police department means by these technologies in their pursuit of law enforcement:

    911 calls: those troubling interruptions from sleeping, fast food or harassing the homeless that require you do actually respond to something in an hour or so.

    port and traffic cameras often seen on the morning news, and cited frequently throughout the day, it sure would be neat if we used them as frequently as motorists and media personalities did, but that would require us to repair the 400 or so that still dont work.

    license plate readers the closest thing we've got to a thoughtcrime detector. if you havent made quota, this little go-getter is like a golden goose for finding people with parking tickets, expired registrations, and the ever guilty smudgy plate that cant be read.

    gunshot sensors Residents, mostly. Try not to obsess over the ones in low-income neighborhoods, they're constantly going off and its becoming a nuisance.

    social media posts and commuters' electronic toll payments. Ford has a new police car this year, Bushmaster has a new rifle this year, my cruiser laptop is getting too slow to play minecraft, blaze yellow stop sticks are the new black this year, oh, and uh, protect 'n' serve or something.

    --
    Good people go to bed earlier.
    1. Re:some definitions for the non-native by k8to · · Score: 2

      Or more simply:

      Oakland is pretty crime-encoouraging territory.

      The best (most effective, and most efficient) ways to reduce crime are:

        * Improve neighborhoods to the point where they feel well kept, and try to ensure there's a feeling that most public spaces have people watching them by having housing facing those spaces.
        * Walk beats, be present in neighborhoods in a slow, ongoing way. Crime-in-progress tends to require police to be present for around 30-50 minutes for the actors to give up and wander off. Crime tends to be strongly discouraged though by regularly present officers who know the territory.

      The problem here is that Oakland like most post-1930s cities is largely built in a semi-suburban pattern, with bones that work against neighborhood centers (which leads to blight) and don't have a strong sense of observation, which means crime feels free to happen.

      In addition, it's not high density, so there's far too much territory to realistically fund a police force who actually walk beats. In addition, in a lot of neighborhoods the police would be afraid to do so.

      So the obvious place to invest is in neighborhood center revitalization, encouragement of high quality urban development, and slowly getting rid of the semi-tenements that exist here and there. But that's long slow hard work. Gadgets are more fun.

      --
      -josh
    2. Re:some definitions for the non-native by Yaur · · Score: 1

      gunshot sensors are an actual thing... they just don't work.

    3. Re:some definitions for the non-native by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      whoooooooooooosh

    4. Re:some definitions for the non-native by khallow · · Score: 1

      So the obvious place to invest is in neighborhood center revitalization, encouragement of high quality urban development, and slowly getting rid of the semi-tenements that exist here and there. But that's long slow hard work. Gadgets are more fun.

      The thing is, Oakland is not unusual in its physical layout. The whole of the south Bay area is even worse. I think it's a combination of the criminals have to go somewhere and Oakland is the weakest link in the area.

    5. Re:some definitions for the non-native by intermodal · · Score: 1

      And that's not even getting into the various ways to potentially abuse them to discriminate like crazy against people from out of town/state. It would be extremely easy for a cop with a plate reader to target, for example, people with SoCal registration addresses who were unlikely to fight a ticket due to distance. Or rental cars. Or known members of political parties. Or women. Or people with names like Juan, Mohammad, or Tyrone. Or perfectly legal gun owners. The list goes on. Honestly, of the above listed technologies, the license plate readers are the ones that scare me the most.

      --
      In SOVIET RUSSIA... erm...NSA AMERICA, the Internet logs onto YOU!
    6. Re: some definitions for the non-native by pgnas · · Score: 1

      You nailed it, not to mention the parking and violation information, tax key information, bus cameras, school surveillance, body cameras, squad GPS data and dash cam video,literally anything they can tap into. The social media is a big thing, capturing real time information at the scene can drum up witnesses, capture photos of the area prior to the incident, it all goes a long way. This is similar to the fusion centers throughout the US where these technologies are put to use. IBM has been focusing on bringing its predictive analytics to municipalities linking their RMS arrest and CAD call data they can really pinpoint with significant accuracy the homes their officers will be visiting. The ALPR systems can be linked from one municipality to another as well, tracking vehicle routes and times people are moving illegal substances or when rival gang violence may occur. Over the past 5 years law enforcement has been booming with technology. Today's police Chief is embracing technology and relies on it to make many of the daily decisions. Where the privacy issues come into play is that, like anything else, technology has grown at an alarming pace and laws have not kept up with the growth. Many cities do not have official retention policies for this data so, they are keeping it indefinitely. To compound the issue, the politicians who have to address policy regarding these technologies are non-technical people with little understanding of the implications. (I think this is easily the issue on the federal side as well, old guys who don't know what they are dealing with) So, get used to it is right. I say, embrace it, there are a lot of opportunities for people interested in bringing technology solutions to law enforcement. There are still a very large number of RMS vendors who are 5-7 years behind, slapping new interfaces over old technology, there is a demand for this and most of them have systems that are antiquated, lack modular design and require complete re-write in order take advantage of current technology.

  5. Interface? by fatgraham · · Score: 1

    I'm curious, how do "they" access/ interface these huge reams of data? Does anyone have any insight?
    Surely all this google-size data is useless without a very very good interface to it

    1. Re:Interface? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm curious, how do "they" access/ interface these huge reams of data? Does anyone have any insight?

      Ding Ding Ding! The more important question is "Does the Oakland PD have any insight?"

    2. Re:Interface? by P-niiice · · Score: 1

      They'll fail and spend the rest of the dough on new weapon/armor for the cops...or more license readers to increase the ROI

    3. Re: Interface? by pgnas · · Score: 1

      I2 was purchased by IBM, their product i iBase purchased by IBM is an excellent example of of software capable of bringing in this type of data and building the relationships that get the value from the data. This has become part of IBMs predictive analytics Along with SPSS
      There are many others on the horizon, however, there are not enough. It is time that the great minds, such as those here, start looking at developing solutions for law enforcement. There is a market out there for the person who is interested, that is for sure, the current players have been into it for a while, but they are built on old technology and I believe many lack the in-house talent to out it all together. Most of these companies were started by police officers who liked "playing with computers". Of course there are great companies out there, but they are few and far between, Hope that helped shed some light on the subject.

  6. Freedom...comes at a price..... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ....of they spending money and you having less freedom.

  7. Thus we see: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Everyone is a terrorist.

    Including those who pay their highway tolls.

    It's no surprise that every police force needs at least two SWAT teams and matching assault vehicles to keep gramps and the cat lady in check.

    1. Re:Thus we see: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Everyone is a terrorist.

      Thats terrist talk! Yous on the list!!

  8. They need any help they can get... by aralin · · Score: 2

    It takes 40+ days in Oakland, just to get a police report number after a non-violent crime has been committed. The insurance people thought that I am kidding, until I mentioned the crime happened in Oakland. Oh well. This is one of the problems with property taxes paying for police. If the value of properties is not high, you don't get police, the crime goes up, the property values go further down and so on. Fun cycle.

    --
    If programs would be read like poetry, most programmers would be Vogons.
    1. Re:They need any help they can get... by pspahn · · Score: 1

      Speaking of non-violent crime, that's basically the problem in Oakland. Yes, it's a big city with poor crime statistics, but the areas it does the worst in are non-violent types, things like car theft and robbery.

      One of these days that little bastard child of a city that is Oakland (at least compared to the *perceptions* outsiders have of it in relation to neighboring San Jose and San Fran) is going to get on its feet and become that proud and honorable place to live again.

      I get the sense that this is a goverment project that is going to be viewed as highly successful, especially with that small of a budget. I am okay with this, Oakland is due for a makeover.

      --
      Someone flopped a steamer in the gene pool.
    2. Re:They need any help they can get... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If you think San Francisco is any better. I had employees who were robbed of company equipment in San Francisco. The process to get the information paperwork for insurance takes about 30 days. Of which, you can't just call or walk to a specific department. You have to mail a letter to specific department after reporting the crime in order to get the paperwork you need for the insurance.

    3. Re:They need any help they can get... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm with you. Also, let's keep the Athletics in Oakland. This is a city...on the grow?

    4. Re: They need any help they can get... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Oakland resident here. I'm afraid your classification our crime stats is wrong. The threat of violence is considered the same as violence in robberies, therefore "armed robbery" is considered a violent crime. With thousands of armed robberies so far this year, Oakland has an extremely high violent crime rate even if you don't consider the crimes where a physical injury occurred.

      We also have a very high murder rate (in poor areas), in which many perpetrators and victims are minors, and several victims this year have tragically been toddlers and even an infant.

      Let's not minimize the scale of the violent crime situation in Oakland and the scale of the human tragedy in the neighborhoods whose young people commit - and are the primary victims of - the worst of it.

    5. Re: They need any help they can get... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Oakland resident here. I'm afraid your classification our crime stats is wrong. The threat of violence is considered the same as violence in robberies, therefore "armed robbery" is considered a violent crime. With thousands of armed robberies so far this year, Oakland has an extremely high violent crime rate even if you don't consider the crimes where a physical injury occurred.
      We also have a very high murder rate (in poor areas), in which many perpetrators and victims are minors, and several victims this year have tragically been toddlers and even an infant.
      Let's not minimize the scale of the violent crime situation in Oakland and the scale of the human tragedy in the neighborhoods whose young people commit - and are the primary victims of - the worst of it.

  9. I hope this doesn't happen to it. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    In Bristol, UK, a $25m police firearms training centre was torched by locals. http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2013/aug/28/anarchist-fire-police-firearms-training

    1. Re:I hope this doesn't happen to it. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Terrorist anarchist pinko commie nazi arsonist! Yous on the list!!

    2. Re:I hope this doesn't happen to it. by hawkinspeter · · Score: 1

      That's not too far from where I live, but it wasn't exactly "torched by locals", but torched by an anarchist group.

      --
      You're a temporary arrangement of matter sliding towards oblivion in a cold, uncaring universe
    3. Re:I hope this doesn't happen to it. by __aaltlg1547 · · Score: 1

      That's not too far from where I live, but it wasn't exactly "torched by locals", but torched by an anarchist group.

      Was it a local anarchist group?

    4. Re:I hope this doesn't happen to it. by hawkinspeter · · Score: 1

      It was most likely a local chapter of the IAF, but originally the IAF is from Italy. Stating "torched by locals" makes it sound like everyday folk were that upset by it that they stormed it with pitchforks etc.

      --
      You're a temporary arrangement of matter sliding towards oblivion in a cold, uncaring universe
  10. I wonder when... by ctrl-alt-canc · · Score: 1

    ...they will start building data centers for data center surveillance.

    1. Re:I wonder when... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      yo dawg, i heard you like data centers

    2. Re:I wonder when... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Gee, it'd be a real shame if something happened to your precious little data center. I know a guy who can make sure nothing ever happens to it ... me.

    3. Re:I wonder when... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That seems to work for the UK army

  11. I only read article headlines. by Alsee · · Score: 4, Funny

    Oakland Is Building a Big Data Center For Police Surveillance

    Awesome. More cities should keep their police under surveillance.

    -

    --
    - - You can't take something off the Internet! That's like trying to take pee out of a swimming pool.
    1. Re:I only read article headlines. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Are you a stupid-fat-guys-with-guns fetishist?

    2. Re:I only read article headlines. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Are you a ugly-skinny-guy-who-hurt-his-wrist-the-first-time-he-shot-a-pistol-and-cried-like-a-little-bitch? Especially when it was a .22?

    3. Re:I only read article headlines. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm such a badass I hurt my wrist playing WoW.

    4. Re:I only read article headlines. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I too had a moment of hope, which had passed as I read the summary.

    5. Re:I only read article headlines. by Bob+the+Super+Hamste · · Score: 1

      I had the same thought and you deserve an insightful instead of funny because too many PDs need to be better surveilled.

      --
      Time to offend someone
  12. Police monitoring of 911 calls by golodh · · Score: 1
    I think we need police to more closely monitor 911 calls and respond to them pro-actively. You just never know.

    A nice example of what might happen when they do is given here: http://www.storyleak.com/woman-calls-911-diabetic-husband-police-shoot-kill-man-upon-arrival/

    1. Re:Police monitoring of 911 calls by reve_etrange · · Score: 1

      I wouldn't worry about that here. In Oakland the police don't respond to calls directly. If there's blood on the pavement, they might send someone in a couple of hours. They have even admitted it officially, announcing that they would only respond to in-progress, violent crimes.

      --
      .: Semper Absurda :.
  13. So... by sociocapitalist · · Score: 1

    Let's see...Federal anti-terrorism money used to surveil American citizens.

    What else is new?

    --
    blindly antisocialist = antisocial
    1. Re:So... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Americans are terrorists, the whole world knows it.

      CAPTCHA: numerous

      There are numerous terrorists! A-ha-ha!

  14. Anti-Terrorism by EmagGeek · · Score: 1

    Is it clear to you all yet that the government considers YOU, the Citizens, to be the terrorists?

    1. Re:Anti-Terrorism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes, it's been clear for the past decade or so, but thanks for pointing out the obvious.

  15. I have a name for it by gelfling · · Score: 1

    The Phillip K Dick I Told Ya So Data Repository

  16. $7 million is not much money by Andover+Chick · · Score: 1

    The SF Bay area is one of the most expensive areas in the world. What is $7 million going to buy? Perhaps a Winnebago which they can park on the street and loaded with 10 yo Linux boxes?

    1. Re:$7 million is not much money by __aaltlg1547 · · Score: 1

      7000 bargain-basement servers or 2000 cheap servers plus the infrastructure to make them usable.

  17. Gunshot sensos: euphemism for microphones by Squidlips · · Score: 3, Informative

    As if the internet surveillance is not enough, most cities now have networks of microphones so that Big Brother can listen in.

  18. What will it take to turn off the Fed spigot? by mbone · · Score: 1

    What will it take to get the Federal government out of the business of wasting money buying local cops toys?

  19. It's about time! by Agent0013 · · Score: 1

    Yeah! It's about time we start watching the police back! We need more surveillance on what the governmental organizations are doing.

    Oh wait! That's not what they mean, is it?!

    --

    -- ssoorrrryy,, dduupplleexx sswwiittcchh oonn.. -Quote found on actual fortune cookie.
  20. Laugh by koan · · Score: 1

    "displaying selected info on a bank of giant monitors"

    Yeah I'm familiar with the OPD, this is a giant joke, the only monitors these over payed buffoons will be looking at are their phones.

    --
    "If any question why we died, Tell them because our fathers lied."
  21. big hadoop (or other nosql) cluster(s) by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    it won't buy you a big "datacenter" but for $7M I could probably squeeze a respectable "big data" center into a modest # of racks in an existing datacenter. I could store a _LOT_ of digital video in hdfs for $7M & a lot of compute nodes for analyzing metadata.

    fortunately the risk of government at any level doing something this efficient (versus handing over to incompetent vendors) is not something that keeps me up at night...

  22. Sounds more like a dispatch center by aaarrrgggh · · Score: 1

    $7MM would only buy them about 800 square feet of datacenter, but it could be about 3,500 square feet of dispatch or emergency response. Essential Facilities in seismic zones tend to be base-isolated structures, which drives up costs.

    I think for $7MM Los Angeles can just build a radio tower and shelter...

  23. Oakland Crowdfunding Private Cops by MellowBob · · Score: 1

    http://slashdot.org/topic/cloud/oakland-crowdfunding-private-cops/

    WTF!

    This type of thing is why Tea Party.

  24. You are the terrorist by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    In short the $7 million grant to fight terrorism has determined that any given citizen of the US is a terrorist.

  25. Gee, this works so well on TV by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    They're watching too many movies and TV shows.

  26. Oakland? by Jeremiah+Cornelius · · Score: 1

    Free Huey!

    --
    "Flyin' in just a sweet place,
    Never been known to fail..."
  27. Big , windowless building ... by PPH · · Score: 1

    ... no doubt. I look forward to the artwork of the local taggers.

    --
    Have gnu, will travel.
  28. so basically, how things are portrayed on drama TV by themushroom · · Score: 1

    Crime shows like "CSI" and "NCIS" and even that show about the operations of a casino "Las Vegas", which have direct access to everything without the need for a court order or others' say-so, will be a reality!

    --
    Laughter is the Spackle of the Soul.
  29. Another insipid war room? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ???