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A garbage truck on a tree-lined street.
Blog

San Jose's New Surveillance Proposal is Garbage

Aug 21, 2015
What if once a week the police drove by your home and took a picture?That is what the San Jose City Council proposed last week with an effort to install automatic license plate readers (ALPRs) on garbage trucks.ALPRs are high-speed cameras that sit atop patrol cars or on roadsides and are capable of snapping photos of thousands of license plate numbers per hour, including their location. This tech... Read More
digitally created aerial map of a city with location markers
Blog

ACLU Suit Shows the DOJ Gathered Location Data Without Probable Cause

Aug 26, 2015
After three years of litigation, we’ve finally settled a portion of one of our long-running Freedom of Information Act suits against the federal government for information about its location tracking practices.  A person’s digital location information reveals detailed, private information that the government should only be able to get through a warrant based on probable cause.  As part o... Read More
lot full of cars
Blog

Voters Agree: It’s Time to End “Theft by Cop”

Aug 27, 2015
Imagine you’re on your way to buy a used car and a police officer pulls you over. After asking you a few questions, the officer asks to search your car. Knowing you’ve done nothing wrong, you agree. The next thing you know, the officer is telling you that he’s suspicious that you have $2,500 in cash – and he takes it. You explain that you’re on your way to buy a car. He doesn’t believe you and tel... Read More
Photo from the Sep 2 day of action in Sacramento
Blog

Legislating for Police Reform and Black Lives in California

Sep 01, 2015
Since Michael Brown’s death, unarmed black men have been killed by law enforcement at alarmingly disproportionate rates. Specifically, reports indicate that black men account for 40% of 60 unarmed deaths at the hands of police this year, and are seven times more likely than white men to be shot to death by police while unarmed. At the state level, California holds the ominous record for the highes... Read More