Police Are Still Abusing Investigative Exemptions to Shield Surveillance Tech, While Others Move Towards Transparency

How transparent are police about surveillance technology? It depends on where you look. When it comes to acceptable levels of secrecy around police tools, states have drawn their lines in very different places, resulting in some communities where it is much harder for the public to know what invasive tools are being used.

State public records laws are designed to provide residents a way to learn about their government’s activities. They are variably effective in practice. It is not unusual …

abusing police shield street-level surveillance surveillance tech transparency