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All of Winona Police Department's Flock cameras cut down and stolen (www.valleynewslive.com)
submitted 3 months ago by [B] to c/hackernews@lemmy.bestiver.se
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[–] 40 points 3 months ago (19 children)

Without reading the article, I can only assume they used a battery powered circular saw. Heck, they probably even covered their faces and hands while leaving their phones at home!

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  • [–] 7 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (3 children)

    Best power tool is definitely a cordless portable bandsaw. Or so I hear.

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  • [–] 2 points 3 months ago (2 children)

    would that outperform a reciprocating saw?

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  • [–] 1 point 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (8 children)

    don't forget to bring a wireless jammer as well if you're going to take the cameras afterwards.

    edit: because of the confusion I'll spell it out. the jammer isn't for your phone, it's for the cameras. they operate off the wireless cell towers and undoubtedly have GPS.

    if you're going to take the cameras afterwards you need to at least disrupt their ability to phone home long enough for you to permanently disable them.

    also, don't think by removing the solar panel you'll have done that. all the panel does is charge the battery.

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  • [–] 7 points 3 months ago

    Pro tip: don't use a wireless jammer. Those are illegal and will produce signals that can themselves be tracked. Don't commit crimes while committing crimes. Instead place the camera in a metal tool box or a Faraday bag.

    A practical method:

    1. Obtain a metal toolbox and a big plastic tote.
    2. Carry camera in metal toolbox. (Metal box will block wireless signals.)
    3. Carry toolbox home, do not open it.
    4. Place toolbox inside plastic tote. Fill tote with water to short out the Flock's electronics.

    If you intend to recycle the Flock's components, that will require building a Faraday cage big enough for you to walk inside.

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  • [–] 5 points 3 months ago (2 children)

    Yeah, get the FCC involved too

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  • [–] 1 point 3 months ago (3 children)

    Bad idea. Just don't bring your cell phone, and make sure you remove the battery

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  • [–] 1 point 3 months ago (2 children)

    you realize that if you take the cameras they will continue to record and stream because of the built in battery and solar panel....right?

    I'm sure they also have GPS in them as well.

    the jammer isn't for your phone, it's literally for the cameras to not snitch on you and phone home.

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  • [–] 2 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (1 child)

    It's also you giving a huge signal to your location.

    You really don't want to have a jammer signal on you alerting everyone what you're up to if you're trying to be stealth.

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  • [–] 2 points 3 months ago

    who's going to be tracking you? you think the FCC runs around with vans to make sure nobody is breaking regulations?

    the only way anyone finds out you have a jammer is if you inconvenience the right person long enough to cause them to investigate and report to the FCC.

    if you're driving through a city, your exposure is about 5-30 seconds per person synchronously.

    not to mention most low power jamming hardware has an effective radius of around 15-25 feet.

    still don't believe it? when was the last time you had a random wireless device drop connection and thought, "I bet someone has a jammer!"?

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    • [–] 38 points 3 months ago (3 children)

    Flock Safety cameras are automated license plate readers that capture images of plates along with a vehicle’s make, model and color. Police use the technology to investigate crimes such as hit-and-runs and to locate missing persons. Camera data is owned by the police department and permanently deleted after 30 days.

    That's straight up misinformation, right? They capture way more than just license plates and vehicle details, police do way more than "investigate crimes" with them, and the data is absolutely not owned by the police department and deleted after 30 days.

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  • [–] 10 points 3 months ago

    It's technically correct, as far as I've read (not an expert!). Just because the police own a limited subset of the data and their copy is deleted after 30 days doesn't prevent flock from stockpiling all the data permanently. It also doesn't stop Flock from having a separate contract, entirely unrelated of course, giving the police access to FlockOS. That platform has all sorts of data from all available sources.

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    • [–] 19 points 3 months ago

    The thefts are part of a broader national trend.

    Fuck this news source.

    This wasn't theft. This was nonviolent civil disobedience. It was activism and solidarity. It was a gift of liberation from oppression to the community.

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    [–] 14 points 3 months ago (6 children)

    It's actually not illegal to spend a day carrying around a battery or gas powered saw and standing near flock cameras.

    If you already have a criminal record or on probation, and don't want to risk another conviction, just hang out next to a flock camera doing bicep curls with the saw as your weight.

    Cops will come for sure, but all they can do is ID you and maybe get you to move along (to the next camera of course)

    Waste as many police and city resources as you can while they protect flock private property until the city can't justify the cost. Spread police resources thinner so that other saw enjoyers can do good work. Plus you get ripped as a side effect.

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  • [–] 12 points 3 months ago* (2 children)

    Cops can definitely falsely arrest you and make your life hell. And then you need to pay legal fees and waste years of your life fighting it in court

    Have you never been falsely arrested before?

    You're not wasting their resources, you're giving them better arrest statistics to argue for increased funding, including militarization.

    Better to just use a drone to take out all the cameras in one night, remotely

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  • [–] 6 points 3 months ago (2 children)

    just make sure that you're white and have it all recorded on several devices with several witnesses

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    • [–] 13 points 3 months ago (2 children)

    woohoo!

    its great and all but we all know this is a finger in a dam. theres virtually no way of stopping idiots from trading their liberty for a little perceived safety.

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    • [–] 9 points 3 months ago

    I'm just wondering... did Winona PD lose them, or did Winona PD take the money, but forgot to install them?

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    [–] 8 points 3 months ago (2 children)

    Winona is a college town in southeast Minnesota, right in the border with Wisconsin. Going venture a guess it was students that took them down.

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  • [–] 2 points 3 months ago

    Honestly, you know what would be hilarious? Imagine if this wasn't done by an anti-surveillance activists at all. Imagine if it were just done on a lark by a bunch of drunken frat bros who had never even heard of Flock's privacy implications.

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    • [–] 7 points 3 months ago

    Not all heroes wear capes. Some carry saws.

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    [–] 6 points 3 months ago

    lol

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    [–] 5 points 3 months ago

    Finally some good fucking news.

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    [–] 1 point 3 months ago (2 children)

    Anyone know if this loss is covered by insurance?

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  • [–] 3 points 3 months ago*

    This tech doesn't really have "insurance" but from the contracts I have seen, if you pay extra for the protection plan, replacement is free. Not sure how much the plan costs, but replacement of the pole, camera, and panels can cost the PD as much as $3000 per incident without the plan.

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    • [–] 1 point 3 months ago

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