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[–] 27 points 3 days ago (6 children)
  • [–] 8 points 3 days ago (4 children)

    where the hell would the cops get money for that!?

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  • [–] 4 points 3 days ago (1 child)

    Civil Asset Forfeiture (or civil judicial forfeiture): Law enforcement seizes money or property suspected of being connected to a crime without needing to charge or convict the owner of a crime. The legal action is filed in rem—meaning it targets the property or cash itself rather than a person. [1, 2, 3]

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  • [–] 19 points 3 days ago (2 children)

    This is why you vote in local elections

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  • [–] 10 points 3 days ago (1 child)

    And attend city council/committee meetings! It's drudgery, but (in the US at least) it's at city-level meetings that elected officials vote on whether to authorize contracts with Flock, Axon, and similar companies. Residents can typically register in favor of or against resolutions and can give public comment.

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  • [–] 2 points 3 days ago

    We've added so many ALPRs around here I looked into what it takes to get a slice of speaking time at the county council meeting. Turns out it's super easy! Has to be approved beforehand, haven't got that far.

    The only difficult bit is working up my mini speech with real stats and stories. Between actual writing time and letting it stew and rewriting, I could get the meat of it in two evenings. Add a few days for new ideas to pop into my dumb head and I'd have it done.

    Crucially, my speech has to have an actionable, uh, call to action. Haven't got that far and that bit is going to take investigation into current policies and contracts, policies and procedures.

    tl;dr: It's easy to get up in their grill and bitch, far harder to create a real speech and a real plan for action.

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