Anthony Freda Illustration*

By Amanda Warren

People have this false idea of police incompetence. Just the opposite is true - in fact, as I keep saying, it is the training that directs their actions, not the lack thereof. In the last 15 years or so, law enforcement duties have coincided with militarized training, no-hesitation shooting tactics, other higher-up governmental departments and information/surveillance networks. Funding for such surveillance networks and militarized equipment keeps pouring in despite the media finally being allowed to criticize it, but with no real demands for change.

Did you know that private companies are getting in on the action by providing state of the art surveillance technology to provide to law enforcement in real time?

How would you feel to know that you, and in particular, your home address had been painted with a broad stroke brush - a single color that could determine guilt by association?

One investigative writer asks - is this the modern version of the star of David on the door of Jewish people?

Toledo, Ohio has been somewhat of a testing ground for surveillance and militarized police training. My information of "real time crime centers" first came about after reading about Toledo's new roll out of street cameras - a total infestation of surveillance. The residents and business owners did not appreciate having cameras aimed at them, but the city went with it anyway
It goes like this: federal grants allow for local law enforcement to contract with private companies offering product lines to fight crime and watch for "pre-crime." The companies encourage departments to get grants or get private funds to get the goods. These companies often offer 24-hour real time help remotely from a distance.

Mass Private I blog reports that Real Time Crime Centers (RTCC) can field all 911 calls field all 911 "and give officers access to any city camera — including police body and dash cameras and new traffic cameras":

"The RTCC center also allows officers to access a massive array of surveillance cameras." 

RTCC's got [their] start in NYC in 2005. RTCC's are popping up across the country, they're in St. Louis, Philadelphia, Boston and Los Angeles. 

Any high-priority 911 calls, defined as in-progress or life-threatening crimes, will now be filtered through a database to assess any possible threats an officer may encounter while responding.

Along with the real time information, these centers have taken the liberty of predetermining the "threat level" of your home to forewarn police in the event they decide to come over or speak with you. The color codes are based on information collection including relatives, friends or other associations and their pasts too!

"The database goes through all public information for the call’s location — from arrest records to pizza deliveries — and gives the address a rating. Green means minimal threat, yellow a possible threat and red a major threat."

"The RTCC system shows officers three pieces of data: the threat level, the criminal history of anyone living at the home and a list of known friends and family members. 

This list sometimes includes possible phone numbers and addresses of these associates."
Police Chief Jerry Dyer acknowledged that it was possible for a home to be given a red threat level because someone associated with it once had a violent conviction. 

Reading the source links provide would be highly enlightening. The crux of the problem here is that we are accepting that we are constantly viewed as "threats." How can we continue to pay for that behavior and rely on it for help from those who are trained to view us something that might warrant eradication - it's a complete contradiction. Not always, but enough to warrant an activist database in order to keep track of the facts of citizen deaths at the hands of police.