Why Are Federal Agents Using GoPros, Smart Glasses, and Phones to Record Us? | Hacker News Reader

Why Are Federal Agents Using GoPros, Smart Glasses, and Phones to Record Us?

gizmodo.com

43 pointsnickthegreek20 comments

If you look at the ICE agents, they all seem to have a variety of random gear. People have found their patches on Amazon.

My impression is that they are on a hiring frenzy, and are incredibly disorganized.

An AXON body camera is $800, usually sold with a subscription. If these ICE agents are buying their own gear, I can see why they'd just buy a GoPro or use their phone.

I'm sure the lack of traceability and accountability from private recording is a welcome "feature" (at least by the individual officers). The fact that the organization hasn't apparently prioritized or required accountable body-worn cameras is suspicious and unacceptable, but the available evidence is that this is organizational stupidity and negligence.

Doesn’t the fact that they are filming at all point to the idea that they are at least aiming in the right direction (no pun intended), even if they still end up being disorganized and underfunded?

The officers may be filming for their own protection, but obviously, if they do something illegal, they can also just delete the data.

So the cameras are not providing accountability, except where the agents are either honest or mistakenly believe that the evidence is in their favor.

Film of honest cops is a bad thing.

Filming helps keep them honest.

Think I forgot the slash s on my comment

From my perspective they are most likely not heading in the right direction.

They are massively funded and will get more and more embolden to record their crimes and say do something about it.

Then it will be a wedge. Support ice or not. Armband or not. Salute or not. Which side are you on. Cowards will pick the more violent side for self preservation and will soon find a country that's not worth living in anymore.

For curiosity, when in history has the federal govt failed to suppress an uprising in the USA?

If federal agents want exceptional power while running around in military gear, using military tactics, put them under the UCMJ and fry them for conduct unbecoming when they mess up.

Just what do actual soldiers think of the LARPers, anyway?

It's all part of an unfortunate cultural shift. Perhaps it was a combination of video games, internet/influencer culture, and the fascination with SOF units popularized more heavily during GWOT. There has always been an element of boys wanting to be cool in the military, which is fine if kept in check, but people aren't selected for SOF units based on their ability to wear gear or work out really hard. They're looking for people with reduced stress response and can make clear headed decisions (cosplay doesn't give you these things).

I prefer a jury of us peers. Would you rather them tried by a colonel at Fort Bragg, or 12 Minneapolitans?

Good point - I think there would need to be a UCMJ equivalent for armed, federal LEO, in which case the accused would be judged by peers across agencies.

Because they are antagonists to the world making Mickey of legitimate use of force. Hostis humani generis.

And being bad bad bad is a recruiting tactic for more. And it makes their victims feel bad, makes the situation worse.

They want to be able to control what’s shown

I'm guessing they're trialing, internally, using AI to falsify evidence and propagandize the american public.

Thats why they're so quick now to produce evidence. once they've tested, internally, their false evidence, they'll begin putting it out to vindicate themselves.

They're planning the "twitterfication" of government misinformation that like everything else, will take a lot more energy to debunk than produce.

That's why Elons back and why they'd release seemingly damning information.

You absolutely should not trust that they'll providing anything but falsified video. They're tired of lying wiht their mouths and would happily move to an AI propaganda grok.

If I said this even 5 years ago, it'd sound like paranoia, wouldn't it.

> If I said this even 5 years ago, it'd sound like paranoia, wouldn't it.

Still does, just so you know.

If you say so, you must have been inured

But do they need propaganda? Half the US population loves seeing brown people and liberals dead.

I think it's more like 10 to 15% and misinformed or cowardly or poor people that got screwed in life and want to lash out.

Check out Roots of Evil by Ervin Staub.

And Overcoming Evil by him as well

Yes, its like a gear. You say, the gears fit just fine together. And i say, itll work better withlubricant.

The goal isnt cult messaging, its to keep disinterested people from waking up. Create just enough white noise and enough noise cancelation.

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