Capitol Police to use Army surveillance system on Americans to ‘identify emerging threat’

The U.S. Capitol Police will begin fielding military surveillance equipment as part of sweeping security upgrades as the police force pivots towards becoming "An intelligence-based protective agency" following the Jan. 6 attack.

TOP STORIES Schlapp accuses Baron Cohen of faking appearance at CPAC for 'Borat' movie Capitol Police to use Army surveillance system on Americans to 'identify emerging threat' Ric Grenell calls for federal action against alleged Tucker Carlson NSA leaker The technology, originally used by the U.S. troops during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, allows the user to monitor large areas 24/7 through extremely high-resolution cameras.

Last month, a Federal Appeals Court ruled against a Baltimore Police Department's use of persistent surveillance technology similar to the Pentagon's "Gorgon Stare" technology, which incorporates wide-area motion imagery technology pods mounted on aircraft.

The problem with fielding surveillance technology has never been with the technology itself, but with how the resulting data and information produced by the technology is used to stereotype or target certain individuals and groups, said Ms. Bernabei.

William Owen from the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project or STOP said the integration of the technology signals an alarming advance of police surveillance.

"These so-called improvements that the Capitol Police have implemented after the insurrection represent an expansion of police power and surveillance that STOP cautioned against in January," he said.

"Such technology will inevitably be used to target Black, brown, and Muslim communities and protestors, not White, racist, far-right mobs like those who were given free rein to enter the Capitol. So we need greater civilian oversight of police, not greater police power." The integration of the military technology was among several other changes to the force announced this week including a plan to open field offices in California and Florida to "Investigate threats to Members of Congress." Additional regions are under consideration for field offices, the announcement states.

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2021/jul/10/capitol-police-use-army-surveillance-system-americ/