SURELY these cops can be totally trusted to not use this when they see an attractive woman they want to follow around, or a vulnerable minority they want to harass.
I mean, the Japanese police has been doing this for decades with paintball guns. Definitely better than high speed chases.
Oh 100% it's better than high speed chases.
And given the history of basically every police force throughout the United States, guaranteed to be misused and abused as well.
Yeah, police are already abusing GPS trackers. The thing is that banning technology isn't going to fix that, it's a government that will hold police accountable for their crimes.
I don't believe anyone said anything about banning anything.
I mean... their comment was specifically NOT about the normal intended use.
That's a policy problem, not a technology problem. Cops are abusing every tool they're given because they can get away with it, not because of the tool. If you sent them on patrol unarmed and on foot they'd still be going around beating up people with the current oversight regime.
That's the reaction here though.
Not the technology, the lack of oversight. I didn't see any mention of an oversight board or review panel, repercussions for abuse, etc.
Which with any technology, and the clear history of exactly the issues you've noted, is an absolute requirement imo.
Great tech and approach. Guaranteed to be used correctly in some cases, and massively abused in others. Without policy revisions to address those abuses, it's a potentially very frightening technology in police hands.
"... because they can get away with it."
Sounds like it doesn't matter what tech we give them so long as they can get away with it.
Silent, small, and easily hideable gps trackers already exist that would make much more sense to use than this.
This seems harder to abuse than the regular GPS trackers they've had for a long time. The dart probably makes a loud noise when it hits the car and might damage the paint. If they're harassing someone wouldn't they rather quietly stick a tracker to the bottom of a car where it wouldn't be noticed?
Abuse of technology is not the fault of the technology itself. You didn't blame the gun for misuse of guns by the police do you? IMHO, this tech is better than the government having EVERY car GPS tracked
You don't blame the tool, you blame either the individual or the policies. Unfortunately, in US police, the individuals tend to be the failed marine dictator wannabees, who the thanks to lacks policies get a near carte blanche to abuse those tools like there is no tomorrow.
Same goes for gun policies in general, they're so dumb that you have near daily mass shootings there, causing loads of individuals to wonder how this can possibly happen and claim that there is nothing anyone safe god himself can do about the situation.
It illegal to track someone like that without a warrant. Instead, they can use the easily accessible legal privately owned ALPR system to see their habits.
I don't think legality is a concern of someone planning on stalking or harassment
Uhhh it does sound a bit far fetched to think they'll start shooting these darts at random people? I don't think it's a very discreet process. Something that could happen but I don't foresee this becoming a common thing
Anyone start a pool on when the first news story of abusing this tech will happen? Because I want in lol.
I bet it's already happened.
Maybe I should have voted on a police officer beating his wife with one? That was it'll take a little longer....!?
Idk, he'd probably just use his fists.
A tracking dart‽ Would be way more sporting to tag and track her with the police helicopter
It's easier to abuse traffic cameras for that purpose
I've got "5 minutes ago".
Wellp it's better than driving someone into a ditch but damn this is gonna get abused.
This isn't as bad as facial recognition
Unoriginal bastards stole the idea from Batman!
Fast and furious emp darts when?
It's not as bad as what they currently do, but it's trivial to foresee the abuses of this technology.
I'm my county a high percentage of cars have GPS trackers fitted already - by the owner - because of the high vehicle theft rate.
I imagine if that police here just have to call up the tracking company to achieve the same result - something to think about actually (I don't have one, my car isn't worth much)
I think if you're in a car chase type situation, firing a dart is probably quicker than accessing someone else's database
The problem in the US is that the cars are stolen and just get ditched immediately after any interaction with the cops. This helps them find the car, not catch the criminals. Obviously high speed pursuits are even worse, but this doesn't really solve the problem.
What they really need are payloads which can electronically fingerprint the occupant's phones and smart watches and shit.
They would absolutely use that on innocent people, rampantly
