Mother Jones

Case law shows us that when the police are given new technologies or methods of operating for a single, limited purpose, they continually push that boundary in order to achieve a much broader, unintended goal. In this case, we may (for example) allow police to deploy drones in order to pursue criminals who are fleeing rather than use squad cars to chase them. Ultimately, the police will find a way to justify incremental expansions of that capability until they have justified constant surveillance of public spaces.  Second, we have spent far too much taxpayer money promoting a system wherein our security apparati (defense, police, prisons, etc.) have all been strengthened, but society at large has not seen a similar investment...