Some Citizens Are Concerned About New Robotic Patrols in NYC

JStamsek said:
If you’re not doing anything wrong, no biggie. The problem these days is data being compromised on huge scales. And this is really penetrating.
Click to expand...

Thats really bad logic. So youre not worried that the data could be abused? Maybe not by the government if you trust them (LOL) but what about hackers who steal the data?

GoodBoy said:
The license plates, if you are out in public, anyone can see that. I don't have any problem with those being recorded.
Click to expand...

You should, what reason does the government have for tracking your whereabouts? What purpose does it serve? I dont mind if they read the plate and run it, but they cant store it to track me. Thats surveillance.

purple_monster said:
As an employer, I would like access to what potential candidates or workers are doing after hours. They represent my business even when they are not at work, and I feel I have a right to know any establishments or activities they frequent that are not in line with our brand. I would be willing to pay for this, and since these nice robots are run by private companies, they've made it easy to access this crucial business need via subscription and api key.
Click to expand...

No you absolutely DO NOT have a right to know what your workers are doing after hours. Its none of your business. You do not own their lives. You should stop employing people if you think you own their life. Your business is not more important than their life.
 
purple_monster said:
As an employer, I would like access to what potential candidates or workers are doing after hours. They represent my business even when they are not at work, and I feel I have a right to know any establishments or activities they frequent that are not in line with our brand. I would be willing to pay for this, and since these nice robots are run by private companies, they've made it easy to access this crucial business need via subscription and api key.

do you really think we are at all far from this? do you think we aren't mere year(s) away from this happening to your google account?
Click to expand...
You really need to add the /s tag man, I actually thought you were serious for a minute.
 
Dekoth-E- said:
record license plate and cellphone serial numbers

I have an absolute and complete problem with this. I've never done anything that would put me on police "radar" for any reason, but this is still just an outright gross violation of privacy. What the actual FUCK are you people thinking supporting police state shit like this? This is the United States..Not the fucking USSR.
Click to expand...

Are you sure there's no reason to be on there radar? Quite a few laws on the books these days...

"Show me the man and I'll show you the crime"
-soviet cunt
 
So once we are all in jail for laws we didn't know we broke, who will keep the country running?
 
So how long before a terrorist creates a hollow shell that looks like one of these things, fills it with a hundred pounds of C4 and nails and via a nice radio control unit drives it into a crowd waiting for a Yankees game?
 
kju1 said:
You should, what reason does the government have for tracking your whereabouts? What purpose does it serve? I dont mind if they read the plate and run it, but they cant store it to track me. Thats surveillance.
Click to expand...

I do not disagree with your point.

But the supreme court has already ruled that the license plate tracking is not illegal, since being in public you do not have any reasonable expectation of privacy. There are surveillance cameras everywhere already, these are just mobile surveillance cameras... not really any different than police body cams, except that maybe this information is just being sold to anyone who wants to buy it. I get that how the information is used is a serious concern. The gathering of the information I suspect if challenged will be found to be legal.

As far as giving out tickets, I don't see that. They will report up to human officers who would do any followup of crimes detected in the gathered information. The footage and location data will be used as evidence.
 
GoodBoy said:
I do not disagree with your point.

But the supreme court has already ruled that the license plate tracking is not illegal, since being in public you do not have any reasonable expectation of privacy. There are surveillance cameras everywhere already, these are just mobile surveillance cameras... not really any different than police body cams, except that maybe this information is just being sold to anyone who wants to buy it. I get that how the information is used is a serious concern. The gathering of the information I suspect if challenged will be found to be legal.

As far as giving out tickets, I don't see that. They will report up to human officers who would do any followup of crimes detected in the gathered information. The footage and location data will be used as evidence.
Click to expand...

Can you cite the SCOTUS case that decided that? I am not aware of it.
 
Mut1ny said:
People can have a warrant for their arrest due to fucking parking tickets. So someone missed a court date and now they're doing time, lost their job, all their shit, no money...for what?
Click to expand...
If you missed a court date, why wouldn't you reschedule it? And if you have parking tickets, why not pay them, if you know that you're going to get into more trouble if you don't?
kju1 said:
Can you cite the SCOTUS case that decided that? I am not aware of it.
Click to expand...
https://www.thenewspaper.com/news/63/6391.asp
AFAIK, Cases don't go to the supreme court unless it poses a constitutional question.
 
Last edited:
Dekoth-E- said:
record license plate and cellphone serial numbers

I have an absolute and complete problem with this. I've never done anything that would put me on police "radar" for any reason, but this is still just an outright gross violation of privacy. What the actual FUCK are you people thinking supporting police state shit like this? This is the United States..Not the fucking USSR.
Click to expand...

What's the big deal? You are already being recorded by multiple traffic cameras every day you drive....
 
nightfly said:
If you missed a court date, why wouldn't you reschedule it? And if you have parking tickets, why not pay them, if you know that you're going to get into more trouble if you don't?

https://www.thenewspaper.com/news/63/6391.asp
AFAIK, Cases don't go to the supreme court unless it poses a constitutional question.
Click to expand...

Ah but thats not SCOTUS so there is still hope there.

Actually SCOTUS can grant certiorari to a wide range of cases. Some examples: they can hear cases between two states suing each other, cases involving suits by or against the federal govt, any case which is appealed through a lower court, and any case invovling federal law (especially the Constitution). In fact a federal case can START in SCOTUS as it has both original and appellate jurisdiction.

EDIT: But in some respects you are correct in that SCOTUS will generally only hear cases of national impact. I would argue that the surveillance of a law abiding citizen (even when in public) is a case of national import. There is a HUGE difference from having the cameras vs keeping the recordings.
 
TheCommander said:
Eventually as technology improves they will be able to give people citations. There are a lot of laws out there and an AI will be merciless unlike a human police officer who can be lenient or even ignore minor infractions.
Click to expand...

People might actually obey the law for once then.
 
HorseproofBacon said:
People might actually obey the law for once then.
Click to expand...

You missed the point. Not one single person alive can go a single day w/out breaking SOME law. There are so many laws today it is physically impossible to keep track of them all and ensure you are never in violation of any one law. If a cop wants to bust you for something all he or she has to do is follow you for a little bit and you WILL break a law eventually even if you didnt know it.
 
Doubt these robots can work in the winter time with ice and snow and below zero temps. So no robots during then
 
Vandal: *sprays paint all over patrolling robot's camera lens*

Robot: "VANDAL DETECTED"
 
Love all the boot licking in this thread. I had always wondered how people could support the Brits during the insurrection, but now I'm seeing it first hand.

Some of you need to renounce your citizenship. You clearly don't understand what it means to be an American citizen.
 
Cyraxx said:
No but seriously, I'm all in favor of this to be honest. If someone has a warrant for arrest, I think they should be able to do everything in their power such as using cameras / computers to match faces of people that need to be arrested.
Click to expand...


And although on principle, I agree. But I completely disagree if these robots are going to be used as replacement for officers. Police Officers are capable of so much more than this.

Let me be clear, the population needs to see the police.

They need to know that they can get help. It's better for the police to arrive and monitor an argument and intercede if that argument is getting out of hand.

I see this in the same manner as I see traffic cameras that monitor intersections looking for a specific set of violations. The people selling them bring up the revenue and effectiveness but they never touch on the fact that once operational, these systems require officer hours to manage and deal with the captured information/violations. My little 2x McDonalds town had three officers working full shifts analyzing the traffic cam data and issuing tickets. They were fully trained and equipped officers who didn't go on patrol and who's sole function was to monitor a very specific sub-set of traffic violations. They could have been on the street on patrol available to assist people who need help, warn people of failed break lights, faulty turn signals, low tires, spot impaired drivers, etc, and most importantly they could not, from their desk, intercede in anything with timeliness when it matters most.

So in short, tech is great, even robots. But if it means officers have to sit behind desks instead of walking a beat or being out in their patrol cars, I am not for it. Any community needs a certain number of officers out on the job and this tech should not detract from that, it should simply augment their awareness and capabilities. Help them do their jobs better.
 
kju1 said:
You should, what reason does the government have for tracking your whereabouts? What purpose does it serve? I dont mind if they read the plate and run it, but they cant store it to track me. Thats surveillance.
Click to expand...

Let's put some Microsoft/Google spin in there to answer this!
Think of all the analytics you could gather about your street usage. How great would that be for city planners and engineers?! You could answer all sorts of questions - Are the users of your roads residents in your city, or are they just passing through from neighboring communities to their jobs? Does traffic from one particular neighborhood predominantly go to a certain destination that you could build a better route for to reduce congestion in other places? How many vehicles park downtown that reside within 2 miles? Should you build more bike lanes to help alleviate parking? Has your town cameras seen a plate that is involved in an Amber alert? (think of the children)
We could create better cities for everyone!
 
Nvidia_ATI said:
What's the big deal? You are already being recorded by multiple traffic cameras every day you drive....
Click to expand...

The fact that you even post this question is beyond disturbing. Also, no traffic camera's where I'm at and yes I blind the camera's from being able to see my tag. I have nothing to hide and yet everything to hide at the same time.
 
lcpiper said:
And although on principle, I agree. But I completely disagree if these robots are going to be used as replacement for officers. Police Officers are capable of so much more than this.

Let me be clear, the population needs to see the police.

They need to know that they can get help. It's better for the police to arrive and monitor an argument and intercede if that argument is getting out of hand.

I see this in the same manner as I see traffic cameras that monitor intersections looking for a specific set of violations. The people selling them bring up the revenue and effectiveness but they never touch on the fact that once operational, these systems require officer hours to manage and deal with the captured information/violations. My little 2x McDonalds town had three officers working full shifts analyzing the traffic cam data and issuing tickets. They were fully trained and equipped officers who didn't go on patrol and who's sole function was to monitor a very specific sub-set of traffic violations. They could have been on the street on patrol available to assist people who need help, warn people of failed break lights, faulty turn signals, low tires, spot impaired drivers, etc, and most importantly they could not, from their desk, intercede in anything with timeliness when it matters most.

So in short, tech is great, even robots. But if it means officers have to sit behind desks instead of walking a beat or being out in their patrol cars, I am not for it. Any community needs a certain number of officers out on the job and this tech should not detract from that, it should simply augment their awareness and capabilities. Help them do their jobs better.
Click to expand...

I have a major problem with automated enforcement. Especially traffic cams. Drive through Baltimore city sometime and tell me they aren't used as a tool of oppression (the vast majority of traffic cams are in very poor areas) or through a very rich neighborhood in Montgomery county where they are used to discourage people from driving down certain roads to keep rich residents happy.

Even the abuse of them aside automated enforcement just doesnt have the leeway that a real cop would have and OFTEN give to citizens. Sure maybe I didnt quite stop at the red light for a legit reason. Maybe the yellow was too short (often done in Montgomery county on purpose in busy intersections to increase red light violations, Ive seen it), or perhaps I was beyond the line by 2 inches with my bumper. A real cop, not a desk jockey, would look at my bumper and say I met the spirit of the law by stopping. An automated enforcement camera will just ticket me and the desk cop, who has thousands of them to review a day, will just click yes. No consideration for the reality of the situation.

I guess thats a long way to say I agree with you lol.
 
seanreisk said:
Well duh. The largest percentage of visitors to New York come from England, and those things look just like a Dalek.
Click to expand...
Was thinking "yeah sure". Then I watched the video. LOL!!! Now if some hacker out there hacked them to roller around saying "EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE!!"
 
kju1 said:
You missed the point. Not one single person alive can go a single day w/out breaking SOME law. There are so many laws today it is physically impossible to keep track of them all and ensure you are never in violation of any one law. If a cop wants to bust you for something all he or she has to do is follow you for a little bit and you WILL break a law eventually even if you didnt know it.
Click to expand...

On the contrary I get the point quite well and I think these are a good idea with some tweaking. There are many laws that people don't see as a big deal and blatantly ignore them. Littering, for example; I can't tell you how many times I've seen some fuckface throw a bottle, cig, or piece of plastic out the window of their car or even drop it out of their hands when walking around and it irritates me to no end. They think "it's just one piece of trash" but those pieces add up and it likely isn't the first time they've done it and I'm getting tired of random pieces of filth showing up in my yard and having to clean up after pigs. Perhaps a swift fine for dropping that piece of plastic might convince them to be more careful (if not, things will get expensive for them really quickly as the fines add up).

There is no expectation of privacy when you are out in public.
 
Last edited:
Cyraxx said:
No but seriously, I'm all in favor of this to be honest. If someone has a warrant for arrest, I think they should be able to do everything in their power such as using cameras / computers to match faces of people that need to be arrested.
Click to expand...

"Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." -Benny Franklin
 
Galvin said:
Doubt these robots can work in the winter time with ice and snow and below zero temps. So no robots during then
Click to expand...

That's an easy fix.

latest?cb=20140422191506.jpg
 
Probably should have one in the homes too. Can't have people breaking laws in their home.
 
Mut1ny said:
People can have a warrant for their arrest due to fucking parking tickets. So someone missed a court date and now they're doing time, lost their job, all their shit, no money...for what?

No, I'm not OK with this at all. I love all the spying and prying they get to do to us but we don't get to see fuck all of theirs.
Click to expand...

Ignorance of the law is no excuse. Chances are they are sending you tons of letters in the mail that you're ignoring.

It's kind of hard to not know there is a warrant for you, no?

It's not spying, you're in public.
 
purple_monster said:
As an employer, I would like access to what potential candidates or workers are doing after hours. They represent my business even when they are not at work, and I feel I have a right to know any establishments or activities they frequent that are not in line with our brand. I would be willing to pay for this, and since these nice robots are run by private companies, they've made it easy to access this crucial business need via subscription and api key.

do you really think we are at all far from this? do you think we aren't mere year(s) away from this happening to your google account?
Click to expand...

You are correct there - and that is certainly the "slipperly slope" argument.

Now adays if you support our president or his political party people are using it as grounds to not hire or fire someone.
 
Cyraxx said:
Ignorance of the law is no excuse. Chances are they are sending you tons of letters in the mail that you're ignoring.

It's kind of hard to not know there is a warrant for you, no?

It's not spying, you're in public.
Click to expand...

So you really have no problem with anyone just video recording you and taking photos of you and your family everywhere you go and saving that information?
 
disemboweler said:
"Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." -Benny Franklin
Click to expand...

What liberty does this give up? Giving up liberty is stuff like stop and frisk.

All this does is patrol an area and scans what is in public view. It's no different than another human doing it.
 
Darunion said:
So you really have no problem with anyone just video recording you and taking photos of you and your family everywhere you go and saving that information?
Click to expand...

That's already happening broceritops. Everytime you walk past a store chances are you need to smile because you're on camera.

How is this any different? It's not actively stalking you.
 
Cyraxx said:
That's already happening broceritops. Everytime you walk past a store chances are you need to smile because you're on camera.

How is this any different? It's not actively stalking you.
Click to expand...

I don't know what that word is but ok. I am actually not fine with those either to be honest. I just don't want more and more recordings everywhere I go is all. And as recognition gets more accurate then databases start to get created with patterns of people. And this kind of connected crap gets a data breach every other week now-a-days.

The difference also is it won't be just some closed-circuit b/w camera pointing at a register. It will be mobile and likely higher resolution capture.

The same corrupt and creepy perverts work in all areas of government and law enforcement as well. It just makes me feel uneasy is all. I didn't get that uneasiness when I knew it was just people I would see, now going out in public I don't like being recorded everywhere I walk.
 
Cyraxx said:
What liberty does this give up? Giving up liberty is stuff like stop and frisk.

All this does is patrol an area and scans what is in public view. It's no different than another human doing it.
Click to expand...

Lol seriously? Stop and frisk vs. Robots with thermal imagery and what ever they can come up with.

No, this is giving up freedoms.
 
curious what the thermal imagery is useful for. I'm guessing night vision of some sort? We aren't quite at the level of technology of seeing through walls yet... (I think)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top