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Spy planes provide modest help to Baltimore crime fight over three months, researchers find

Tim Prudente

September 11, 2020 |

The Baltimore Sun |

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Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, Baltimore, Maryland

After three months of a pilot project putting video-equipped planes in flight over Baltimore, police made arrests in 21% of the 81 cases in which video evidence was provided. The arrest rate is slightly greater than in the many more cases that were not aided by aerial video. But researchers and police have not concluded from the evidence that the project is effective enough to continue after its six-month, privately funded run. Civil liberties advocates have challenged use of the so-called spy planes, which the city hopes will help combat its high rate of homicides and other violent crimes.

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Drones Have Earned Their Place in Small-Town Wisconsin

Jed Pressgrove

September 04, 2020 |

Government Technology |

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Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, Linn, Wisconsin

A drone program has helped the small town of Linn find missing people, rescue people in medical distress, and find multiple drowning victims in the town's lake. Police now spend less time conducting searches and have saved lives with their eye in the sky. By carefully developing policies and by practicing transparency, making flight logs public, the town has eased privacy concerns and earned enough community support to pay for the latest drones with donations.

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Inside the Student-Led Movement to Depolarize College

Gregory Scruggs

September 04, 2020 |

Reasons to be Cheerful |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States

BridgeUSA is a student-led organization aiming to find what unites students across college campuses, who may hold opposing views. The organization started in Notre Dame and has spread to the University of California - Berkeley, Oregon State and many others. The model consists of hosting small group discussions on a variety of hot topics like immigration or police brutality and aims to help people find commonalities by engaging in empathic dialogue.

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In San Diego, ‘Smart' Streetlights Spark Surveillance Reform

Sarah Holder

August 06, 2020 |

Bloomberg CityLab |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, San Diego, California

A smart-streetlight program has helped businesses and residents by collecting a wealth of data to make parking easier, monitor air quality, and inform drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists of traffic patterns. But its use by the police to collect evidence of suspected crimes has prompted a privacy backlash. Police officials say the videos have been used only in serious crimes and have both incriminated and exonerated suspects. Critics say mission creep has led to improper surveillance of protests and racially disparate enforcement in minor crimes. City legislators are considering ways to regulate the practice.

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Surveillance Planes Watch Over Baltimore, But Catch Few Criminals

J. Cavanaugh Simpson

August 05, 2020 |

Baltimore Magazine |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Baltimore, Maryland

In the first half of a six-month experiment, Baltimore's "wide-area surveillance" using video cameras flying above city streets to aid in crime investigations has led to only one arrest. The city's police commissioner doubts the city will agree to pay for the surveillance once private funding for the pilot project runs out, but he says he'll know more after the six-month experiment. The experiment is aimed at Baltimore's high rates of gun violence. Besides its effectiveness, critics worry about its privacy implications and that it targets mostly Black neighborhoods.

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What Estonia could teach us about internet voting in a post-pandemic world

Chris O'Brien

June 11, 2020 |

VentureBeat |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: Estonia

Estonia’s i-Voting system is currently used by 46.7% of voters and allows them to vote from home using a government-issued smart card. To vote, residents need a computer with a card reader or can have their encrypted ID linked to their cell phone SIM card. They can track their vote with a QR code and are able to change their choices any time during the 10-day voting period. Estonia is currently the only country to use this method, in part because eroding government trust has prevented the use of centralized systems that track personal information.

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Save the Words

Lorraine Boissoneault

April 01, 2020 |

The Believer |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Menominee, Wisconsin

Efforts are underway on the Menominee Reservation in northeastern Wisconsin to preserve the at-risk language of Menominee. That looks like conducting school entirely in Menominee, printing Menominee-language books, updating the language with twenty-first-century terms, and poring over old texts and audio transcripts to transfer vocabulary into a database. There are many challenges facing this initiative and many of the workers are volunteers or poorly-compensated, but those doing the work feel a great sense of responsibility and duty to carry on.

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Europe eyes smartphone location data to stem virus spread

Frank Bajak

March 24, 2020 |

CityNews |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States

Some of the governments that have had the most success in getting a handle on the spread of the coronavirus have used individual location data to conduct contact tracing and track the spread of the virus. However, some in Europe and the United States worry these tools violate privacy rights, even in the midst of a public health crisis.

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South Korea's Coronavirus Plan Is Working; Can the World Copy It?

William Gallo

March 23, 2020 |

Voice of America (VOA) |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: South Korea, Seoul

In South Korea, some experts have credited detailed messaging and public information on infected individuals with flattening the curve and keeping the COVID-19 outbreak from spreading further around the country. To compile these alerts, the government uses in-person interviews and personal information such as bank records, phone GPS data, and surveillance footage, methods which some see as a privacy risk.

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Newsrooms Rethink a Crime Reporting Staple: The Mugshot

Keri Blakinger

February 11, 2020 |

The Marshall Project |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Houston, Texas

Around the United States, news organizations are taking a new approach to the use of mugshots in their crime reporting. While still the norm in many places, newsrooms like the Houston Chronicle have stopped publishing the common “mugshot slideshow,” and some, including Connecticut’s New Haven Independent, have stopped publishing them altogether. The practice, often used to generate page views, depict people at their worst, doing more harm than anything else.

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