New police radars can 'see' inside homes

At least 50 U.S. law enforcement agencies have secretly equipped their officers with radar devices that allow them to effectively peer through the walls of houses to see whether anyone is inside, a practice raising new concerns about the extent of government surveillance.

This is too much. I'm not happy about it.

Current and former federal officials say the information is critical for keeping officers safe if they need to storm buildings or rescue hostages. But privacy advocates and judges have nonetheless expressed concern about the circumstances in which law enforcement agencies may be using the radars — and the fact that they have so far done so without public scrutiny.

I really dislike that these can be deployed without a search warrant, even if all they detect is a person in a building and don't show an actual snapshot. I also highly dislike that there was no discussion with the public before their adoption.

This feels like a slippery slope, and with virtually no oversight who is to say that police departments won't soon be quietly adopting technologies that actually DO show what all is in a home.

Other radar devices have far more advanced capabilities, including three-dimensional displays of where people are located inside a building, according to marketing materials from their manufacturers. One is capable of being mounted on a drone. And the Justice Department has funded research to develop systems that can map the interiors of buildings and locate the people within them.

U.S. Marshals Service tracked a man named Steven Denson, wanted for violating his parole, to a house in Wichita. Before they forced the door open, Deputy U.S. Marshal Josh Moff testified, he used a Range-R to detect that someone was inside.

That seems rather frightening too. Well someone is inside, so we figure it's the guy we're actually looking for so no warrant needed even though the thing can't differentiate.

I'm not opposed to using this sort of technology during a hostage situation or something similar, I mean that makes actual sense. What I am opposed to is this becoming a routine thing for police to have in every department, and used all the time with no accountability. And the thought that giving an inch usually results in losing a mile, especially when concerning technology proliferation.

Link

a reply to: Domo1

Thank you for being this story to ATS...it is certainly something we need to know about. I am just wondering how much this technology is being used in big cities already.

Looks like it time to start buying stock in the company that makes Y-Sheild. Very effective for blocking cell phone signals, CB, TV, AM, FM signals, radiofrequency radiation and microwaves.
Y-SHIELD

a reply to: Domo1

I think what needs to happen ASAP is an internet community that focuses on gathering technical information about this technology and explores ways of defeating it.

This really is the precipice.

a reply to: Domo1
Sounds more like an x-ray rather than a radar device.

No hiding now.

originally posted by: LittleGreenAlien
a reply to: Domo1
Sounds more like an x-ray rather than a radar device.

No hiding now.

Except that it uses radio waves, not x-rays.

Lol cant even spend time with your family without cops spying on us.

Cops in my opinion will just sit around and watch people have sex with this technology.

What else is there to do?

Just think when every corner has some of these and they look at everything we do all the time, everything sent to a supercomputer to figure out what people are doing, who are the people involved, and if it could be seen as a crime.

Then when you go to court they will just play back the recorded image of you doing the said crime, no trial needed, go straight to jail.

This means a future society without any criminals.

Lets not forget pre-crime is alread here to stay. . . .

This makes me think of the 80's movie, either Stallone or Arnold, but they had a similar device
Or at least the way that sounds is similar

Funny how something that may seem farfetched in a movie for that time, eventually comes to pass

I really am not surprised to be honest
What I wonder about is, how many 'play toys' they have that we don't know about
(MIB kind of toys)

a reply to: Domo1
I've often wondered how prolific back scatter vans are. Probably the pinnacle of home privacy invasion.

Yikes. How very Orwellian. Not cool, police, not cool.

a reply to: CraftBuilder

Thanks for posting that. Probably far more prolific than we realize.

Guess I'll stop sock stuffing my underwear.

This is only going to get worse, as time goes on and technology gets better. It's only a matter of time until we have real Robocops, and droids that hover in the air at every street corner snapping live video of everything you do, waiting for you to commit a crime like littering or jaywalking, flying over to you and giving you a ticket .

originally posted by: CraftBuilder

originally posted by: LittleGreenAlien
a reply to: Domo1
Sounds more like an x-ray rather than a radar device.

No hiding now.

Except that it uses radio waves, not x-rays.

Makes you wonder abut things like cancer. Officer friendly lights me up with his radar gun every morning on my commute on the interstate to work. After 20 years, thats gotta add up. Now they will be zapping my DNA with radio waves while I'm in my house too. Nice!

a reply to: Domo1

Multilayer reflective foil insulation for houses is GREAT!

Great now we need tinfoil hats for the whole house?

Not sure how new this is really...seen if for years now on TV shows and in movies. Haha. Maybe new to these police forces as the tech is getting cheaper and more efficient.

I can see where this might be beyond intrusive for the average force to use on an average citizen.

Hey Domo,

This isn't really all that new. I don't mean that it's been around for decades or something, but the military has had something like this in various forms for a while.

I can see the need for Delta Force to know where everybody is inside a house before taking the door.

Me on patrol? No, I don't see any need for this at all. This is way, way too much.

Yes Yes Yes!

Tin Foil is the way to our freedom!

a reply to: FormOfTheLord



Whew. Done. That didn't take as long as I thought it would. The pillows and dog were tricky though.

a reply to: Domo1

I came here with the intent on posting about this, it's on the front page of my "local" USA Today. The site for the company L3 Communications , they state that

RANGE-R® is a highly sensitive handheld radar system designed to detect and measure the distance to moving and near-stationary personnel through walls constructed of common building materials. Designed to increase situation awareness in urban environments for its users, RANGE-R provides vital intelligence necessary to safely undertake a variety of law enforcement and search and rescue operations.

.

What I find disturbing about all of this, other than the fact that it is an invasion of privacy, is how much it reminds me of (and I know this book is misused for a lot of purposes but this seems fitting) of the silent helicopters that spy through windows in the book 1984. I am sure there are ways of defeating this technology through adding material to or inside of walls but at what cost do we need to go through in order to maintain privacy in our own homes? From smart meters to backdoor access in a PC to this Range - R; what lengths are going to be too much for people to finally say enough is enough, you have too much power. I have the feeling that the answer isn't one that any sane society should have. It seems the post 9/11 society is willing to give up everything in order to "feel safe from terrorists, especially the "homegrown types."

I don't see this technology stopping at the 50 LE agencies that have it now; it is relatively inexpensive and easy to get.

Just my thoughts. Thanks for posting this Domo.

-Blinky

originally posted by: snarky412
This makes me think of the 80's movie, either Stallone or Arnold, but they had a similar device
Or at least the way that sounds is similar

Funny how something that may seem farfetched in a movie for that time, eventually comes to pass

I really am not surprised to be honest
What I wonder about is, how many 'play toys' they have that we don't know about
(MIB kind of toys)

Was that the movie Eraser? I was thinking of that movie the other day. How weird. They have some snipers or something with scopes on them that can see through walls in that movie. think its a 90's movie though.