You'd think the residents of Atherton of all places would know better than to think "I have nothing to hide..."
Telemakhos · 1h ago
Atherton is not the focus of the story, so much as it is a town small enough that it can't handle oversight of the actual story, which is Flock cameras. Outsourcing public safety cameras to a non-governmental corporation creates a privacy nightmare over which small towns can't exercise proper oversight.
Another example: https://cardinalnews.org/2025/03/28/i-drove-300-miles-in-rur... (although I think the Commonwealth of Virginia has now started to regulate Flock camerasj.
thenewwazoo · 2h ago
Law enforcement’s sole societal function is to protect capital and the capitalist class.
dragonwriter · 1h ago
Law enforcement’s sole societal function is to serve the interests of the ruling class.
In a capitalist (and, with some qualifications, in a predominantly capitalist mixed economy) society, that is protecting capital and the capitalist class, but that’s a product of context.
marcosdumay · 1h ago
It's an ok simplification. The ruling class always controls the capital, so there isn't much difference to any other society.
(And when the ruling class doesn't control the capital, you don't get a clear class division.)
baggy_trough · 1h ago
I live in a neighborhood that recently installed the Flock cameras. I was glad to see them installed, because my privacy concerns are significantly less pressing than my concerns about home invasion burglaries which have been occurring in the area.
markus_zhang · 1h ago
I agree with you, but in my city police won’t do much even with the video proofs. They don’t care too much about stolen vehicles either.
apparent · 1h ago
I think the point is partly deterrence. Thieves might choose to burgle homes in areas without Flock cameras instead of areas with them to lower the risk of being caught.
Also, I believe Flock cameras immediately notify local PD when a vehicle reported as stolen passes by. Thieves often use stolen vehicles to avoid being caught, so this functionality makes it much more risky for them to do so. It basically tips off the cops even before you get to the home you're planning to burgle.
baggy_trough · 1h ago
It depends on the jurisdiction. In my area, we still have some enforcement of property crime law. But if the criminals are able to escape to neighboring counties, very little will happen. The Flock cameras raise the chances that they will be apprehended beforehand.
pj_mukh · 1h ago
Even if this were true, I don't understand why this information is not placed behind a court warrant requirement? Seems like a simple fix.
baggy_trough · 1h ago
Even if what were true?
pj_mukh · 1h ago
That privacy concerns are secondary to safety concerns.
baggy_trough · 1h ago
They might not be for everyone, but for me they are, given the situation regarding property crimes.
pj_mukh · 1h ago
Not what I’m contesting.
luisfmh · 1h ago
Maybe the fix to home invasion burglaries isn't increased surveillance but actually helping people? We increasingly put people in bad situations and then blame them when they lash out.
This sounds like a "first they came for the socialists..." moment. Where we might not feel oppressed with the increased surveillance but as we go further and further into the surveillance state, eventually we'll be the ones that are pushed into a bad situation where a surveillance state is used against us.
baggy_trough · 1h ago
There is no kind of bad situation that justifies burglarizing homes.
Pfhortune · 45m ago
As the person you replied to said:
> We increasingly put people in bad situations and then blame them when they lash out.
They are not _justifying_ it, they are calling out a cause/effect relationship. When people are desperate, they do destructive things. And our society is doing things that increase the number of desperate people.
In a capitalist (and, with some qualifications, in a predominantly capitalist mixed economy) society, that is protecting capital and the capitalist class, but that’s a product of context.
(And when the ruling class doesn't control the capital, you don't get a clear class division.)
Also, I believe Flock cameras immediately notify local PD when a vehicle reported as stolen passes by. Thieves often use stolen vehicles to avoid being caught, so this functionality makes it much more risky for them to do so. It basically tips off the cops even before you get to the home you're planning to burgle.
This sounds like a "first they came for the socialists..." moment. Where we might not feel oppressed with the increased surveillance but as we go further and further into the surveillance state, eventually we'll be the ones that are pushed into a bad situation where a surveillance state is used against us.
> We increasingly put people in bad situations and then blame them when they lash out.
They are not _justifying_ it, they are calling out a cause/effect relationship. When people are desperate, they do destructive things. And our society is doing things that increase the number of desperate people.