It is amazing how much money they will throw at this "security theater". I remember reading about ShotSpotter in Chicago, $33 million in for a three year contract, only to have the Office of Inspector General show in their report that "responses to ShotSpotter alerts rarely produce evidence of a gun-related crime, rarely give rise to investigatory stops, and even less frequently lead to the recovery of gun crime-related evidence during an investigatory stop."
But what they did find was: "OIG found evidence that CPD members’ generalized perceptions of the frequency of ShotSpotter alerts in a given area may be substantively changing policing behavior." Yeah, they became more trigger happy in areas that had more alerts, even though they were false positives.
Thanks for bringing this issue up, Brian. Whenever somebody complains the city doesn’t have enough money for something, the helicopter program report is the first thing I bring up. As a quality of life thing it’s worth noting that not only are they extremely loud (literally they shake your walls), but also they fly very low to the ground and frequently shine extremely bright lights on the ground, which are another way they wake you up at night. Regarding the LAPD helicopter hotline, in my experience although you can call and ask what they are doing, they will typically respond that they are involved in an active operation and can’t provide any information other than to confirm a helicopter is airborne in your neighborhood. They certainly do not care if you have a noise complaint, and the city’s noise complaint website directs anything helicopter related to the LAPD hotline.
Welcome to surveillance nation. We are past the point of no return. We are at war. Just some are not ready to call it. It is part of the militarization of our lives, where we are all being watched. It is a truism that most Americans have not experienced war directly, and are often unaware of what it is like in some parts of the city. It also puts another pressure point on our lives. It feels like a tinderbox, just waiting for the match.
Such a great read. I had just come to care for my mom in San Diego county and she had just started morphine which often can cause hallucinations (something I didn't know at the moment) and there were helicopters flying over that night in some sort of "search" and it was right after Katrina and it all got mixed in her mind. It was a wild night. No one should have to live in a war zone.
I live in a very rural ridgetop in West Virginia, and have had that experience too--having a copter pass over, rattling the house and disturbing the dog, and our sleep, sometimes going well into the night. We were told this was practice for the medivac pilots in nighttime takeoff and landings. Likely true: we have an octagonal house, and on the next ridge in the little airport, its landing strip lined right up, and on the ridge beyond that is the hospital. It was really annoying, but I could see the purpose, and I'm sure they use our octagonal roof as a landing beacon to the airport. This makes for a big, big difference--when you know the purpose is surveillance and perpetuating Big Brother control it feels much more disturbing. Actually the first time I had this thought was long ago, when I was tubing down the Salinas River and some tanks appeared, charged right down the three-foot bank into the river, sped across and climbed up the other side. On the one hand it was impressive they could do that (the Salinas must be shallow). On the other hand--are they practicing for Vietnam? Same when I see military jets fly over...I speculate about what country with dense hills the war planners are scheming to invade next.
As the father of a wonderful young man who happens to be a helicopter pilot in another major U.S. city, I am offended by your biased portrayal of police. You and yours are lucky to have good men like him protecting you. You have no idea of the sacrifices he makes. You should tell your children to be thankful.
Sorry, Will but ACAB. My first husband was a cop. He wanted to protect and serve. But the police force he worked on was corrupt from the chief through the ranks, including his best friend. This horrified and hurt him so badly he had a fucking heart attack at 38 years old. Fuck the police.
Is it a biased portrayal? He's reporting his actual experiences, and the results of an investigation that showed wasted money and fuel for trivial activities, likely including joyriding. Your attitude is exactly what has so many of us bristling and developing anti-cop attitudes: "Shut up and salute! It's for your own good! We know best! Don't ask questions!"
It is amazing how much money they will throw at this "security theater". I remember reading about ShotSpotter in Chicago, $33 million in for a three year contract, only to have the Office of Inspector General show in their report that "responses to ShotSpotter alerts rarely produce evidence of a gun-related crime, rarely give rise to investigatory stops, and even less frequently lead to the recovery of gun crime-related evidence during an investigatory stop."
But what they did find was: "OIG found evidence that CPD members’ generalized perceptions of the frequency of ShotSpotter alerts in a given area may be substantively changing policing behavior." Yeah, they became more trigger happy in areas that had more alerts, even though they were false positives.
Sending you a hug. That sounds awful. What a disgrace to the idea of America.
Thanks for bringing this issue up, Brian. Whenever somebody complains the city doesn’t have enough money for something, the helicopter program report is the first thing I bring up. As a quality of life thing it’s worth noting that not only are they extremely loud (literally they shake your walls), but also they fly very low to the ground and frequently shine extremely bright lights on the ground, which are another way they wake you up at night. Regarding the LAPD helicopter hotline, in my experience although you can call and ask what they are doing, they will typically respond that they are involved in an active operation and can’t provide any information other than to confirm a helicopter is airborne in your neighborhood. They certainly do not care if you have a noise complaint, and the city’s noise complaint website directs anything helicopter related to the LAPD hotline.
COSIGN. It's an LAPD terror campaign and WE'RE paying dearly for it.
Welcome to surveillance nation. We are past the point of no return. We are at war. Just some are not ready to call it. It is part of the militarization of our lives, where we are all being watched. It is a truism that most Americans have not experienced war directly, and are often unaware of what it is like in some parts of the city. It also puts another pressure point on our lives. It feels like a tinderbox, just waiting for the match.
Such a great read. I had just come to care for my mom in San Diego county and she had just started morphine which often can cause hallucinations (something I didn't know at the moment) and there were helicopters flying over that night in some sort of "search" and it was right after Katrina and it all got mixed in her mind. It was a wild night. No one should have to live in a war zone.
I live in a very rural ridgetop in West Virginia, and have had that experience too--having a copter pass over, rattling the house and disturbing the dog, and our sleep, sometimes going well into the night. We were told this was practice for the medivac pilots in nighttime takeoff and landings. Likely true: we have an octagonal house, and on the next ridge in the little airport, its landing strip lined right up, and on the ridge beyond that is the hospital. It was really annoying, but I could see the purpose, and I'm sure they use our octagonal roof as a landing beacon to the airport. This makes for a big, big difference--when you know the purpose is surveillance and perpetuating Big Brother control it feels much more disturbing. Actually the first time I had this thought was long ago, when I was tubing down the Salinas River and some tanks appeared, charged right down the three-foot bank into the river, sped across and climbed up the other side. On the one hand it was impressive they could do that (the Salinas must be shallow). On the other hand--are they practicing for Vietnam? Same when I see military jets fly over...I speculate about what country with dense hills the war planners are scheming to invade next.
https://youtu.be/FE-cJhxaBJk?si=v5a_Pp2S5qHkehnH get a rocket launcher dude 🤨
Stinger, for those annoying flying things.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIM-92_Stinger
As the father of a wonderful young man who happens to be a helicopter pilot in another major U.S. city, I am offended by your biased portrayal of police. You and yours are lucky to have good men like him protecting you. You have no idea of the sacrifices he makes. You should tell your children to be thankful.
Sorry, Will but ACAB. My first husband was a cop. He wanted to protect and serve. But the police force he worked on was corrupt from the chief through the ranks, including his best friend. This horrified and hurt him so badly he had a fucking heart attack at 38 years old. Fuck the police.
They need to have low noise choppers especially in urban areas!
Is it a biased portrayal? He's reporting his actual experiences, and the results of an investigation that showed wasted money and fuel for trivial activities, likely including joyriding. Your attitude is exactly what has so many of us bristling and developing anti-cop attitudes: "Shut up and salute! It's for your own good! We know best! Don't ask questions!"