Bloomberg’s role-playing workshops convince the public to accept self-guided police drones equipped with microphones

November 21, 2018 in News by RBN Staff

 

Source: MassPrivateI

 

image credit: The Drive

Bloomberg is spending six million dollars on a “Mayors Challenge” that will put microphones in police drones.

According to an article in WPFL 89.3, Bloomberg Philanthropies wants the Louisville Kentucky Police Department to send out self-guided aerial drones equipped with ShotSpotter microphones across the city.

“The city will spend six months testing and refining the drone proposal. In October, four cities will win $1 million to continue the programs, while one grand prize winner will get $5 million from Bloomberg Philanthropies.”

Before I go any further I need to address the proverbial elephant in the room.

For more than a decade Bloomberg Philanthropies has donated millions of dollars to turn police departments into mini-spy centers. Bloomberg’s website has an entire section devoted to law enforcement donations. The Daily Caller’s article “Law Enforcement For Hire” claims that Bloomberg has paid $6 million to State Attorneys to help resist President Trump.

Is it any wonder that Bloomberg is spending millions trying to convince Americans that police drones equipped with microphones is a good thing?

Bloomberg’s Mayors Challenge is not focused on preserving our privacy but is instead focused on changing the public’s opinion about police surveillance.

“That sort of bold, creative thinking is what we look for in this competition. And the replicability of it, if it’s successful is very exciting,” Katie Appel Duda of Bloomberg Philanthropies said. “At the end of the day, this is all about learning to make these ideas bigger, stronger and more poised for impact for citizens.”

Bloomberg got one thing right, equipping police drones with microphones will have a strong impact on citizens. Just imagine a future where police use drones to secretly listen to public conversations all in the name of public safety.

Bloomberg uses role-playing workshops to change public opinion

According to Bloomberg’s “Mayors Challenge”, police use role-playing workshops to figure out which strategies they can use to change public opinion.

“They will use role-playing to test how their idea will be integrated into first responder methods; and will test public receptivity for this idea through workshops.”

“In a session with stakeholders and residents to feedback on their idea, the team’s assumptions were challenged. Participants were concerned about privacy and trust of ShotSpotter in their neighborhoods. As a result, the team is adjusting the way in which they communicate.”

Police use workshops to “adjust” their responses to counter privacy concerns.

“Residents were concerned that the idea is merely an enforcement response, which benefits police. This concern led the team to re-prioritize the metrics they are using to measure success as well as the way they are communicating their idea. Now, their focus is to use drone technology to attend to gunshot victims to improve emergency response capability.”

What did the police learn? The public is very concerned about police surveillance, so let’s change our tactics and focus on saving gunshot victims.

None of this should come as a surprise to my readers.

Last year, I warned everyone that the University of California which has close ties to DHS issued a questionable press release claiming ShotSpotter might save shooting victims lives.

And just last month, I warned people about a disturbing new police strategy.  Authorities had the audacity to claim that police surveillance drones will revitalize downtown’s and create community connections.

If the police are still having trouble convincing the public to accept surveillance drones all they have to do is turn to a Department of Justice guidebook called “Community Policing & Unmanned Aircraft Systems: Guidelines to Enhance Community Trust..”

“This guidebook helps public safety agencies successfully assess the appropriateness of acquiring a sUAS in their jurisdiction, all the while ensuring public support, avoiding public-relations pitfalls, and enhancing community trust along the way.”

You read that right, the DoJ is now in the propaganda business.

Is ShotSpotter effective?

A ShotSpotter arrests per cost ratio breakdown, translates into a staggering hundred thousand dollars per arrest.

“Earlier this year the Hills borough County Sheriff’s Office in Florida spent $800,000 in taxpayer dollars on ShotSpotter which resulted in 10 arrests and they want another $430,000 for two more years. Which translates into more than $100,000 per arrest. It is the same story in San Antonio, Texas whose ShotSpotter contract translated into $136,500 per arrest.

In 2017 the Fall River, Mass. police cancelled their contract with ShotSpotter claiming it has a 41% error rate. A 2013 Connecticut ShotSpotter investigation found it to be only 10% accurate at identifying gunshots.

It is time to face the facts, DHS and rich philanthropists are working together to change the public’s views about police surveillance. They are slowly turning America into a police state that rivals China.