Badger state? More like Surveillance State.

Brown County Sheriff’s Department in Wisconsin used Flock cameras, which record the license plates of every vehicle that passes by them, to identify and arrest a resident of Wisconsin for purchasing marijuana. Per the report, the cops used Flock’s network of cameras to track the man as he drove from Wisconsin, where possession remains a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine for a first offense, to Michigan, where recreational weed purchase and possession are legal.

Per the report, the cops looked up his license plate and found that he “travels to Michigan frequently.” Of course, they couldn’t prove by the cameras alone that he was going to Michigan to buy weed. But apparently just going across state lines is enough to create suspicion. In a criminal complaint filed by the police against the man, they call Michigan a “known source state for marijuana as it is legal there.”

  • AbidanYreEnglish
    10·
    3 days ago

    Giving up all our privacy was definitely worth it to catch this guy for a misdemeanor possession charge.

    • FishFace@piefed.socialEnglish
      118·
      3 days ago

      Since the literal interpretation of your comment, (“we gave up all our privacy and all we got was this misdemeanor possession charge”) is obviously not true, I’m gonna go out on a limb and interpret you as saying, “we have given up too much privacy for the level of harm that could be reduced”.

      But that seems like a strong claim with not much evidence. Cameras in public places don’t encroach much on privacy (because they are in public) and it seems like they can reduce a lot of harm. Not by arresting people for possessing weed, because that causes virtually zero harm, but other crimes, which there’s no reason to suppose can’t also be solved with the help of cameras, especially since it happens in other countries.