police Archives

FEATURE FOLLOW-UP: SURREPTITIOUS SIMULATION

Massachusetts State Police purchased cell-phone surveillance tech that civil liberties watchdogs say invites concerning violations of constitutional protections. Is it too late for privacy advocates and lawmakers to put accountability measures in place?

DAN ATKINSON April 3, 2024

THE WALTHAM MURDERS: THE INTERVIEW

Speaking with Susan Clare Zalkind about her new book, The Waltham Murders: One Woman’s Pursuit to Expose the Truth Behind a Murder and a National Tragedy

CHRIS FARAONE March 15, 2024

STINGRAYS, SIMULATORS, SURVEILLANCE, AND SILVERADOS

How Massachusetts State Police are using the opioid crisis to pursue “profound and dangerous erosions of privacy and civil liberties”

DAN ATKINSON February 6, 2024

CLOAK & RECORDS: MORE POST COMMISSION OMISSIONS

“If the same police departments issue press releases after arrests—not convictions—if they think that doing that makes the community safer, then why redact information about alleged abuses from police officers themselves?”

DAN ATKINSON September 14, 2023

THE SEVEN YEARS WAR

Boston police used their fusion center to surveil my journalistic actions. It took nearly seven years for BPD to hold itself somewhat accountable, and only after they used my information in a Department of Homeland Security conference presentation. The department violated transparency laws and their own policies to hide their

MAYA SHAFFER July 13, 2023

IMPUNITY SERVICE

The state’s police oversight commission only publicizes cops who have been punished, but there’s a back door to discovering the dirty details of departments that let problematic officers linger “The public deserves to see allegations of police misconduct in real time, because officers have tremendous powers and responsibilities in our

DAN ATKINSON June 28, 2023

STILL WAITING

Tainted Drug Evidence Victims Still Waiting For Settlement Payments “We’ve got a system in place where it’s just, grab this money from mostly poor people, but don’t have mechanisms in place to really account for what’s taken.” It may be a new year, but tens of thousands of individuals wrongfully

ZACK HUFFMAN January 9, 2023

EARS FOR FEAR: THE SHOTSPOTTER WORKAROUND

Boston, Regional Police Dodge Transparency Ordinance In Bolstering Surveillance Network At a public hearing at the end of November, Boston police and officials heard from activists and lawmakers concerned about transparency regarding surveillance technology in the city. The gunshot detection system ShotSpotter received particular criticism over accuracy and deployment, but

DAN ATKINSON December 13, 2022

Somerville PD Ford Police Interceptor Utility by Jason Lawrence. CC-BY 2.0.

SUMMER VIOLENCE PREVENTION PROGRAM APPROVED

With shootings on the rise, councilors debate funding for annual regional policing initiative A state-funded grant that has been used for many years by the Somerville Police to combat youth violence was subjected to two heated discussions last week, before being approved by the City Council. The question was whether

LINDA PINKOW July 19, 2022

Road closure for Broadway bridge demolition March 2019. MassDOT, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

COUNCIL WANTS COPS OFF CONSTRUCTION DETAILS

Final decision on using civilian flaggers to be made by Mayor Ballantyne and City staff (Somerville Wire) – The City Council has approved a resolution in favor of civilians taking control over traffic details at construction sites. “I have never really understood why traffic details are exclusively worked by police

LINDA PINKOW May 17, 2022