2018: The Rise of Spying Transit Police

Joe Cadillic is understandably not adverse to reminding us all that he’s been warning us for years about some things.  And one of the things he has been most vocal about is the use of surveillance systems on public transportation.

Today, Joe reviews recent news headlines and then writes:

I am calling 2018: “The Rise of Spying Transit Police” because the facts are undeniable.

I have posted nine disturbing examples that will hopefully motivate commuters to take action before it’s too late.

1. ) The Greater Richmond Transit Center begins installing bus stop surveillance cameras that spy on passengers 24/7.
2. ) Public Transit Becomes Another Tool for Total Government Surveillance.
3. ) Public Transit Agencies want to make safety records a state secret
4. ) The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority Police uses full-body biometric scanners to watchlist commuters.
5. ) BART secretly spied on commuters license plates and sent the information to ICE.
6. ) Despite public opposition, BART moves forward on $20 million surveillance upgrades.
7. ) The Chicago Transit Authority “one of the most comprehensive transit surveillance camera networks in the U.S.”recently upgraded 32,000 surveillance cameras.
8. ) MBTA Transit Police surveillance towers
9. ) New Jersey wants to increase Transit Police funding to $242 million.

Americans used public transportation 10.1 billion times last year. Which means that the Border Patrol, Amtrak, and Transit Police spied on billions of commuters.

The rise of spying transit police should serve as a wake-up call to everyone. Don’t let DHS turn public transit into TSA style pat-downs and searches.