WaPo article: Police secretly monitored New Orleans with facial recognition cameras
Also there just happens to be a state law that goes into effect tomorrow that threatens all state employees (including law enforcement) with jail time for ignoring federal immigration orders. Like, idk, refusing to hand over access to your city's real time facial recognition tracking surveillance.
It was literally made to target the sheriff bc of the federal consent decree saying local police don't deal with immigration matters. Small government's biggest supporters at the state level have decided that it's necessary to help the federal government enforce immigration orders on the city.
Orleans sheriff to stick with immigration policy in spite of new state law
Watched the entire fucking criminal justice meeting on June 30th. Here is probably the most relevant clip of the whole 4ish hours: https://www.reddit.com/r/NewOrleans/comments/1lolxh5/clip_of_lesli_harris_asking_the_right_questions/
Finally this article came out July 10th and one of the council members said exactly why a promise from the police didn't address the real issue.
New Orleans councilmember against facial recognition expansion
Welp, guess what today is? Tried to watch the criminal justice meeting, but there is nothing scheduled.
I have no fucking idea what is actually happening with the proposal. Or if we will even hear anything before the vote. Or if we're just supposed to pretend none of this is happening?
I'm assuming they're still voting on it August 7th? Maybe? Given how little public opinion seems to matter at the city, state, and federal level in 2025 compared to corporate money, maybe we're just supposed to pretend this was never a thing that happened.
Timeline of predictive policing and facial recognition surveillance in New Orleans:
~2012-2018: Palantir has secretly been using New Orleans to test its predictive policing technology
2015: Meet The Man Who Runs New Orleans’ Entirely Privatized (And Controversial) City Surveillance System
2017: ProjectNOLA plans to expand crime camera network, work more closely with New Orleans officials
2018: Months after end of ‘predictive policing’ contract, Cantrell administration works on new tool to ID ‘high-risk’ residents
2020: New Orleans City Council bans facial recognition, predictive policing and other surveillance tech
2022: Mayor Cantrell moves to reverse bans on facial recognition, predictive policing and other surveillance tech
2023: Wholly ineffective and pretty obviously racist’: Inside New Orleans’ struggle with facial-recognition policing
May 2025: Police secretly monitored New Orleans with facial recognition cameras
June 2025: City camera technology not useful for facial recognition: Project NOLA founder
Future surveillance across America as of 2025:
June 2025: Trump’s Palantir-Powered Surveillance Is Turning America Into a Digital Prison