Post by @404.media

404 Media is revealing the name of Border Patrol's predictive policing units, which analyze financial data and have local cops pull people over. The people are not suspected of any particular crime. The units, the name of which 404 Media is revealing here for the first time, are called Predictive Intelligence Targeting Teams (PITT). In one case, a PITT analyzed the financial activity of a man who was driving across Montana, and local authorities stopped him under the pretense of an obstructed license plate and charged him with a DUI. A CBP spokesperson told 404 Media in an email: “U.S. Border Patrol uses intelligence-informed analysis and planning to support national security operations, allocate resources, and help identify potential threats and bad actors to public safety. These efforts are conducted consistent with applicable law, policy, privacy protections, and oversight requirements.” “For operational security reasons, we do not discuss specific analytical methods, data sources, targeting criteria, investigative techniques, system capabilities, or deployment details. Public disclosure of such information could compromise law enforcement operations and investigations as well as creating safety risks for agents and the public,” the statement added. “The government’s increasing use of mass surveillance — whether that surveillance comes via ALPRs, financial records, or the like — coupled with predictive policing is a recipe for tyranny,” Rob Frommer, senior attorney at the Institute for Justice, told 404 Media. “We fought a revolution for the idea that we are citizens, not subjects. Yet schemes like CBP’s Predictive Intelligence Targeting Team treat all Americans as if they are potential suspects." Link in bio to read now.