Police

Armed Australian soldiers, police to deploy to MH17 crash site
A proposed multinational force to further secure the MH17 crash site in eastern Ukraine will now include over 100 armed Australian police and soldiers. The move comes shortly after 40 unarmed Dutchmen had been deployed to "€œfurther stabilize the area."€ The additional Australian personnel were discussed by Prime Minister Tony Abbott with President Putin, and will join a contingent of 90 A [...]
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Privacy concerns? UK police test ‘faster-than-ever’ facial recognition software
Facial recognition surveillance software being tested by British cops that allows "faster than ever" data searching and tracking of subjects is raising concerns among privacy activists. NeoFace software analyses dozens of facial features from digital CCTV images or police body cameras and matching them with the 90,000 photos stored on Leicestershire Police's database, which had become the first un [...]
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US “profoundly troubled” by brutal beating of Palestinian teen who turned out to be American
The US has condemned the beating and detention of a 15-year-old Palestinian-American by Israeli police after a massive social media campaign exploded in cyber space decrying the actions and hypocrisy of Israeli authorities. [...]
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“Get a warrant” – Supreme Court rules against cell phone searches in ‘big win for digital privacy’
The Supreme Court of the United States said Wednesday that police officers must have a warrant before searching the cell phone contents of an individual under arrest. In a unanimous ruling announced early Wednesday, the high court settled two cases surrounding instances in which law enforcement officials scoured the mobile phones of suspects in custody and then used information contained therein t [...]
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Battlefield USA: American police “excessively militarized” – ACLU study
Inheriting both the weapons and the mindset of the US military, police are becoming militarized and "hyper aggressive" in their approach to maintaining security on the streets of America. New study calls on police not to treat people as "wartime enemies." [...]
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Federal crackdown prevents local police from disclosing cell tracking details
US federal authorities have been increasingly involved with local police departments and criminal trials in an attempt to keep details of vast domestic surveillance policies under wraps, according to a new report from the Associated Press. [...]
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Tear gas, stun grenades: Brazilian police disperse protesters hours before WC opener
Brazilian police have used teargas and stun grenades in San Paolo clashing with about 200 protesters angry with the govt overspending on the 2014 FIFA World Cup. This occurred hours before the tournament'€™s opening game to be held in the city. [...]
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Toddler critically burned when SWAT team throws flashbang in crib
A toddler is in a medically induced coma after a SWAT team raided the family's home and threw a flashbang grenade into his crib, the boy'€™s mother said. With a 50 percent chance of survival, it could be weeks before it'€™s known if he will even live. [...]
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‘Slaughterhouse’: Civilians die in Kiev’s ruthless military attacks (GRAPHIC)
Bodies are piling up in Donetsk morgues after Kiev unleashed fighter jets and artillery on the country'€™s southeast just hours after the presidential election. New leader-elect Petro Poroshenko is pushing for the crackdown to become even "€œmore effective."€ [...]
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Cop’s act of kindness goes viral on the internet
When a teenager called the police to say he didn't™ want to live at his house anymore, a local police officer jumped into action. But instead of bringing Child Protective Services, he brought friendship and a bed. Cameron Simmons, a 13-year-old in Sumter, SC, called police after fighting with his mom and said he was upset and that he didn’t want to live with his family anymore, WIS-TV reports. [...]
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Medical jet due to pick up badly wounded RT stringer denied landing in Ukraine
A German medical jet which was to be hired by RT TV channel in order to pick up RT'€™s stringer, critically wounded during a military operation in Mariupol, was denied landing in the eastern Ukrainian city, gripped by unrest. [...]
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FBI investigates Bundy ranch supporters
While Cliven Bundy supporters praised the armed individuals who came to the defense of the Nevada rancher in his land rights dispute with the federal government, the FBI is now investigating them for possible criminal offenses. The armed standoff between the Bureau of Land Management and Bundy – who has refused to pay $1 million in animal grazing fees the government claims he’s owned since the [...]
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Britons’€™ privacy at ‘€˜real risk’€™ from weakly-regulated street cams-watchdog
Britain's "€˜surveillance society"€™ increasingly functions in ways the public is unaware of. An abundance of CCTV -€“ and roadside -€“ cameras misleads the public as to the true nature and scope of government snooping, the surveillance watchdog says. [...]
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IRS awarded contract to surveillance company that tracks license plates
A California-based surveillance vendor that sells access to license plate databases and the devices that indiscriminately collect that information has been reportedly cashing checks from the Internal Revenue Service and other federal offices. [...]
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Democracy, human rights in Europe at its lowest since Cold War – Council of Europe head
The rule of law in Europe is going through its most severe crisis since the Cold War, a report by the continent'€™s top human rights and democracy watchdog warns. Most of the European countries are facing “very worrying” challenges to human rights, democracies and the rule of law, Thorbjorn Jagland, Secretary-General of the Council of Europe, wrote in the report. [...]
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€‹Kiev orders ‘€˜state protection’€™ of protester-held govt HQ in Donetsk
Ukraine'€™s coup-imposed president Aleksandr Turchinov has ordered the protester-held local govt HQ in Donetsk to be taken under "state protection"€™ as armed personnel and armored vehicles have been reported moving into the eastern region of Ukraine. According to a decree signed by Turchinov, the local administration building in Donetsk and surrounding territory is an “important government [...]
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Kiev threatens force against eastern Ukraine protesters
Ukraine'€™s acting Interior Minister is threatening to resolve "€œin 48 hours"€ the situation in eastern regions where administrations of at least two cities are controlled by protesters demanding a nationwide referendum on the state structure. Arsen Avakov told journalists on Wednesday that the coup-imposed government is ready to use force in the mutinous eastern regions. [...]
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Pro-Russian protesters seize govt buildings in Ukraine’s Donetsk, Lugansk and Kharkov
Thousands of people waving Russian flags flooded the streets of eastern Ukraine on Sunday. Demonstrators in the cities of Donetsk, Lugansk, and Kharkov seized state offices, while in Donetsk they also demanded an independence referendum. Over 2,000 people gathered in Lenin Square in the center of Donetsk to petition for the Berkut officers, who – they believe – are falsely accused of using fir [...]
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UN Hammers US Human Rights Record on Spying, Torture, Drones and Death Penalty
A UN report hammers the United States'€™ human rights record, denouncing vast surveillance, ongoing unaccountability for torture, deadly drone strikes, one of the world's highest death penalty counts, and mass incarceration, among other black marks. [...]
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