Chicago records show red light cameras are dangerous, inaccurate, and costly

Here's a good reminder of why journalists should always double check the data before running with the government's interpretation of it:

Writers in “free” countries are chilled by government surveillance, study finds

“Surveillance conducted by government authorities induces self-censorship by writers around the world.”

Government figures show police nearly trip over one another in seven out of twenty investigations

FBI warns private industry about GPS jammers

The FBI is warning other law enforcement agencies about the possibility that thieves may use GPS jammers to block the tracking of cargo shipments they are attempting to steal. In a "Private Industry Notification" bulletin not meant for public consumption but published on the website Public Intelligence, the FBI warns:

The militarization of domestic surveillance: “Avoidance of the law and contempt for the truth”

Former FBI agent Mike German, now at the Brennan Center for Justice, explains how the US government's domestic surveillance and intelligence gathering operations are increasingly militarized. This is happening in three ways, German writes:

Snowden documents show open source encryption is our best bet to defeat government spooks

New reporting from Der Spiegel confirms that open source technology and encryption are our best defenses against dragnet surveillance.

Friday must reads

Really, read these over the weekend:

Raven Rakia on body cameras and cop watching:

Judge: Cops must get a warrant to install surveillance camera across the street from your house

Will star ‘prosecution’ witness in Wilson grand jury be charged with lying to the FBI?

NSA and FBI can obtain our medical and financial records in bulk

As Jonathan Mayer lays out in this must-read blog post, Department of Justice prosecutors haven't exactly been forthright with courts about how the NSA and FBI can collect our medical and financial records.