This week’s FOIA round-up: Florida midterm recounts spark lawsuits, insanity pleas and recidivism in Oregon, and the CIA considered “truth serum” as a substitute for torture
In this week’s FOIA round-up, lawsuits mount across the Sunshine State amid recounts of three statewide races, and records reveal the Central Intelligence Agency considered subbing torture for “truth serum” interrogations after 9/11. What’s more, Oregon’s Psychiatric Security Review Board claims low recidivism among those acquitted of crimes based on insanity claims, despite internal emails about a study that reveals the opposite.
Massachusetts groups demands information on Boston Police Department’s “gang” database
Fourteen organizations have joined in on a public records lawsuit calling for the release of the Boston Police Department’s “gang” database, which the group claims labels, tracks, and shares information about young people it alleges to be involved in gangs.
Data Driven: Explore how cops are collecting and sharing our travel patterns using automated license plate readers
The Electronic Frontier Foundation and MuckRock have filed hundreds of public records requests with law enforcement agencies around the country to reveal how data collected from automated license plate readers is used to track the travel patterns of drivers. Today we are releasing records obtained from 200 agencies, accounting for more than 2.5 -billion license plate scans in 2016 and 2017.
What We Learned
Our research shows that 173 agencies from 23 states and the federal government accounted for roughly 2.5 -billion license plate scans in 2016 and 2017. The remaining 27 agencies refused to turn over reports on how much data they collected.
Explore the Data
You can sort the ALPR table by any of the main fields. You may also search it using the query box at the upper left of the table.
Projects See all
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College Cola Contract Crowdsource
★ FeaturedThe options you have at your college’s fountain machine are usually determined by a contract with one of the two big names in beverages: Coca-Cola or Pepsi. -
Exploring America's Nonconsensual Pornography Laws
★ FeaturedNonconsensual pornography (NCP) is the act of distributing pornographic images of individuals without their consent. Victims report feelings of humiliation, distress, and shame. Because of the nature of the internet, it can be difficult to completely take down victims' images, and they can be circulated years after the initial posting. -
CIA Liaisons and Official Contacts
★ FeaturedThis project explores CIA's liaisons with other government agencies. -
Sunshine Spotlight: Massachusetts
★ FeaturedWe'll be shining a light on your Bay State public records struggle! Trouble getting meeting minutes from your city council? Are your local police refusing to release logs or other public information? Whatever your public records struggle, we want to hear about it!