Policing
We envision a society where systems of policing and incarceration are obsolete.
We seek to expose and constrain how law enforcement uses technology to expand its reach and to drive mass incarceration. We oppose police surveillance tools and reject the idea that technology can fix the problems in policing or keep communities safe. We have resisted body-worn cameras, face recognition, predictive policing, and other surveillance tools and techniques. Among our current initiatives, we seek to limit how local law enforcement agencies use forensic tools to search people’s cellphones. We also frequently work with defense attorneys on impact litigation and with local advocates to curb police surveillance, including in our own community in DC.
Mass Extraction
Logan Koepke, Emma Weil, Urmila Janardan, Tinuola Dada and Harlan Yu
This report is the most comprehensive examination of U.S. law enforcement’s use of mobile device forensic tools. Our research shows that every American is at risk of having their phone forensically searched by law enforcement.
Read moreLatest work in this issue area
All work in this issue areaWe filed an amicus brief in a case before the Connecticut State Supreme Court arguing that the Court should develop specific rules for the issuance and execution of cellphone search warrants.
Logan Koepke, Emma Weil, and Tinuola Dada
Tinuola testified on MPD use of mobile device forensic tools and consent searches at the 2021-2022 Metropolitan Police Department Performance Oversight Hearing.
Tinuola Dada
Consistent with the calls to defund the police by Black-led DC-based organizers, we testified that the District needs a new approach to public safety, including a significant reduction in taxpayer spending on police surveillance technologies.
Harlan Yu
We are suing the NYPD for records concerning the department’s use of mobile device forensic technology. Upturn is represented on a pro-bono basis by Shearman & Sterling, LLP and the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (S.T.O.P.).
Logan Koepke, Emma Weil, Harlan Yu, and Urmila Janardan
Selected press and events
WIRED covers “Mass Extraction,” Upturn’s report on mobile device forensic tools.
“They’re getting a window into your soul,” said Logan Koepke. “We are placing in the hands of law enforcement something that I think is a dangerous expansion of their investigatory power.”
Body-worn cameras simply haven’t served the interests of communities in most places, and primarily should be seen as a policing and surveillance tool.
Harlan joins experts from across the field to discuss government hacking and its consequences for security and privacy.