Between vehicle tracking, camera networks, drone use, and AI, local cops have become the ever-watching hall monitors of modern life. Private industry is reaping the profits. An aerial view of Everett, WA; one place where the current citizen-led battle against mass surveillance technology is taking place. Police departments across the country have used increased fears of criminal activity to justify vast surveillance networks. These networks usher in a level of personal privacy invasion even more omnipresent than dystopian writers could dream up. Ironically, even as police have demanded new access to monitor and examine your personal life because of these crime fears, crime itself is at historic lows. In 2024, the FBI reported the lowest violent crime rate in over 20 years with violent crime down 4.5%, murder down 14.9%, and property crime reaching its lowest rate since 1961 .…