so @ACLU_Mass got documents on the Boston Police Regional Intelligence Center (BRIC) funding & spending, and there were some weird things in there.

for instance, did you know #BosCops are buying cameras to hide in vacuum cleaners?

Thread! #DefundBRIC #DefundBosCops (1/7)

background: the BRIC is a federal fusion center - one of 78 formed since 9/11 to facilitate data sharing b/t local, state, & federal law enforcement.

BRIC isn't just Boston - it also deals w/ Brookline, Cambridge, Chelsea, Everett, Quincy, Revere, Somerville, & Winthrop.
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the BRIC is generously funded by FEMA, the Commonwealth of MA, and the City of Boston.

The funds we know about (and we have reason to think we _don't_ know about some funding sources) have totaled about $7-8 million each year.
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despite civil employee payroll being a matter of public record, we don't know who works for the BRIC! how many people, job titles, salaries, none of it.

and of 41 people who the BRIC funded to get training in 2017-2019, 10 of them don't appear on the Boston payroll??
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but the creepiest info was under hardware & software expenses:
$106k to “single pole concealment cameras”
$5.2k to “ShopVac camera system” i.e. vacuum spies??
$4.9k to “Tissue box concealment” i.e., #BosCops can LITERALLY spy on you thru tissues
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To learn more about all this mess, have a read of our new blog on why @BOSCityCouncil needs to break up with the BRIC
https://data.aclum.org/2020/07/22/break-up-with-the-bric-unpacking-the-boston-regional-intelligence-center-budget/
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To take action – sign petitions, send written testimony urging @BOSCityCouncil to #DefundBRIC before Saturday morning! – check out at @MuslimJustice's new "Get the BRIC Out of Boston" toolkit:
http://bit.ly/DefundBRIC 
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