Watched: Police are stockpiling databases with personal information

Re:Watched: Police are stockpiling databases with personal i... by chiph on Tuesday September 13, 2016 @02:21PM (#12490902)

Or just makes it's way into the hands of thieves. When someone breaks into your home, they typically go after a few kinds of items: Electronics, tools, cash/silverware, and guns. All of which are high-value and easily sold/fenced. Imagine if you had a list of homes that could be sorted by number of profitable items and the street address. It'd be a thief's dream.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Watched: Police are stockpiling databases with personal i... by spdustin on Tuesday September 13, 2016 @02:24PM (#12490943)

I'm not sure thieves would specifically target a home where the owner is clearly known to be able to defend such a theft with swift, lethal force.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Watched: Police are stockpiling databases with personal i... by chiph on Tuesday September 13, 2016 @02:45PM (#12491105)

They just wait until you leave for work, or are asleep.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQNmj2gSq6A

Response time for the police is usually on the order of tens of minutes. A friend lives in the country and called about a suspicious person and had a deputy show up 3.5 hours later. Thieves know this and will be in and out pretty quickly. They know where to look - under the mattress. In the refrigerator/freezer. In the nightstand. On the top shelf of the closet.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Watched: Police are stockpiling databases with personal i... by spdustin on Tuesday September 13, 2016 @02:56PM (#12491196)

Ah, an obvious factor that I failed to consider (homeowner being absent), thanks.

Is this different from a thief "casing" your house to determine if you've purchased big ticket items? If their access to the information is logged (which I know isn't always going to be valid) and you're notified that a civilian accessed your gun inventory record, is that more or less problematic than someone who just watches your house every weekend for a few weeks after, say, Christmas, to see what large packaging you throw out without breaking down?

I'm reconsidering my opinion on public access, for certain, and I'm sincerely trying to be as informed on the caveats as best I can.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Watched: Police are stockpiling databases with personal i... by chiph on Tuesday September 13, 2016 @05:24PM (#12492393)

There's currently a problem with "package bandits" that cruise neighborhoods after the UPS and FedEx trucks have been through. They'll hop out of their car and grab your delivery off the front porch. So they don't even have to break-in to steal from you. :(

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Watched: Police are stockpiling databases with personal i... by i_are_smart on Tuesday September 13, 2016 @05:05PM (#12492225)

A fairly large and obvious difference is that around Christmas I can (and usually do) break up the cardboard boxes into smaller pieces, and put them inside my trashcan instead of just on the curb, so the fact that I got, say, a large tv is hidden.

This sort of database would not be opt-out.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Watched: Police are stockpiling databases with personal i... by brewdad on Tuesday September 13, 2016 @06:35PM (#12492809)

Security by obscurity is not security at all.

[ Parent | on HN ]