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Hallwatch Under Investigation by Philadelphia Police:
Computer Crimes Unit to Probe Hallwatch
By Ed Goppelt
Sunday, 01/27/02
(1012167922501)
Hallwatch is currently being investigated by the Major Crimes Unit of the Philadelphia Police Department. The investigation comes in response to a complaint by the Board of Revision of Taxes (BRT) which alleges the unlicensed use of its real estate and property tax database by Hallwatch.
Why the BRT feels that Hallwatch and its users must obtain their permission to look at public information is a mystery. However, the BRT is by no means alone in its unwillingness to share public records with ordinary Philadelphians. In my experience, city agencies and the people who run them often behave as if they own public data and can withhold or grant it at their whim.
I first heard of the investigation on Wednesday when Lieutenant Ed Monaghan of the Computer Crimes Unit called to request that I submit to an interview with Police. According to the Police Dept. Web Site, the Computer Crimes Unit, a subunit of the Major Crimes Unit, conducts "forensic examinations of seized computers, and investigates crimes facilitated by computer."
Although the BRT filed a complaint with the Police against Hallwatch, they never contacted me directly, evidently preferring to let the Police do their talking for them.
I wrote the BRT on December 4 about my plans to publish the real estate data and have attempted to keep them informed of my activities throughout. The service went live on January 1, giving the BRT about a month to voice any concerns they might have had regarding the legality of the service. They did not. Read the correspondence here.
In fact, despite several invitations to do so, Mr. Glancey only contacted me once with a concern: he asked me not to permit Philadelphians to look up property owners by last name, citing concerns about stalking. Although I think Mr. Glancey's concerns are overblown, I have restricted access to this part of the site while I research the issue. Read the correspondence here.
I have been told by those with more experience in such matters that it is routine for community activists to be "roughed up" by those in power.
If our elected officials are indeed using the Philadelphia Police Department and Courts as a weapon against those who they regard as their political enemies they abuse the trust the citizens of Philadelphia have placed in them. I hope to see a Philadelphia where these kinds of intimidation tactics are no longer considered to be "routine," but are seen for what they are: an ugly abuse of power that has no place in our city.