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Planet Money
Planet Money

How surveillance crept up on us

October 23, 2026 • 34m

Summary

⏱️ 7 min read

Overview

Planet Money explores how the NYPD built one of the world's most advanced surveillance systems over two decades, spending billions of federal dollars post-9/11 to create a massive network of cameras, databases, and tracking tools - largely without public knowledge or consent. The episode reveals how a secret agreement allowed police to purchase surveillance technology off the books, and examines the ongoing fight for transparency as civil liberties advocates work to expose thousands of hidden contracts.

The Grand Jury Experience: Discovering the Surveillance Web

While serving on grand jury duty, the reporter was shocked to see prosecutors present elaborate video compilations tracking suspects across the city. Multiple camera angles showed vehicles and people moving for miles, edited together from various sources including bodegas, highways, and private businesses. This firsthand experience revealed the vast extent of surveillance infrastructure that most New Yorkers don't realize exists.

  • Grand juries see dozens of cases with prosecutors presenting video evidence from cameras everywhere - 'every street, every corner and every store on every subway'
  • Police can create elaborate video edits showing suspects traveling for miles, compiled from multiple camera sources without visiting each location
  • The Domain Awareness System acts as a search engine - officers can type in names to pull up profiles or addresses to pull up video
" I did not understand the extent of it, just how vast it is. I did not know I was being watched on practically every street, every corner and every store on every subway. "

From Beat Cop to Digital Surveillance: The Evolution of NYPD Technology

Former NYPD Captain Joe Pascarella describes policing in early 1990s Times Square, when officers relied on radios and their mouths rather than technology. In that era, police solved fewer than a fifth of property crimes. The transformation began after 9/11, when the NYPD shifted from being just a local police department to also becoming a counterterrorism force, leading to massive federal funding and technological expansion.

  • In 1991, NYPD officers walking Times Square footposts had no technology except radios - 'your biggest technology actually was your mouth'
  • Police used to solve fewer than a fifth of property crimes, with jokes about burglars jumping into patrol cars
  • After 9/11, the NYPD transformed from local police to counterterrorism force, monitoring 'everything from the bottom of rivers to the top of the skies'
  • The federal government provided billions in homeland security grants for counterterrorism equipment and technology
" There used to be an old joke where, you know, how'd you arrest this burglar? Well, he jumped into the back of my patrol car. "
" You know, we had to really account for, you know, everything from all the way down to the bottom of the rivers to the top of the skies. "

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