# Spy on your neighors with new Government Program!!

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spy-on-your-neighors-with-new-government-program/119122>\
**Category:** Great Debates\
**Created:** [July 15, 2002, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spy-on-your-neighors-with-new-government-program/119122 "2002-07-15T21:28:25Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Tars\_Tarkas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Tars\_Tarkas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tars_Tarkas)\
**Post date:** [July 15, 2002, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spy-on-your-neighors-with-new-government-program/119122/1 "2002-07-15T21:28:25Z")

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Yes, [Operation TIPS](http://www.citizencorps.gov/tips.html) wants you! It will start in August with a pilot program, involving 1 million people! [This](http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/07/14/1026185141232.html)article explains that 1 in 24 people in the 10 biggest US cities will be domestic spies (although it is written by a journalist who is “fleeing US harrasment” in Sweden, so it may be somewhat biased). So, anyone think this is a good idea or a bad one? To me, it sounds like Bush didn’t want to pay for Big Brother, so he will just let some people volunteer into it. Or am i becoming paranoid?

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**Author:** ![Daoloth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/82dd89/32.png) [@Daoloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daoloth)\
**Post date:** [July 15, 2002, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spy-on-your-neighors-with-new-government-program/119122/2 "2002-07-15T21:37:48Z")

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All I can say is that this is damn scary…

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**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\
**Post date:** [July 15, 2002, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spy-on-your-neighors-with-new-government-program/119122/3 "2002-07-15T22:41:23Z")

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Maybe it’s a bit of a jump taking a program that encourages people to report suspicious activity and labeling it as “recruiting domestic spies”?

I was under the impression that tipster programs including Crimewatch have been in operation in various cities for many years, without gross violations of civil rights (though maybe somewhere, there’s a file containing a report of me having U-turned suspiciously in someone’s cul-de-sac).

Wonder how many people it will take to sift through all the reams of “information” provided by this amateur brigade of tipsters. I have a feeling there will be followup only on a small proportion of stuff that sounds serious (i.e. suspicious parties photographing the security setup outside the nuke plant).

“TIPS is being pursued as part of the so-called war against terrorism.”  
Got a wee bit of an agenda here, Mr. Goldstein?