Mayhem

This zine is a fictional story about how a small group of 2–5 people got together to disable/destroy a Flock camera (or any other type of camera). Nobody should ever do anything described in this zine because the actions are illegal. The zine is purely for entertainment purposes. If people want to do something legal, document Flock cameras and Automated License Plate Readers (ALPRs) at deflock.org.

The people described in this story only did what they were excited about, seemed fun, and were at the right skill and risk level. They were beginners so they started with surveillance cameras that were easy to access (low to the ground), had nearby escape routes (woods), and were not near real time crime cameras (owned by city/universities). They started by stickering and putting bags over the cameras on the first day, then later in the week in a different area tried smashing one or two cameras before immediately escaping. They tried to stay under the $500 damage limit so as to only face summary charges if arrested for criminal mischief. Only after an extended period of time with many succeses did they take bigger risks.

**They Formed an Affinity Group

The first thing our fictional characters did was form an affinity group. The affinity group:

• only included people that they’ve known for a long time and trusted.

• always met in person to discuss the project, always outdoors with nobody around, and always without phones.

• made sure everyone was solid on security culture by reading Crimethinc’s “What is Security Culture?”

• made sure everyone involved could deal with the consequences if arrested and would not talk or give an “interview” to the police or other investigators.

• didn’t record their conversations, plans, or anything else related to the project on phones or other devices.

• absolutely did NOT post on social media about the action or things related to the action. No bragging!

They Picked a Target

After forming a group, the fictional characters picked a target camera. They:

• were inexperienced so they looked around for surveillance cameras with easy escape routes (near woods, for example). If they were experienced and wanted to do a Flock camera, they would check locations at deflock.org, filtered “Brand” for Flock and found a few that looked promising.

• went in person at least a couple days in advane to subtly check out the target.

• made sure the target was the right difficulty level for them (not too high up on a pole, for example) and risk level (not too many cops patrolling)

• WARNING: Some city and university cameras have real time crime capabilities. Our fictional characters would only go for these if they are experienced dealing with high risk situations. Also, if they heard the words “real time crime” on the police radio, they would get out of there quickly. University police also use different radio frequencies that might be encrypted.

• made sure the target had acceptable legal consequences.

  • they knew that if they were arrested and charged, they would likely get their charges downgraded (for example, misdemeanor to dropped charges or summary offense), especially for a first offense. This is why they NEVER talked to the police, admitted to anything, or snitched on their friends. They planned to always plead NOT GUILTY if charged.

• repeated this process until they found an appropriate target.

They Developed a Plan

The group did some research to develop a plan, the plan included:

• an origination spot (where to start)

• bloc spot (where to put on de-identifying clothes)

• target (camera location, equipment needed, roles, method of attack)

• debloc/disposal spot (where to take off de-identifying clothes and dispose of anything)

• termination spot (where to escape to safety)

In their detailed plan, they:

• would meet at the origination spot 10 minutes before the plan started, without phones but with watches

• chose a bloc spot (place to put on their hoodie/sweatpants/etc), and a route to bicycle to the bloc spot. The bloc spot was a 3–5 minute walk from the target and had no cameras near it. The route to the bloc spot also had few cameras, and none that could be used to connect the origination spot with the bloc spot

• chose a route from bloc spot to target, again trying to minimize exposure to cameras

• determined how to get the target, roles (smasher, human ladder, police radio scanner, lookouts), and any needed gear

• determined that they would stay there no more than five minutes (usually police can respond in 5 minutes or less to a 911 call)

• used the same route that they approached the target to escape, but also had an emergency escape route in case a cop rolled by

• chose the debloc spot to be the same as the bloc spot, and the disposal spot as a dumpster near the debloc spot that had no cameras nearby

• had a statement ready for the police if arrested: “I have nothing to say, I’m invoking my 5^th amendment rights. I do not consent to a search. I want a lawyer”

  • they knew that they’re required to give their real name if they are detained. Never give a false name (that’s an additional crime).

• committed to each other that even if they were threatened by the police or the police attempted to trick them (“your friends are telling on you so you better tell us what happened”) they would not talk and demand a lawyer

• memorized a trustworthy friend’s phone number and address to call to get bailed out in case of an arrest

  • they did not plan to use their parents’ phone number or address in the case of arrest

They Got Thier Gear

With their plan ready, they found the gear that they needed. They

• did NOT include their phones in the gear list

• bought cheap 2-way scanner radios to listen for the police and communicate with each other (Baofeng UV-5R)

• bought/stole some dark colored burner clothes (shoes, sweatpants, hoodie, baseball cap, sheisty/gaiter/balaclava, gloves, backpack) from a thrift store

• bought a cheap burner bicycle or stole one using 14 inch bolt cutters

• picked up a bag to carry the tools

• got the tools necessary to get the target, depending on their preferred method (won’t need all of these)

  • an opaque bag for covering the camera (always cover the camera asap)

  • some stickers for placing over the camera lens

  • a 4 pound hammer if they decided to smash the camera (regular hammer works but not as good)

  • 30 feet of truck rope and a steel link for pulling the camera down

  • steel snips for snipping the camera’s metal straps to the pole

  • spraypaint can

    • paint, bicycle pump, and silver wet chemical kitchen fire extinguisher

  • angle grinder with metal cutting blade

They Cleaned Up Thier Life

They prepared their electronics, apartments, camps, cars, and anything else relevant in case police got a search warrant. They

• deleted anything sketchy on their phones and other electronic devices (photos, documents, search history, Signal chats, etc)

• made sure they had encrypted phones and other electronic devices with strong passphrases (use Molly instead of Signal with database encryption and a strong passphrase)

• cleaned up where they lived, getting rid of anything potentially incriminating (zines, other literature, edgy posters, etc)

• cleaned up their cars

• burned this zine and anything else related to the action but not necessary for it

They did the Action

They were now ready to do the action. They:

• scheduled their meetup at the origination spot some time between 1am and 3am.

• turned off phones and other electronic devices and stashed them with passphrases and encryption on

• did a final gear check to make sure they had everything they need

• met at the origination spot in normal clothes without phones

• bicycled to the bloc location

• stashed their bicycles and put on their bloc, took out their bags with relevant tools, double checking that there’s no cameras nearby

• walked to the target trying not to look sketchy. They knew the location of cameras along the route so would only put up their hood/mask when getting within range

• double checked with everyone about the emergency escape route

• put a bag over the target (if possible), then took care of the target with their preferred method in five minutes or less

• put their tools back in their bags/backpacks

• walked/ran to the debloc spot, trying to not look too suspicious

• changed back into their original clothes at the debloc spot

• disposed of anything necessary in the dumpster

• bicycled to the safe termination spot

They Made a Report Back

They waited a few days to make sure there was no investigation on their case. Then, using TOR anonymous browser, wrote a reportback to unravel.noblogs.org

Pittsburgh Police Zones and Radio Frequencies

How to / Resources

Communiques / Videos / Hype

Arrests (what to avoid)

News