So Friday I am driving along on rt 40 and I notice a black Ford Explorer doing a zigzag pattern coming up behind me, I see the tag scanners mounted on the hood and just assume it is the SD doing tag checks. They do this quite often since the local towing company that does ALL of the SD's towing donated a tag scanner system last year. Anyway as it passed I noticed the following: 1. NO EMERGENCY LIGHTS, no grill strobe, nothing behind the windows, nothing in any of the standard hidden spots. 2. Virgina plates 3. occupied x2, civilian cloths, passenger with laptop 4. This sticker on the back window So my first thoughts are: 1 wasn't Blackwater shut down? 2 What the hell are they doing scanning tags on a state road/ I didn't have my camera with me, but if I see it again, I will get a pic for y'all Any thoughts?
Two cameras mounted on car use OCR to check tag numbers against DMV database to see if tag is valid and not suspended for any reason. In MD your tags can be suspended for toll violations, parking tickets, failed emissions test, and many other reasons. Its alot faster to just drive back and forth and pull cars over when the computer tells you to then it is to run tags through the computer one at a time.
Also, This was only about 3 miles outside the gate of APG. They are known more for their chemical and ordnance work, not alot of intel there other then the FMIB and I dont see them having a need for that type of data
Looks like baseball bat time when they go to the donut shop!!! Or more discrete, walk by and laser that BS to fry it.
Blackwater changed name to Xe after the bad publicity then changed again to Academi, the present apparent name. Many older employees still refer to themselves as Blackwater. Except for the sticker, I would guess that they are now being used as sub-contractors to implement this scanning process and various other surveillance measures much like their presence in New Orleans after Katrina. Look for more and more "Private Security Contractors" being used by our benevolent rulers, they don't need any approvals from our representatives to hire these guys, just use discretionary funds.
Less a case of private "contractors" and more a case of private condottieri. Condottieri - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia