> how do we have law enforcement without hiring a literal army of police officers?

Just like we did way back in 2023 before the massive nationwide rollout of Flock cameras.

A surveillance state is the antithesis of what the U.S. founders gave us. It is fundamentally illiberal.

2023 was a pretty miserable year in SF, in large part, because organized crime was using modern reselling platforms to create wildly productive fencing operations, driving extreme increases in car break-ins and burglaries.

This lead to a massive political shift towards stronger policing in the city, much of which has been facilitated by drone surveillance of groups engaging in burglaries without the dangers of high-speed car chases to the general public.

I do not think “just go back” is anything other than a nostalgia for a world we no longer live in.