Have you seen these strange, off-white boxes with vertical antennae on utility poles downtown? If you've wondered why they're there and what they're doing, you're not alone. Can they spy on you? Yes, they can. Are they spying on you? Not at the moment, officials say. But of course that could change at any time. And officials are reluctant to say anything else. Even though SPD, the Department of Homeland Security, and the manufacturer of these devices declined to answer The Stranger's questions, Brendan Kiley and Matt Fikse-Verkerk pursued their investigation anyway, drawing on internal documents, Point Point presentations, manufacturer instruction manuals, interviews with experts, and the like. If you walk around with a cell phone in your pocket and you care at all about surveillance and civil liberties, you need to read this.

(And if you're interested in the technical side: A list of 16 specific questions The Stranger asked SPD that SPD declined to answer is right here.)