Pubdate: Wed, 23 Oct 2013
Source: New York Times (NY)
Copyright: 2013 The New York Times Company
Website: http://www.nytimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/298
Author: Neill Franklin
Cited: http://leap.cc/

CAMERAS COULD RESTORE TRUST IN POLICE

This urge to have eyes everywhere is not new. In the late 1700s, the
philosopher Jeremy Bentham proposed a "panopticon" - a guardhouse in
the middle of a circular prison, allowing guards to see all the
inmates without being seen themselves. The idea was that, if the
prisoners did not know when they were being watched, they would have
to behave at all times as if they were, internalizing the gaze of the
guard so that eventually, there would be no need for a guard at all.

When we train police officers, we work on a similar notion, telling
recruits to conduct themselves as if they're being followed by a video
camera 24/7, because we know that they - like most people - behave
better when they believe they're being watched. While this is
certainly a benefit for the communities in which they operate, it's
also a benefit for the police officers themselves.

A monitoring system could let us defend officers unjustly accused and
punish those who are guilty. It could also reduce misconduct. Cameras
are extremely useful in gathering and maintaining a record of
evidence, providing a fuller picture of an interaction than a written
report or even a patrol car's "dashcam" ever could. For this reason,
they're also very good at protecting police from false accusations of
misconduct.

Since the advent of the war on drugs, we've seen a tremendous rise in
racial profiling, unconstitutional searches and other dubious
practices. At the same time, we've seen a tremendous decrease in
public trust in law enforcement generally. The two are not unrelated.

The infamous "blue wall of silence" - the tendency of police to defend
against any accusations of wrongdoing - has compounded the problem.
But by adopting an objective, transparent monitoring system that
allows us to defend those unjustly accused and correct or punish those
caught abusing their power, we can prove to the public we believe no
person should be above the law, particularly those sworn to uphold it.
There are few things I can think of that would benefit our police more.

Neill Franklin Neill Franklin is the executive director of Law
Enforcement Against Prohibition. He was a narcotics cop and a
commander of training during his 34-year career with the Maryland
State Police and the Baltimore Police Department.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Matt