BlackLives
Matter And Body Camera For Worcester Police 2019
BlackLives
Matter has been one of the more significant advocates for police body cameras.
The movement for police accountability has gained legitimacy from the recording
of police misconduct, especially the shoot of unarmed young Black men by law
enforcement at the moment of initial interaction with civilians..
It appears
that law enforcement is now more cautious in regards to the moments before an
arrest than it had been previously. Although I have no statistics for a
comparison, it seems that there are fewer news stories of unarmed Black men
being shot by police.
An ancillary
effect of police body cameras has been that some complaints against the police can
be more easily be found to be without merit. The body camera captures violations by the
civilian as well. The camera systems protects all parties with what can be
called material evidence.
Not too long
ago a study done in Washington DC questioned the value of body cameras. The
studied was premised on the theory that people changed their behavior from bad
to better when we are watched. In this instance by the camera. The study
concluded that there was not much change in people’s behavior even when we were
being watched.
The smaller pilot
program for Boston police body camera use over a 12 month period ending in
January 2018 resulted in 12 fewer complaints against police..
The premise
that the main purpose of a police body cameras is to make us act better is not
the premise of put forward by BlackLives Matter. We advocated for the material
evidence of whether an encounter by law enforcement was justified or not. This
material evidence would protect both the civilian and the police.
Starting in
2014 BlackLives Matter in Worcester created a coalition of activists and others
who want good policing and an end to racist police misconduct. The coalition
included CUC, NAACP, Progressive Labor Party, ACLU, and many others. For many
years there was no movement on the issue by the City.
As recently
as November of 2018 the Police Chief, the City Manager, and City Council could
not say that anything was scheduled in terms of the pilot program for the use
of body cameras. This lack of action was despite the police union and the City
signing a contract to use body camera.
Police at Human Rights
Commission 2018
It was
something of a surprise when the City Manager and the Police Chief announced in
January 2019 that a pilot program for body cameras would be initiated by the
Worcester police sometime in 2019. The
announcement indicated that the evaluation would be based on effectiveness and
costs.
This tidbit
of information regarding the evaluation of body camera use by the Worcester
Police leaves a lot out. First there is
not much information about the Police contract. Second, there is no useful
information about the criteria that will be used in the evaluation of the use
of body cameras. Third, there is no
information about the protocols that will be used in the pilot and the potentislly
permanent program. Fourth, input from the public has not been defined by the
parties.
The ACLU has
developed a set of body camera protocols that protect both the police and the
civilian. These protocols should be considered by the parties ast practice.
They should be in effect at least temporarily during the pilot program.
The Human
Rights Commission should play a role in the evaluation of the use of body
cameras.
There should be more transparency regarding the
terms of the police contract on this issue. The City Council should have public
hearings
