BlackLives Matter And Body Camera For Worcester Police 2019

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