The Syracuse Police Department’s trail run with body cameras should be the beginning of a conversation about police-community relations and accountability. That’s the position of the New York Civil Liberties Union. Central New York Chapter director Yusuf Abdul Qadir says he was happy to hear about the grant that will fund 10 body cameras. But he has a few areas of concern that need to be addressed by the proper policy.
"Simply require cameras to be on and recording during all law enforcement encounters, including stops, arrests, uses of force, and discipline officers for turning off cameras, and repeatedly doing so, resulting in them being terminated; officers not being allowed to review recordings of incidents before they write their reports or provide official statements."
There are also other things to think about in terms of personal privacy.
"I would think a good policy should provide people to know when their being recorded, and give them the option to refuse unless there is safety (concern) or an emergency. That includes people's faces and other identifying characteristics like tattoos. Any body cameras should be used to record interactions that have an investigative or law enforcement purpose only, so not just walking around neighborhoods and recording, peeping into people's private lives."
(EXAMPLE OF BODY CAMERA POLICY BELOW)
Qadir applauds Mayor Stephanie Miner for emphasizing accountability and the need for a broad policy. His third issue regarding such policy is that it should be a community discussion.
Qadir warns the body camera is not a silver bullet to end police misconduct or answer all questions about suspect behavior. The data from them can, he believes, show how encounters are going with minorities, people with disabilities, the L-G-B-T community and others. The Syracuse Police body camera trial is expected to start by December.
BODY CAMERA POLICY ELEMENTS DEVELOPED BY THE LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE
- Makes the Department Policy Publicly and Readily Available
- Limits Officer Discretion on When to Record
- Addresses Personal Privacy Concerns
- Prohibits Officer Pre-Report Viewing
- Limits Retention of Footage
- Protects Footage Against Tampering and Misuse
- Makes Footage Available to Individuals Filing Complaints
- Limits Biometric Searching of Footage
