In order to participate in the GunBroker Member forums, you must be logged in with your GunBroker.com account. Click the sign-in button at the top right of the forums page to get connected.
Cops Working Under The Eyes And Ears Of Big Brothe
Defender
Member Posts: 1,772 ✭✭✭✭✭
Cops Working Under The Eyes And Ears Of Big Brother And YouTube
http://www.crimefilenews.com/2010/03/cops-working-under-eyes-and-ears-of-big.html
http://www.crimefilenews.com/2010/03/cops-working-under-eyes-and-ears-of-big.html
Comments
Cops Working Under The Eyes And Ears Of Big Brother And YouTube
Chicago, IL
Our commercial aircraft carriers have had cockpit voice recorders to analyze aircraft accidents for decades. The pilots union zealously guards that the use of the recordings is for only accident investigation. The contents of the recordings can't be used for any other purpose.
In an effort to sort out the wide range of highly fictional accounts of police/violator contacts administrators are putting video/voice recorders in police vehicles. Suspects and sometimes police have been known to "recreate" events in courtrooms and sometimes lives are ruined by what the juries and judges choose to believe.
In a perfect world nobody would ever tell lies especially under oath. The fact is if the mouths of humans are moving, they're probably telling lies. That's especially true of police/violator contacts.
If the conversations in police vehicles were recorded and made public cops would always be in trouble. The already high police divorce statistics would be off the charts and there would be grounds to fire most officers for one violation or another. You see, free speech is not really free since what you say can get you in a world of trouble. Even cops need privacy.
Imagine being trapped in a car where every word you say during your work shift is recorded and preserved for later use against you. There would never be any privacy. One could argue that corruption would be made more challenging but who is willing to work under those conditions?
So far, several hundred Chicago police vehicles are equipped with the video/voice recorders and many officers are disabling or simply not allowing the equipment to operate.
Police administrators are countering that the officers are being cleared of phony allegations over 90 percent of the time. Somehow I see a deeper divide between police and the public through the recording equipment. Casual conversations will quickly be a thing of the past.
To suggest that cops will get used to this new technological tool is a fantasy.
Any recording system that would be acceptable to officers is the one where exactly what's recorded is under full control of the officer. The officer needs to be able to activate the equipment at his or her pleasure. I don't anticipate that happening and the police unions need to step in and draw a line in the sand.
I can't imagine ever wanting to be work as a cop under today's conditions. With every man woman and child in possession of a cell-phone video camera, GPS vehicle tracking systems, and YouTube, any other line of work would be better.
Posted by Crimefile at 3/29/2010 05:28:00 AM
Labels: Crime Courts-justice, police matters, YouTube
What's the big deal?
We are required to record all contacts with the public. All recordings are uploaded to a mainframe, and a lot of them are routinely reviewed by supervisors. Recordings from drug incidents, family violence and theft are required to be uploaded specifically for the prosecutors to review.
If anyone wants to complain about how they were treated or spoken to, we have the recording. We can review it and see if there is any validity to the complaint. In the majority of cases, the recording proves the complainer to be a liar.
We have sound/video recorders in all our police cars. They don't run all the time, though. They come on automatically when the overhead lights come on, or the officers can turn them on manually from inside the car or from the remote microphone.
What's the big deal?
We are required to record all contacts with the public. All recordings are uploaded to a mainframe, and a lot of them are routinely reviewed by supervisors. Recordings from drug incidents, family violence and theft are required to be uploaded specifically for the prosecutors to review.
If anyone wants to complain about how they were treated or spoken to, we have the recording. We can review it and see if there is any validity to the complaint. In the majority of cases, the recording proves the complainer to be a liar.
I think the point the original poster was to have a system like your department does. That the recordings should be under the control of the officer, not on all the time recording every conversation that the officer has with his/her partner.
WHERE have I heard those words before....I wonder ?
Famous example of a Chicago PD thug:
http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2009/06/cop-to-be-sentenced-for-beating-bartender.html
And where have we heard that befor?