Police Body Cameras

In the near future, Baltimore City police officers could find themselves carrying another piece of equipment: the body camera. The plan, set in motion last year by the City Council, would require Baltimore's patrol cops to wear a video camera during their shifts.

The plan for body cameras was brought to the table after it was reveled that Baltimore City paid out approximately $6 million in recent settlements in 102 police brutality cases. Fueled by recent police-involved shootings, like the one in Ferguson, Missouri, police departments around the country have been put under a microscope of public scrutiny.

So, the big questions: Are body cameras the answer? Will they cause a dramatic decrease in police brutality cases? And, perhaps most importantly, will they promote the overdue healing process between the police and their communities?

I've asked a few law enforcement folks how they feel about wearing a body camera. Putting it mildly, they all had unfavorable opinions on it. They view it as just another obstacle that will impede their ability to do their job. I can see why they might object to this new policy. The public defenders will likely pick apart every word on the video recording of every arrest, essentially putting the officer on trial.

However, on the other side, it seems that a video of an arrest would greatly contribute to the getting to the "real story". In many of those so-called brutality claims, a video could actually help the police justify his or her actions. For instance, it be a lot tougher for a street thug to cry police brutality if a video shows him resisting arrest and/or assaulting a cop.

As expected, no plan comes without potential problems. The first problem is the cost of outfitting an entire police department with the cameras. Initially, there will be a 6-month pilot program in which 100 patrol officers will wear the cameras. These cops will be in districts with highest call volumes. If all goes relatively well, the cameras will find their way to the rest of the force. The estimated cost for the first year is between $5.5 and 7.9 million.*

Additional costs will likely come from the retention/storage of the camera data. A 16-member task force, appointed by Mayor Rawlings-Blake, has initially recommended that the data be retained for four years. As with any large data-retention activity, there are often substantial costs associated with infrastructure, administration and maintenance.

Aside from the costs, there is also a privacy issue with the cameras. This will have the potential to open up a whole other can of worms. Initially, the responding officer is supposed to alert the "person of interest" that the camera is rolling. At that time, the person can request that that the camera be turned off. While the officer is supposed to abide to that request, should there be a subsequent enforcement activity with that person, the cop is supposed to turn the camera back on. Suppose, when the camera comes back to life, a pop-knot magically appears on the suspect's head. It's now back to the cops word vs. the suspect. And, of course, there will likely be speculation on how, when and why the camera was initially turned off. Yeah, it can get a little complicated....

There's no telling how this will all pan out. Will the wood shampoo become a thing of the past? Will suspects possibly be a little more friendly and compliant with police officers? Who knows? But whatever the case, it looks like the cameras are definitely on their way to Baltimore.

kw


* http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/sun-investigates/bs-md-sun-investigates-cameras-20150221-story.html

The Baltimore Curfew

Aside from chasing down murderers, crack whores and drug dealers, Baltimore Police will soon be tasked with enforcing a youth curfew around the city. Starting in August, kids under the age of 14 will be required to be indoors by 9 pm each night. And 14-16 year-olds will be able to stay out until 10 on school nights and 11 on the weekends.

The curfew is supposed to help keep the kiddies safe in one of the country's most dangerous cities. There's obviously some truth to that claim. After all, stray bullets fly through the streets of Baltimore like mosquitoes on a stagnant mud puddle. If the kids are inside, there are less likely to have their life cut short by a drug deal gone bad.

On the other hand, these "innocent" kids are often the very ones responsible for wreaking havoc around the city. I have personally witnessed gangs of roving youths in the tourist areas of Baltimore. Although I didn't stop them for an interview, my gut feeling was that they were up to no good. We have also seen the videos of the "flash mobs" looting urban convenience stores. These mobs are mostly made up of teenagers. And has anyone ever experienced the dirt bike kids weaving in and out of traffic and doing wheelies down Pratt Street? Of course, the police are discouraged from chasing these inconsiderate assholes, so they continue to use the city as if it was their own personal "off-road" bike trail.

Let me cut right to the chase. The reason these kids are getting into mischief and running the streets of Baltimore at all hours of the night is because the parents are worthless. Because these so-called parents won't be responsible and actually parent, the job is now going to fall to the police and youth counselors. The City That Breeds continues to produce countless children who ultimately are raised, not by the mother and baby-daddy, but by the streets. Until the parents put down the crack pipe and start acting like responsible adults, this trend likely will continue.

So, how exactly will a curfew fix this? I honestly don't know. The parents will possibly face a $500 fine for their kid's curfew violations. Good luck trying to collect that money! Family counseling will also be offered for violators. Sorry for being skeptical, but I don't see a whole lot of positive outcome here either. If you haven't accepted the responsibility of parenthood by the time your kid is 14, I really don't think a few counseling sessions from Big Brother is going to change anything.

All this curfew will likely do is tie up city police, who are already short-staffed and over-worked. Will the police be expected to "card" every kid on the street after 10 pm? How many kids carry ID cards? More money, time and resources will be wasted for a program that will be almost impossible to enforce. But in yet another attempt to bullshit us into believing that steps are being taken to make the city safer, the curfew will go on.

And you know it's only a matter of time before a boatload of harassment charges are thrown at the police for trying to round up these juvenile delinquents. Instead of the parents putting a foot up the kids ass they'll blame the police for "pickin' on their babies". Remember the infamous skateboard incident at the Inner Harbor a few years ago? This curfew will undoubtedly set the cops up for a no-win situation.

Politicians are always telling us that "it's all about the kids". In this case, it's all about the parents......

kw