Editorial Board
Before long, police officers in the city of
Rochester will be wearing body cameras. That is quickly becoming the norm
across the nation, yet each city is on its own when it comes to developing
rules for the use of those cameras and the videos they record.
That isn't going so well, according to a
report from a coalition of major civil rights organizations. It came up with a
list of recommended rules, and then checked to see how 25 cities stacked up.
None made the honor roll.
The city of Rochester should be the first.
The city is negotiating a policy with the
union representing its police officers. This follows months of work on the
proposed rules, as well as significant input from the Rochester Coalition for
Police Reform — which had been pressing for the cameras even before the fatal
police shooting that set off riots in Ferguson, Missouri.
Before selecting a vendor this week, the city
showed coalition members cameras from four companies.
Unlike some cities, Rochester appears to be
taking a thoughtful, relatively transparent and community-based approach to
outfitting officers with cameras. It is unfortunate the policy was not ready
when the city picked its vendor, but as soon as union negotiations conclude, we
expect the city to make its policy public.
We believe the policy should largely reflect
the recommendations of the Rochester Coalition for Police Reform. In addition
to being well-researched and sound, the group's buy-in is critical to building
trust between police and the citizens they have sworn to protect and serve.
To gain a perfect score with leading civil
rights organizations, the city will have to: make its policy easy for the
public to see; limit the amount of discretion police officers have over when to
record; address privacy issues for both police and citizens; prevent officers
from seeing the videos before they file their reports; delete
"unflagged" footage in six months; make sure videos can't be tampered
with; allow people who complain of police misconduct to see relevant footage;
and sharply limit the use of technology, like facial recognition, to identify
people in videos.
Yes, there is a lot to think about before
putting a body camera on a police officer.
The city of Rochester should be commended for
taking the time to do that. But, as they say, it's not over till it's over. We
urge the union and the city to get it right before they emerge from talks, and
then make sure everyone understands and follows the rules.
In addition, our congressional delegation
should be pushing for a specific national policy and review system to ensure
these cameras are doing what they are ultimately supposed to do: provide a tool
to help improve police-community relations across America.
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