Police Transparency Through Technology
Source Officer.com News
Technology in everyday life is the new normal. Cell phones put a computer in the hands of nearly everyone in the nation. Social media has shared many video clips showing negative videos of law enforcement, with only a fraction of the same numbers showing the good. With the acceptance and understanding of technology, the public's voice has become more influential, demanding immediate search results and transparency—law enforcement is no exception. That same technology has shortened the collective attention span considerably, leaving many in our communities wanting immediate information on public safety incidents.
Transparency Through Technology
A survey conducted in 2022 revealed that respondents were in favor of law enforcement using technology such as facial recognition and body-worn cameras to apprehend suspects. How agencies utilize technology may vary, but the overall policing landscape has evolved with these technological advancements. This evolution necessitates updates to policies and procedures to accommodate new technology, changes in forensic testing, database access, case law on the technology, and ever-evolving best practices when using the technology.
As agencies move to adopt the technology and adapt to the policing changes, the amount of data gathered by an agency increases exponentially. Can law enforcement use the collected data, including video and images, to increase transparency and public trust? The short answer is yes, but the longer answer involves discussing the cost of increasing public transparency and how transparent law enforcement should be with the community.
Transparency and Privacy
To achieve full transparency with the public, a supervisor must meticulously review a substantial amount of video footage captured by body-worn cameras before the video can be released. This review process would aim to determine if laws, policies, and procedures were adhered to and to notify the public while navigating the internal process. This task is time-consuming and risks public privacy and officer safety. The privacy rights of the officers, community members, and individuals featured in the video must be respected and considered, further complicating the transparency process.
Video of individuals not under arrest shared with the public must be redacted, with personal information edited or blanked out and faces obscured to prevent easy identification. This process is very time-consuming; even if the software does much of the redaction, a staff member must verify the redacted version before release. These considerations are only for body-worn camera footage, which the agency stores and owns.
Data and Transparency
The public knows several systems law enforcement uses to record information, such as license plate readers, in-vehicle cameras, and body-worn cameras. Just as the number of cameras used by law enforcement increases, so does the number of non-police cameras – surveillance that the public may not think about in the same way. Ring doorbell cameras, private dash cameras, traffic cameras, cameras on buildings, banks, hotels, ATMs, and so many more are some surveillance devices law enforcement can access during an investigation. Even the ubiquitous social media posts others make during an incident may be used as part of a police investigation. Technology continues to improve and provide different types of surveillance information, such as the information found on wearable technologies, like smartwatches and in-vehicle telematics, with data that could be used in policing.
Large amounts of data can help investigators search for patterns and connect information about criminal cases. Artificial intelligence (AI), used to comb through data by looking for a face or identifying features, can speed up video review. Still, anything released to the public should be reviewed. Hence, having access to more data will not speed up the review and release of law enforcement video.
Best Practices
Laws at the local and state levels impact data collection and transparency, such as the many states that now require officers to have body-worn cameras during their patrol shifts. Federal laws, such as the push to create the National Law Enforcement Accountability Database, also impact what happens with the data after collection.
Despite mandates, agencies should have policies and procedures for handling large amounts of surveillance technology data. Understanding retention laws will help determine how long it takes to store video records. Some data will not apply to a current investigation but must be kept briefly, depending on your state’s laws and case law. Either way, having policies and procedures for following privacy laws when handling video and photo data is crucial.
The Future
The future of law enforcement transparency and privacy will continue to evolve as both policing and society evolve. Staying current on legal updates will ensure agencies follow the laws for their jurisdiction. Technology is here to stay, as is passive surveillance from the public and commercial entities we frequent.
With the large numbers of cameras and data coming in, some people will continue to advocate for releasing use-of-force body-worn camera footage as quickly as possible after the incident. Having policies and procedures in place, along with training programs to disseminate the information, will help the agency respond to the increased number of Freedom of Information (FOIA) requests.
Toni Rogers
Toni Rogers is a freelance writer and former manager of police support services, including communications, records, property and evidence, database and systems management, and building technology. She has a master’s degree in Criminal Justice with certification in Law Enforcement Administration and a master's degree in Digital Audience Strategies.
During her 18-year tenure in law enforcement, Toni was a certified Emergency Number Professional (ENP), earned a Law Enforcement Inspections and Auditing Certification, was certified as a Spillman Application Administrator (database and systems management for computer-aided dispatch and records management), and a certified communications training officer.
Toni now provides content marketing and writing through her company, Eclectic Pearls, LLC.
