At the last meeting of the Board of Estimate and Apportionment, Comptroller Darlene Green raised the issue of body cameras for city police officers. This technology has the potential to answer many questions, making sure that everyone’s reactions to incidents are based on the facts as we can best know them.
Aldermanic President Lewis Reed and Mayor Francis Slay raised important questions that need to be answered – proper funding, maintenance, police collective bargaining considerations.
But no one mentioned the important balances that need to be found through appropriate body camera policies – civil liberties vs. government surveillance, privacy rights vs. open government – and the complex issues of victim’s rights, the impact on police investigative practices, the dangers and benefits of using footage for police supervision and training.
As a result of these complexities, the Black Lives Matters movement is divided on body camera use. Some think they will hold police accountable, while others think they will be used primarily for police surveillance of protesters. Since each of the members of E&A saw body cameras as answering the concerns of protesters, they should consider how to bring BLM voices into any discussions of body cams and their implementation.
This reform could be a large step toward showing a responsive government, or it could be a major setback in police/community relations. It depends on how open city government can be in incorporating community voices along with institutional ones in the process.
One starting point for discussion: Drone Free St. Louis has guidelines on body camera policies. You can find them at http://bit.ly/campolicies.
John Chasnoff is a member of Drone Free St. Louis and the Coalition Against Police Crimes and Repression.
