Pro Using Technology to

Counter Police Mistrust

Kevin Brock, Richard Ciampa, Lyndsey Craig, Salvador Hernandez, Aime Kelso

The Problem
Police misconduct has lead to increasing mistrust of law enforcement.

Citizens need a way to hold law enforcement accountable for their

actions

Rodney King and George Holliday

1991: The Los Angeles Police department beating of Rodney Glen King III is
recorded by George Holliday

Videotape evidence enables criminal case against four officers

A civil case was filed by Mr. King III and his attorney, Mr. Hollidays video is the
singular eyewitness testimony
Federal Government obtains Grand Jury indictments against the four officers
for civil rights violations (1992-1993)

Los Angeles Riots (aka King Riots)

1992: Civil unrest erupts in Los Angeles California after all officers involved
in the Rodney Glen King III beating are acquitted of criminal charges

Approximately six (6) day of rioting

Fifty-five killed due to civil unrest
Two-thousand injured
Seven-thousand arrested
National Guard called in to Los Angeles (approximately 4000)
Approximately one billion in damages

Post Federal Trial

1993: Two of the four officers were found guilty of civil rights violations and
were convicted, two others were acquitted. After the federal trial the
Department of justice orders

Additional dash cameras in squad cars in minority neighborhoods

The addition of audio recording from Officer's radios
In the following years, the DOJ finds that police officers are intentionally
damaging antennas to prevent audio recordings

Oscar Grant III

2009: Oscar Grant III, shot in the back and killed by Bay Area Rapid Transit
officer Johannes Mehserly while subdued and restrained, face down on the
train station platform and surrounded by officers.
Cell phone footage from many bystanders and rail passengers is direct
evidence
Footage was viewed online half a million times in four days
Officer Mehserly was immediately dismissed from duty
Johannes Mehserly was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter

Stakeholders

Citizens
Police officers
Other parts of the government

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Competitive Analysis

Traditional forms of information

Online sources of information

Verbal accounts from victims and bystanders

Video and photo evidence
Social Media
Twitter
Information can be spread rapidly

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) released an app to hold police
departments accountable for their actions.

Competitive Analysis (continued)

The video and photo evidence of police violence create a negative image of
the country
July 2016- Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration Issues Travel Advisory
for Bahamians traveling to United States of America

Warned the Bahaman the travelers to exercise appropriate caution

If bodycams where the norm, the video evidence would promote that the US is
assessing their problem.

Economic Factors

Bodycams are inexpensive; around $1000, but storage costs are not.
Storing footage can cost large amounts, as bodycams film in 720p
and 1080p
Several hours of footage per month per officer
Comparatively low costs for smaller towns. Around 200 officers cost
around $2376 dollars a month (calculated from 120 hours per officer
in a single month, which amounts to 86400 gigabytes over 200
officers, from 3.6 gigabytes per hour, at $0.0275 per gigabyte)
In larger cities such as Dallas, which can have thousands of officers,
this presents an economic problem.

Technological Factors

No new technologies are needed for equipment. Dashcams and bodycams film
in relatively high quality, and can log intentional sabotage.
Main barrier is costs in storage and video compression. More cost-efficient
storage would be ideal, but is not necessarily required. New technologies for
video compression and online storage being developed constantly, driving
down costs.

Recommendations

Officers required to wear

body cams
Data from cameras stored
by Department of Justice

http://azcops.org/wp-content/uploads/body-camera1.jpeg