04-29-2015, 04:58 PM
I had a feeling the first response would be "cost". It's a cost we need to bear, period, as far as I'm concerned.
Body cam manufacturers have already donated thousands of cameras to many departments and offered to donate more. Plus, the savings in settlements from complaints for police brutality and wrong-doing might well exceed the costs.
Who the independent third party should be, I don't know. It's an option; one which I certainly think makes more sense and would ensure more trustworthiness than having the function handled by the police themselves. But, there are better minds than mine with much greater expertise and I'd be surprised if there isn't already an organized group brainstorming away.
Anyway, I don't have a thought-out plan or logistical details, as I said. Just tossing out a baseline concept that might accomplish the goal of much greater police transparency when it matters, without putting cops' every pick and scratch on display when it doesn't.
ETA: You might be right about destroying reviewed uncontested footage after a certain amount of time. Electronic storage is pretty advanced and efficient these days though, so I'm not sure how much time or cost would be saved by destroying old footage so quickly.
Body cam manufacturers have already donated thousands of cameras to many departments and offered to donate more. Plus, the savings in settlements from complaints for police brutality and wrong-doing might well exceed the costs.
Who the independent third party should be, I don't know. It's an option; one which I certainly think makes more sense and would ensure more trustworthiness than having the function handled by the police themselves. But, there are better minds than mine with much greater expertise and I'd be surprised if there isn't already an organized group brainstorming away.
Anyway, I don't have a thought-out plan or logistical details, as I said. Just tossing out a baseline concept that might accomplish the goal of much greater police transparency when it matters, without putting cops' every pick and scratch on display when it doesn't.
ETA: You might be right about destroying reviewed uncontested footage after a certain amount of time. Electronic storage is pretty advanced and efficient these days though, so I'm not sure how much time or cost would be saved by destroying old footage so quickly.