Consider the idea of the COPS television show expanded to become a sort of “police accountability media”. Independent camera crews would have the right to ride along with any of the officers they want, video taping everything throughout the day. Cable channels and websites would be setup to let the general public view the footage. The camera crews would have to be well trained, assume all the risks of being real police, and try their best to say out of the officer's way. The only right the police should have over the camera crews is to deny live broadcast in cases were the suspect might use the television to get advantageous information.
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No camera crew should be allowed to be in a officers vehicle without that officers permission. (Sounds like "Big Brother" is wearing a press button).
Big Brother is the government watching the citizens. I’m proposing the citizens watch the government.
I understand who "Big Brother" is. My point was the activity stinks regardless of who is doing the camera work.
I like this idea, rather i'd go one further. All police should have to wear a concealed camera as part of their uniform, and the footage from this camera should be on a public website archive unless it violates privacy or such... The police work for the people, and we have a right to know what they did with our money.... if they don't like public scrutiny, then they should find another profession.
The camera crew is too expensive... just video/audio every minute of every police officer's beat and we have a strong system to prevent state-police-crime... as in my encounters with police over decades... they have been way off base pulling guns out in some cases... were they on video for those abuses, several police officers i've met would be out of a job. Multiply that by 280,000,000 americans in police-state-usa, and the police abuse certainly must be brought under control.
you gonna give David Brin his credit on this idea?the transparent society
You already have the Constitutional right to observe police activity at a safe distance. The Black Panthers did this to great effect in the 60's. A much better idea is to provide for "civilians" to train for and work temporary, say 1-3 year, shifts on the force. These temporary officers would not be permanent members of the force and thus not tied to the police establishment. To give credit where it is due, I read about this idea in "The Economist".
Widespread monitoring of the cops is a good idea, but it can't be anything as expensive and cumbersome as actually having people ride with the cops.
One of the biggest problems to live broadcasting of police actions to the public is the privacy of everybody they deal with. if we can't find a way to guarantee that then we're just replacing one with a problem with another. A possible alternative is a separate entity than the police force who reviews footage of any calls in which a complaint has been lodged or shots fired.
I like "sweetheart's" alternative above. I would be all for that.
zero tollerance for corruption (life sentence for corrupt government employee's).
This is a great idea qua idea. Whether it's actually a good solution for police accountability is is a lot less clear. (One problem: only people who are expected to work in a totally prescribed way - such as call-centre staff - could work effectively with that level of scrutiny. If police are expected to use their initiative and sensitivity that level of scrutiny would be counterproductive.) Nevertheless, the idea has merit because of the way it takes an existing practice ('real-TV') and applies it to an very different problem, which in turn provides new insight into the problem itself and so might be the inspiration for the 'right' solution.
Police are already accountable for what they do. I am accountable for what I do, too. That doesn't mean that I want cameras watching my every move.
Unless there is some reason to suspect misconduct by a particular police officer, this kind of surveillance is not justified.
Constant surveillance will not make anyone a better person, just a better actor.