If you are holding your breath until the Police Dept. is garbed in suddenly ubiquitous body cameras, you will need to dial 1822.
That is, make two calls to 9-1-1.
A sizzling topic throughout Scott Bixby’s nearly two years as chief, and especially since Ferguson, there is a crazy quilt of knotty, sensitive details to be worked out.
The Police Dept. is seeking funding to pay for the expensive new program whose starting date remains clouded.
Among the hypersensitive wrinkles to be finalized are:
- Two-tiered privacy, both for the officers wearing them and private citizens.
- When will the cameras be on? Will citizens/suspects be aware of the state of cameras?
- What will be policy regarding officers turning the cameras off and on?
- Who will have authority over reviewing and redacting contents of the body cameras? How much freedom/control will he/they have?
Introducing body cameras in Culver City is a path strewn with thorns, although police agencies around the country already have donned them in the closely scrutinized post-Ferguson.
No resistance here, Chief Bixby has maintained from the beginning, just time-consuming preliminary details.
Chief Bixby and several officers explored some of the temporary blockages yesterday afternoon during the first round of budget hearings before the City Council in the cozy Dan Patacchia Room at City Hall.
Three of the seven candidates competing for City Council seats in the April 12 election were eyewitnesses: Scott Wyant, Goran Eriksson and incumbent Councilperson Meghan Sahli-Wells.
The perhaps unique context of this discussion is that Culver City is a community of relatively invisible crime against a backdrop of residents who speak warmly of the officers — when they think about them at all.
That is because early 2016 still qualifies as the New Era, post-legendary Chief Ted Cooke, leader of a department that some sat provoked fear.
A decade ago, these same critics say, the Police Dept. walked into the sunshine throughout the eight-year chiefdom of Don Pedersen and the last two years under Mr. Bixby.
While contemporary data on body cameras remains elusive, the Huffington Post surveyed 27 cities last summer. Only two, Albuquerque and New Orleans, had body cams in place.
Dash-cams are a separate (although linked) matter.
In a prepared statement yesterday, Chief Bixby updated the curious, inquiring City Council:
“The in-car camera program was implemented last June. The department meets monthly with a committee made up of County agencies to discuss body camera issues including implementation, functionality, litigation, legislation, cost, staffing and more.
“The department is working with vendors to conduct field tests with their body cameras.
“We are currently testing body cameras in the field.”
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