<\/p>\n
Media Focus on Police Brutality<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n During 2014-2016, the U.S. saw a rise in media coverage and civil unrest surrounding allegations of police misconduct and killings, mainly involving African-Americans. Technology played a crucial role as major news outlets covered stories of social media users on Twitter and Facebook expressing indignant feelings as well as sharing video footage of some of the violent encounters between officers and citizens.[1]<\/a> According to a study by The Washington Post, approximately 991 people were shot dead by the police in 2015.[2]<\/a> While a majority of these incidences involved white individuals, Black Americans accounted for 1\/3 of the killings although they constitute only about 13% of the US population.[3]<\/a> Further alarming was the disproportionate number of Blacks who accounted for traffic-stop deaths \u2013 a fact that University of Kansas professor Charles Epp found to be directly correlated to the higher rates at which Blacks are pulled over by cops.[4]<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n NYC Responds <\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n A significant catalyst for police reform in New York would be the city\u2019s response to the July 2014 police-induced death of Eric Garner of Stated Island, who was stopped for a non-violence offense that would lead to what was seen as abusive police force and his ultimate death. Video footage of the incident was leaked to the Internet and viewed over 3 million times via YouTube. NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio referred to the incident as a \u201cterrible tragedy\u201d that reflected strained relations between the police and communities of color.[5]<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n In June 2015, the New York Police Department (NYPD) responded by releasing a detailed action plan for engaging with neighborhood residents to deter crime.[6]<\/a> The plan was organized under the \u201cFive Ts\u201d \u2013 tactics, technology, training, terrorism, and trust \u2013 to detail the initiatives the City would undertake, including the introduction of body cameras to better monitor conduct with citizens.[7]<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n NYPD & Body Cameras<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n NYPD Officer wears pilot body camera<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n NYPD already began using 60 cameras in five test precincts as a soft pilot that resulted from a 2013 court order in which a US District judge found the NYPD\u2019s \u201cstop-and-frisk\u201d policy to be unconstitutional in its racial profiling of Black and Latino men.[8]<\/a> Following the results of this test, the NYPD would plan to introduce about 1,000 body-worn cameras by fall 2016 to gain data on how the tools contribute to officer safety, provide evidence for criminal investigations, and improve police-community relations.[9]<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The larger pilot would require over $6 million to purchase the cameras.[10]<\/a> Beyond this investment, the City identified the challenge of \u201cannually recurring costs in the tens of millions of dollars\u201d for data storage.[11]<\/a> These costs would function into an already-planned increase of $81.6 Million between NYPD\u2019s FY 2016 and FY 2017 budgets.[12]<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Additional Challenges<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n In addition to rising costs, body cameras pose many challenges over their usage. The NYU School of Law Policing Project posits that while civil liberties groups and communities of color favor the use of cameras, there are still privacy concerns of how often they are used, for what type of interaction, and how long the data is stored.[13]<\/a> Furthermore, the CATO Institute\u2019s report on national police misconduct suggests that it is too early and inconclusive to identify body cameras as improving police behavior when studying results from other US cities.[14]<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Recommendation<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n I believe that there are some things that money, or at least technology, cannot buy \u2013 mainly trust and positive relationships. Body cameras may have some positive effect, but I believe they should remain a limited investment and short-term project given their inconclusive benefits and high costs for data storage. More investment should be made in the training of police officers to appropriately interact with communities of color and high-crime neighborhoods, especially in encounters when there is no presence of a violent threat. Focusing on the \u201cTs\u201d of \u201cTraining\u201d and \u201cTrust\u201d will lead to less costly and more sustainable support to crime deterrence and reducing police misconduct.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Still the question remains: can the trust between these communities and the police be gained at all, with or without technology?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n (Words: 799)<\/p>\n [1]<\/a> Funke, D., & Susman, T. (2016, July 12). From Ferguson to Baton Rouge: Deaths of black men and women at the hands of police. Retrieved November 15, 2016, from http:\/\/www.latimes.com\/nation\/la-na-police-deaths-20160707-snap-htmlstory.html<\/p>\n [2]<\/a> 2015 Washington Post database of police shootings. (2015, April 11). Retrieved November 15, 2016, from https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/graphics\/national\/police-shootings\/<\/p>\n [3]<\/a> Ibid<\/p>\n [4]<\/a> Lowery, W. (2015, December 24). A disproportionate number of black victims in fatal traffic stops. Retrieved November 18, 2016, from https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/national\/a-disproportionate-number-of-black-victims-in-fatal-traffic-stops\/2015\/12\/24\/c29717e2-a344-11e5-9c4e-be37f66848bb_story.html<\/p>\n [5]<\/a> “Statement of Mayor Bill de Blasio on the Medical Examiner’s Report on the Death of Eric Garner”<\/a>.\u00a0Government of New York City<\/em>.\u00a0Mayor of New York City<\/a>. August 1, 2014. Retrieved\u00a0August 10,\u00a02014.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n [6]<\/a> The City of New York, Press Office. (2015, June 25).\u00a0Mayor de Blasio, Commissioner Bratton Unveil New, Groundbreaking Neighborhood Policing Vision<\/em>\u00a0[Press release].\u00a0NYC.gov<\/em>. Retrieved November 15, 2016, from http:\/\/www1.nyc.gov\/office-of-the-mayor\/news\/440-15\/mayor-de-blasio-commissioner-bratton-new-groundbreaking-neighborhood-policing-vision#\/0<\/p>\n [7]<\/a> Ibid<\/p>\n [8]<\/a> Parascandola, R., Fermino, J., & Gregorian, D. (2013, August 12). Stop-frisk violated rights: Judge. Retrieved November 18, 2016, from http:\/\/www.nydailynews.com\/new-york\/stop-frisk-violated-rights-judge-article-1.1424287<\/p>\n [9]<\/a> Developing the NYPD\u2019s Information Technology. (2015, June 25). Retrieved November 15, 2016, from http:\/\/www.nyc.gov\/html\/nypd\/html\/home\/POA\/pdf\/Technology.pdf<\/p>\n [10]<\/a> Ibid<\/p>\n [11]<\/a> Developing the NYPD\u2019s Information Technology. (2015, June 25). Retrieved November 15, 2016, from http:\/\/www.nyc.gov\/html\/nypd\/html\/home\/POA\/pdf\/Technology.pdf<\/p>\n [12]<\/a> Report on the Fiscal 2017 Executive Budget New York Police Department. (2016, May 23). Retrieved November 15, 2016, from http:\/\/council.nyc.gov\/html\/budget\/2017\/ex\/nypd.pdf<\/p>\n