Though Pittsburgh police Lt. Clarence “Ed” Trapp was finally able to distribute body-worn cameras to motorcycle and bicycle patrol officers late last year, he cannot yet equip the bulk of the department’s patrol officers because of yet another issue with the state’s wiretap laws.
Joined by attorney and professor David Harris, Trapp told researchers at the University of Pittsburgh that because the Taser AXON FLEX units can record both video and audio, the camera cannot legally be used inside a private home.
“I’ve testified in Harrisburg about these units and there is legislation pending that would correct that,” Trapp said.
Trapp and Harris are among those selected by Chief Cameron McLay to craft a body camera policy for all officers. As part of that effort, they are soliciting ideas from other researchers and community members on how to set up a city-wide test of the units so they can gather data on how they effect: the number of complaints against officers, the number of “use of force” incidents, and the public’s reaction to another form of monitoring.
“We’re looking for input on structuring this study during the roll out of these units,” said Harris.
“There are only two studies of note, one from Rialto, Calif., and on from Mesa, Ariz. Both have limitations.”
The Rialto study showed dramatic reduction in both civilian complaints and officer use of force during its twelve-month run. Officers were randomly assigned units and could not opt out.
The Mesa study did not randomly assign units, officers could opt out, and, problematically, tried to test two different usage policies simultaneously—one where officers turned them on “when practical,” the other where they did so “at their discretion.”
Harris said the flawed design of the Mesa study makes an apples-to-apples comparison of complaint and use-of-force reductions impossible. The Rialto study, while more vigorous, suffered from a small sample size—the half of the department using the cameras totaled only 70 officers. It showed dramatic reductions in both criteria, which left a uselessly small sample for further study.
“There was another issue,” said Trapp. “Rialto was a troubled department. Before the study, they brought in a new chief and he fired a lot of people and made other changes. So, how much of the reduction in police use of force and citizen complaints was due to that?”
When it happens, the Pittsburgh study will be conducted through all six police zones. Units will be randomly assigned and officers cannot opt out. But again, the full utility of the cameras must be reconciled with privacy rights via state law.
Officers using them on the street will inform people they encounter officially that the encounter is being recorded. As for use in a home—where chases may take officers—restrictions on issues such as recording minor children may be maintained by pixilating images and altering voices electronically in copies made for use in court.
The original recordings, however, will continue to be kept unaltered. So, strict protocols on who can view recordings, when, and how they are stored and how securely, must be maintained. Trapp and the department have already established such protocols, and use an encrypted cloud storage system. However, Harris pointed out, there are another state laws that could render them useless—Right-to-know laws.
“The right to know laws in Washington state for example, are so broad, police there are looking to scrap their use of body-worn cameras,” he said. “Lawyers there can ask for any government information and it must be provided, unaltered.”
This means that undercover officers, confidential informants, children hiding from an abusive parent or relocated witnesses could all be exposed, not only by, say, a zealous divorce attorney, but also by a prison lifer filing endless appeals because he has nothing better to do.
“Our right to know laws is not that broad. Like most they have narrowed over time,” said Harris. “But this is an issue that has to be reconciled with the pending legislation to authorize the broader use of this technology.”
(Send comments to cmorrow@newpittsburghcourier.com.)
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