Prioritizing Transparency By Adopting Body-Worn Cameras
As a community, we stand on the verge of an important step forward for our police department. This week, council will be entertaining — and hopefully passing — the opportunity to improve our Lansdale Borough Police Department through the addition of body worn cameras. As noted in previous articles, no single tool at our disposal will eliminate or resolve racial tensions in this, or any, community. Rather, body worn cameras will play a crucial role in expanding transparency within our department, and in that, aide our development toward a community that can continue to improve relations between officers and the public.
The first, and most obvious, use of this technology is the ability to record interactions with the public and be able to have a better understanding of what lead to the interaction and how the event unfolded in real time. The insights gleaned from this process are invaluable in a court of law. They can prove, or disprove, the statements made by others at the scene and create clarity around events that are not always cut and dry. However, cameras are not a silver bullet; rather, they add another source of data for us to review and add to a more complete picture of events. As a police department, it is our job to continue to strive for a better understanding of ourselves, our community and the interactions that take place between us. Cameras offer us the ability to reach that higher level of comprehension.
The second, and arguably most crucial, opportunity that comes alongside body worn cameras is training and department compliance. While the technology itself does not mandate the reviewing of material or the policies that dictate their use, they open the door for a robust conversation on how we utilize this new data to improve our policing efforts and find our own weak spots before a tragic event occurs. In this area I am extremely pleased that our department is led by Chief Mike Trail, who has remained steadfastly dedicated to expanding training for the department. I am positive that under his guidance we will utilize video footage to its maximum effect and find new ways to keep our department evolving into the future.
Regarding policy shifts, Lansdale Police partner with Lexipol, a leader in police policy development, which has already updated our internal compliance system with the most up-to-date language regarding camera use and how they can be utilized for training and improvement while still protecting the privacy of residents.
Finally, it goes without saying that we, as a borough and as a police department, must continue to develop and adapt with technology going forward. If we can be more informed, more proactive, more transparent, or more independent, we should find ways to make those things happen because we will be more successful in the long-term. Stagnation, for any reason, is not only unproductive but also costly. Unproductive because as we stand still others advance leaving us further and further behind and costly because reaching new standards will only require more investment the future. The Department of Justice has already made overtures that body worn cameras will likely become the standard across the country and more communities are investing in the technology now to get ahead of the curve. It makes sense at this point to take this well-researched, well-documented, and reasonable approach forward and embrace this change.
As said before, body cameras are not a solution to the racial challenges that all communities face; rather, they create the opportunity for expedited improvement and growth. If we can seize that opportunity and allow ourselves to welcome it with open arms, we will be better situated to further our understanding of racial and policing challenges and find new solutions that work for our community. It is a simple formula: invest in new sources of data, challenge us to use that new data to improve and then act on those insights. If we can do these three items, we will be successful not only with the body cameras but in many other facets of our community as well.
Priorities are reveled and usually defined by investment. It is my hope that we continue to prioritize transparency and progress through the addition of this technology to our police department.