Obama to provide funding for 50,000 police body cameras

[Tech_Dreamer]

Eyes on the Prize

 

In the wake of Ferguson Trial & protests, President Obama on Monday will announce $263 million in funding for law enforcement agencies to purchase body-worn cameras and improve training.

 

The White House said the funding, which would need to be matched by state and local police, The money includes $75 million allocated specifically for the purchase 50,000 cameras for law enforcement officers across the country

 

The cameras are designed to provide a definitive record of police activities, and have become a frequent demand

 

This is just one part of a much larger solution that also includes an overhaul of how the government distributes military gear, but it could make a big difference if it provides video evidence whenever there are complaints of excessive force or rights abuses.

 

the new Body Worn Camera Partnership Program would provide a 50% match to states who buy their own body-worn cameras

 

 

Obama on Monday is gathering Cabinet officials and civil rights leaders to discuss the distrust between local communities and law enforcement agencies.

 

Even tho camera's are everywhere even with the mobile footages shot by civilians , Police body cameras is going to be pretty useful since even tho regular folks could do use it for evidence there are many many reported news (in extreme cases) of their smart-phones being seized by the officials on site for evidence & later return them with wiped memory sticks, and regular civilians are defenseless in this situation.

 

This will be able to counteract those faulty measures taken by the officers & can to an extend induce a psychological response & refrain from using extra violence under the notion that it's being watched , experts agree on this . 

 

 

“People interpret what they see on video through the filter of their own experiences. An officer may interpret what he sees on a video differently than a civil rights lawyer or a young person from an urban area, The technology doesn’t provide this context being human does.

 

This funding, of course, will only be enough to outfit a small fraction of police officers with cameras, and yet, it’s a major vote of confidence from the federal government in a new method of police surveillance that is already proving to be incredibly effective.

 

Obama also plans to overhaul how the federal government disperses military equipment to local police departments,

 

 

 

 

 

This funding will only be enough to outfit a small fraction of police officers with cameras..

 

 

Flipside (a different perspective)

 

Privacy:

 

On the otherside there is also the ignored concern of privacy, With literally hundreds of hours of video generated by police cameras every day, that would present serious problems for both privacy and simple logistics. every interaction , even an unrelated event happening on the side line could be captured & set within the system for years & years and could potentially be abused by any or all person having access to that data..

 

Blind Spots:

 

Every camera has a blind spot , let alone body worn cameras , when events and occurrences that they miss or don’t catch could be used in a different way. Holding the video as truth, then, can be just as dangerous as not having a record of the police interaction at all. Basically these blind spots can be used by the suspect to fill in falsified event that could go against the officer in a dispute, if the events are under normal circumstances & the official could potentially become the victim.

 

Logistics:

 

public records law requires government agencies to release almost all records in a timely fashion, or face a fine. With thousands of hours of video, which must be blurred and muted to protect people’s privacy, that could become a serious logistical burden for police departments.

 

 

 

 

Technology like this can be pretty useful in this situation , but can also be counterproductive at the same time , The protest response with the given advantage with excessive force is such an example,  read this quote from Attorney General Eric Holder

 

This equipment flowed to local police forces because they were increasingly being asked to assist in counterterrorism, But displays of force in response to mostly peaceful demonstrations can be counterproductive.”

 

                                                                                                                                                                                    - Eric Holder (AG)

 

Same thing can be said for technology, But These equipments have also been really productive in cases like in Boston event. it depends on the person using/controlling them , Wearable devices are looking to be more effective in these regions..

 

Pretty harsh topic to deal with But it's really cool to see technology can be used to make potentially explosive situations under control & monitoring , 

 

Please do have a rational discussion on this topic if you choose to..

Will request to lock the thread if it gets too far in the comments section. 

 

Bonus:

 

News Link:

http://www.theverge.com/2014/12/1/7314685/after-ferguson-obama-announces-funding-for-police-body-cameras

http://www.engadget.com/2014/12/01/white-house-offers-body-camera-funding/

http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/225583-obama-to-provide-funding-for-50000-police-body-cameras

[harrynowl]

From his personal funds?

[Osmium]

From his personal funds?

 

Yeah he ordered a crateload of these on craigslist last year he just now decided to hand them out to police officers.

[Hans Christian | Teri]

It's incredible that this is necessary...

[Deserter15]

It might help to settle the unrest, but the unrest is mostly just people wanting to loot and destroy at the moment.  $75 mil is a lot considering how in dept the goverment is atm.  

[bcredeur97]

hmm i like the idea of the cameras due to recent events with people complaining about police abusing their power, but the privacy side is definetly a big issue

 

seems like this wont be useful until we have a system with automatic face detection that automatically blurs out every other person except the person in question.

 

 

But idk.... for one upside there are a lot of downsides to this. should be interesting how it pans out.

[totjup5]

Good, the more of these out there the better.

[Victorious Secret]

One of the few times saying "THANKS OBAMA" is done in a positive and non sarcastic manner 

[Real_PhillBert]

I am concerned about the costs on the other end of this, like storage of the amount of footage that these cameras will take.

 

Also there are going to be A-hole citizens who will abuse this, like the guy in Washington who submitted a FOIA request for every second of footage the police department has taken since 1776...

[dragosudeki]

Finally policing the police. Next one in line should be the goverment departments, such as federal reserve.

[RJSX1]

Finally policing the police. Next one in line should be the goverment departments, such as federal reserve.

Yes! 

[ZetZet]

How expensive can this be. 720p chinese cam 20$, big battery 20$ and sd card 15$. 55*50000=2,75M$. not that much.

[ACatWithThumbs]

hmm i like the idea of the cameras due to recent events with people complaining about police abusing their power, but the privacy side is definetly a big issue

 

seems like this wont be useful until we have a system with automatic face detection that automatically blurs out every other person except the person in question.

 

 

But idk.... for one upside there are a lot of downsides to this. should be interesting how it pans out.

It's not really a privacy invasion if your in public and in line of sight of a cop already.

The only concern I have is the access to the video footage.

I think it should be saved somewhere secure where it can only be accessed if the video footage if needed for evidence.

 

[Tech_Dreamer]

How expensive can this be. 720p chinese cam 20$, big battery 20$ and sd card 15$. 55*50000=2,75M$. not that much.

Lel , they should buy those camera's from ebay instead of buying them directly from the companies..

[ZetZet]

Lel , they should buy those camera's from ebay instead of buying them directly from the companies..

Nah that won't happen. They will end up spending insane amounts of money and that cam won't even record in the dark I bet.

[Solkia]

I have to wonder how much of a difference this will make.

 

Just watch, some policeman will murder a kid without the camera on, and he'll get away with it. Darren Wilson told a majority of police protocol to suck it and look where he is.

[Real_PhillBert]

How expensive can this be. 720p chinese cam 20$, big battery 20$ and sd card 15$. 55*50000=2,75M$. not that much.

Storage for 100,000,000 hours of footage a year...

[bcredeur97]

It's not really a privacy invasion if your in public and in line of sight of a cop already.

The only concern I have is the access to the video footage.

I think it should be saved somewhere secure where you can only access the video footage if needed for evidence.

 

or would it be better if the footage was completely public? like even civilians could access it...

 

cant hide anything that way.... if the public can view it you cant manipulate it because EVERYONE will know what truly happened

[ZetZet]

Storage for 100,000,000 hours of footage a year...

Don't really need to store everything. Just file for the important stuff and keep the non important stuff for like a month.

[IdortMasterRace]

but the privacy side is definetly a big issue

 

This isn't a privacy issue, people are allowed to record things and use camera out in public, as they should. If a police officer was in your home and was recording, then you can ask them to leave.

[ACatWithThumbs]

or would it be better if the footage was completely public? like even civilians could access it...

 

cant hide anything that way.... if the public can view it you cant manipulate it because EVERYONE will know what truly happened

No public access would be a horrible idea especially when cops have a conversation or go in a house ect

The footage should be only accessed if necessary for a case and only by a jury.(Since cop access would defeat the hole purpose)

 

[Swndlr]

it shouldnt have needed to come to this. as much as i hate getting myself involved in politics (i could care less about them) this seems like something needed, sadly enough.

[Real_PhillBert]

Don't really need to store everything. Just file for the important stuff and keep the non important stuff for like a month.

The Freedom of Information Act disagrees with you. If anyone can request any footage at any time, you pretty much have to store it all.

[ZetZet]

The Freedom of Information Act disagrees with you. If anyone can request any footage at any time, you pretty much have to store it all.

Obviously needs fixing.

[RH00D]

From his personal funds?

U.S. president only makes $400,000/year.

 

After 8 years he'll have only made $3.2 Million, and that's before taxes.