NNSquad - Network Neutrality Squad
[ NNSquad ] Law enforcement use of wearable recording tech
Law enforcement use of wearable recording tech
"Wearing a badge, and a video camera"
http://j.mp/17llxH0 (New York Times)
- - -
Unfortunately, unless laws catch up, law enforcement use of these
technologies could have severe negative consequences as well. Just a
few of the issues, which few municipalities seem at all anxious to
address:
How do we assure that law enforcement use of these systems accurately
records events without "omitting" (for one claimed reason or another)
situations or intervals that would be embarrassing to police?
How long can authorities archive and use such footage, potentially
taken in both public and private places (e.g., upon entering a home in
an investigation or emergency situation)? Who will have access to
such footage? Can courts or lawyers demand access to any and all
footage? Private citizens?
Can law enforcement subject such footage to detailed analysis and
enhancement (now? 10 years from now?) to trigger other investigations
and charges, especially when footage not taken in public places is
involved?
How will this technology intersect with existing state and federal
laws on audio recording with or without permission of all associated
parties? (These laws vary widely state by state.)
What sanctions will be in place to penalize abuse of such videos taken
by law enforcement that will inevitably leak out onto "private" and
potentially public video sharing sites? ("Get a load of this babe I
saw drunk and naked in her shower on a 911 call!") Even systems that
promise controlled access to footage will be breached, since once
displayed on a video screen footage can be recaptured on cellphone or
other cameras.
And so on ...
It would be an enormous mistake to concentrate only on the perceived
pluses of law enforcement use of such systems, in the absence of
consideration and deployment of laws to address the obvious (and not
so obvious) categories of law enforcement abuse that will result.
This is not a technological question per say, but a societal question.
--Lauren--
Lauren Weinstein (lauren@vortex.com): http://www.vortex.com/lauren
Co-Founder: People For Internet Responsibility: http://www.pfir.org/pfir-info
Founder:
- Network Neutrality Squad: http://www.nnsquad.org
- PRIVACY Forum: http://www.vortex.com/privacy-info
- Data Wisdom Explorers League: http://www.dwel.org
- Global Coalition for Transparent Internet Performance: http://www.gctip.org
Member: ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy
Lauren's Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com
Google+: http://vortex.com/g+lauren / Twitter: http://vortex.com/t-lauren
Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800 / Skype: vortex.com
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