Criminal Justice
Seattle Police Uniform Won’t Include Wearable Video Cameras
Posted Sep 18, 2008, 03:14 pm CST
By Martha Neil
It seemed like a good idea to some: Police in Seattle would wear small video cameras to record crime scenes and their interactions with suspects during arrests.
However, the idea, which was briefly tested late last month, raised privacy concerns—both for suspects, and for police, whose every work-shift word and action could potentially be recorded. And, perhaps more important, the plan was never approved by the police union, reports the Seattle Times.
"If the officers have the cameras going all the time there could be a chilling effect on citizens and juvenile talking to the police," says Rich O'Neill, president of the Seattle Police Officer's Guild. "If they think the cops are videotaping all of their conversations they might not want to have their names or faces used."
Earlier coverage:
Seattle Post-Intelligencer: "Small, wearable cameras could help keep an eye on cops"
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