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Results for police evidence

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Author: New York University School of Law, Policing Project

Title: Report to the Los Angeles Police Commission Summarizing Public Feedback on LAPD Video Release Policies

Summary: The Los Angeles Police Commission ("Commission" or "Police Commission") serves as the "board of directors" for the Los Angeles Police Department ("LAPD" or "Department"), with the authority to establish polices for the LAPD and oversee its operations. The Commission is reviewing the LAPD's policy on releasing video footage of "critical incidents," including any incident in which an officer fires his or her gun or a person dies in police custody. As part of that process, the Commission asked the Policing Project at New York University School of Law ("Policing Project") to help gather feedback on whether, when, and how, video footage of critical incidents should be made publicly available. This report summarizes the feedback received. Members of the general public and LAPD personnel were invited to provide feedback in several ways: by completing a brief questionnaire, submitting more detailed written comments, attending community forums, and participating in officer focus groups. The questionnaire, and other materials, including a video release policy FAQ, were available in English and Spanish at www.LAPDVideo.org. The questionnaire and comment period ran for 46 days, from March 23 through May 7. The questionnaire asked demographic questions including the respondents' race, age, and income, as well as whether the respondent was a member of law enforcement. There were not sharp divergences among respondents along demographic lines. The one exception-evident both in the questionnaire responses and in other sources of input - was that significant disagreement emerged in general between law enforcement and members of the general public. We note these differences where pertinent. The Policing Project ultimately received 3,199 questionnaire responses from individuals who lived, worked, or attended school in Los Angeles, including 532 responses from individuals self-identifying as law enforcement officers. The Policing Project also received 20 sets of written comments from individuals and organizations, representing the views of 27 organizations in total. Additional feedback was provided at 5 community forums and 8 officer focus groups. The ACLU of Southern California submitted a petition on the subject with the signatures of 1,773 individuals. Some key themes emerged from the process, which we elaborate upon briefly below and in great detail in the report that follows. In general, both officers and members of the public agreed that video should be released to the public, for reasons of transparency, accountability, and trust. However, the public favored releasing video within a relatively shorter release time (30-60 days), and generally preferred that release be automatic as opposed to decided on a case-by-case basis. It is not that members of the public failed to appreciate that various factors might mitigate for or against a decision to release video in a particular case. Rather, the public evinced a lack of confidence or trust in existing public institutions to make the correct decision on a case-by-case approach. (In addition, some members of the public expressed the view that many of the factors that were identified as counseling against release could be addressed by speeding up the pace of investigations or taking other ameliorative measures.) LAPD officers and officials, for their part, tended to have somewhat more faith in public institutions, and to believe that release should not occur until the LA Police Commission reaches a decision as to the propriety of the officer's conduct (often up to a year at present), or the District Attorney decides whether any criminal charges will be filed (in some instances as long as two years after the incident). Still, LAPD officers joined the public in expressing concern about "politics" affecting the decision whether to release video coverage.

Details: New York: Author, 2017. 39p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 12, 2019 at: http://assets.lapdonline.org/assets/pdf/public%20feedback%20project%20lapd%20video%20release.pdf

Year: 2017

Country: United States

URL: http://assets.lapdonline.org/assets/pdf/public%20feedback%20project%20lapd%20video%20release.pdf

Shelf Number: 155377

Keywords:
Criminal Evidence
Police Accountability
Police Evidence
Police Legitimacy
Police Policies and Procedures
Police Surveillance
Police Videos
Police-Community Relations