Huge Public Support For Police Wearing Body Cameras

The recent incidents in Ferguson(Missouri) and Baltimore (Maryland) have brought this country's racial problems back to the forefront -- especially in our criminal justice system and with police. It is just a fact that in too many cities across this nation police do not treat people equally. Minorities are targeted by racial profiling and subjected to different (and many times more violent) treatment than Whites are subjected to.

Unfortunately, the races don't see this problem the same way -- and because of that, it's going to be a difficult problem to solve. As the chart above shows, only about 37% of Whites think Blacks are more likely to be killed by police than Whites, while 53% believe the races are treated equally. Blacks have a much different opinion -- with 79% saying Blacks are more likely to be killed, and only 16% saying the races are treated equally.

Those numbers are from a new CBS News / New York Times Poll -- done between April 30th and May 3rd of a random national sample of 1,027 adults, with a 3 point margin of error. But while the survey shows the races do not agree that this is a serious problem, a huge majority of the public agrees about one possible solution to that problem -- requiring police to wear body cameras. The survey shows 92% of the public supports that idea.

And that's not the only survey showing most Americans want police to wear body cameras while on duty. A recent Rasmussen Poll (done on April 29th and 30th of 1,000 likely voters, with a 3 point margin of error) shows that 70% of the public supports this, while only 19% oppose it.

I agree. Body cameras wouldn't completely solve the problem, but it would be a good start. Leadership of police departments must also be addressed, since abusive rank-and-file officers only do what they think they can get away with -- and too often the leadership has not instituted policies that would deal with those abusive officers.

Should The Police Be Required To Wear Video Cameras ?

Let me preface my remarks in this post by saying that I have no desire demonize the law enforcement officials in the United States. I spent over 25 years of my working life in law enforcement myself (8 years as a corrections officer, 5 years as a patrol officer, and another 13 years working in parole -- both adult and juvenile). And I can honestly say that the overwhelming majority of the law enforcement officials I worked with were honest, professional, and would never dream of violating any individual's rights (or engage in any other kind of misconduct). They were brave men/women who put their own safety on the line to protect their community -- and they did it out of a desire to serve (not for the meager monetary rewards).

But that does not mean there aren't problems that exist. And the American public is very aware of those problems. As the chart above shows, a majority of Americans believe there are problems with police misconduct across this country -- especially concerning corruption (64%), brutality (61%), intimidation (59%), racial profiling (56%) and abuse of stop & frisk laws (50%).

And the public is right. These problems do exist -- and they exist in every state and most communities across this nation. The law enforcement officials who commit these offenses are only a tiny percentage of this nation's law enforcement professionals, but these few bad apples tarnish the reputation of all those trying to do a difficult job the right way. And despite what you may see on TV and in the movies, most law enforcement professional would be very happy to see these bad apples kicked out of the profession and convicted (where appropriate). The question is how to do that.

Some will say the profession needs to police itself. The problem with that is that no occupation or profession does a good job of policing itself (and law enforcement is no different than any other profession in that regard). Without absolute proof of misconduct, which is very hard to get, any profession (including law enforcement) will be prone to excuse the actions of their members. And the same goes for our courts. Law enforcement professionals are given much more "benefit of the doubt" by a jury than other defendants. While this protects some officials falsely accused, it also allows many guilty individuals to get off (and return to the streets to offend again).

Technology may have provided an answer though. There are now tiny high-quality cameras that can be worn unobtrusively -- and they will provide a video of exactly what happens between the individual wearing it and anyone he/she comes in contact with. These cameras can document wrongdoing, and they can also protect those falsely accused. They could provide the absolute proof needed to help both law enforcement agencies to police themselves, and the courts to make appropriate decisions.

I think it would be a good idea to mandate that police officers (and possibly some other law enforcement professionals) wear these tiny cameras while on duty. And it looks like a huge majority of the American public likes that idea too. Note in the chart below that 72% of the general public would be in favor of that -- and that support crosses all demographic lines (gender, race, age, education, and income).

What do you think? Would you support requiring police to wear cameras and videotape what happens on their shift?

These charts were made from information contained in a recent YouGov Poll -- conducted of a random national sample of 1,114 adults between July 11th and 14th, with a margin of error of about 4 points.

Even A Small City Can Have A Sex Scandal

Mention the words "sex scandal" recently, and most probably would think of the numerous high-profile Republicans who have made the news. However, even a small city can have a sex scandal. The city I'm talking about is Ennis, Texas.

Ennis is a city of slightly more than 19,000 located just south of Dallas. At first glance, it doesn't look like a city with a juicy sex scandal. But that's just what it has.

Eight employees filed a lawsuit Tuesday against local dentist and city commissioner, Dr. Stephen Craig Durbin. It seems that Dr. Durbin had his employees change into their scrubs after arriving at work, and back into street clothes before leaving each evening. The eight women walked out on the dentist after finding a camera in their dressing room.

The women took the camera to a Radio Shack, where they were told it was a type that sent a signal to a viewing or recording device. They confronted the dentist, and he admitted that he had a problem with voyeurism and pornography.

The dentist was arrested on August 17th and charged with "Improper Photography or Video Recording", a state jail felony. He is currently free on $1,000 bond. His attorney says the women are just trying to get some money from his client, and called the allegations "garbage".

But that doesn't seem likely. One of the women had worked for the dentist for 26 years, and the newest employee in the group had worked for him for three years. It seems to me that these were loyal employees who thought they had found a career post. Additionally, the women have an audio tape of the dentist admitting his problem with "voyeurism".

Perhaps most disturbing of all, with all these witnesses and an incriminating tape that will probably convict him of a sex crime, this guy is still sitting on the city commission. How can that be? If he won't do the decent thing and resign, and the city commission won't take action, maybe it is time for citizens to start a recall petition.

The women (and men) of Ennis deserve better than to be represented by this misogynist.