Reminded me of this:
Open access to police communications is vital
a.. If things progress as planned, pretty soon residents of the Seacoast,
state and region will hear no evil - at least not from their police
scanners.
a.. As we reported on Sunday, police departments all over the state are
switching to a digital radio system that will, as it stands now, prevent the
general public from hearing law enforcement information over the
traditional, commercially manufactured radio scanners. The goal, from the
viewpoint of law enforcement, is to develop an integrated communications
system that will allow police to talk freely with their counterparts in
far-flung locations.
We fully support this move to integrate communications. It is vital in these
post-Sept. 11 days that law enforcement officials be able to get in contact
with each other in the event of a major emergency.
In addition to developing an integrated system, however, the switch to
digital will preclude anyone who is not part of the law enforcement
community - or who has not been given access to its communications - from
tuning into police conversations. While it is important to keep criminals in
the dark concerning police matters, the new system will also pull the plug
on those who either enjoy listening to the activities in the streets of
their communities via their scanners or who need access to this information
for independent oversight purposes.
Conversion to a digital format will deny the public any information that law
enforcement officials do not want to share. It could make law enforcement a
closed community and, in doing so, open the system to abuses.
Police in some Seacoast towns have already curtailed information available
to the public when it involves data secured from the state Department of
Motor Vehicles. A law passed by the state Legislature two years ago sought
to prevent personal information contained in that department's records from
being openly distributed, and some local police departments have used this
law as an excuse not to give out information concerning individuals involved
in motor-vehicle accident, fraud or theft cases.
In a free society, which is what America still professes to be even in the
wake of the terrorist attacks in September, public oversight of public
functions is a necessity. Without that oversight, an agency - any agency,
federal, state or local - can do what it wishes including abuse its powers
by diminishing individual freedoms.
This is particularly true in the area of law enforcement, where agency
powers are extensive and far-reaching. We have already seen the kinds of
abuses law enforcement is capable of in some of the major cities in our
country.
We are not saying we lack trust in our local police departments; they
represent, in many cases, the thin line that separates us from those who
would do us harm. However, it is important that the activities of those
departments be open to public scrutiny so abuses that could stem from an
atmosphere of secrecy do not take place.
We urge the development of digital scanners and, in the meantime, ask local
police departments to make available equipment that can convert digital
transmissions back into voice communications for private, law-abiding
citizens and the press. This equipment should not be supplied free of charge
or to people with criminal histories, but it should be available in order to
assure the public that law enforcement is, indeed, following the laws it is
sworn to uphold.
- Portsmouth Herald
December 13, 2001
http://www.seacoastonline.com/2001news/12_13_e1.htm
oregontreehugger said:
What about the trust between the community and the city? This isn't some black-box government project with a hidden budget, it's the local police department for gosh sakes.
Apparently all the citizens of Wichita Falls are criminals and don't deserve to know what their tax dollars are up to because of a few bad apples.
Sending an e-mail to the news organizations from the city during major incidents seems to me a lot like censorship of the media.
