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Recording police with your smartphone is a Constitutional right, says DoJ

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Re: Recording police with your smartphone is a Constitutional right, says DoJ

#51

Post by Karunamon »

loverobots wrote: post #37
newbusox wrote: post #22

Not to burst anyone's bubbles, but just because the DoJ has issued a letter stating that they believe this is constitutional does not make it so. There are opinions, I believe, from the First and Seventh Circuits that state explicitly that this is the case, but, probably until there is a definitive decision from the US Supreme Court or the like, or of an appellate court in a given state, local police could still try…

Two appeal courts have said yes and DOJ said yes too. Personally I'd be more afraid of getting my @ss kicked for "resisting police" and having my video erased, than being arrested for taping cops.

That's why you use something like Justin.tv or QIK or something that live uploads. Cop beats you up and smashes your phone? The resulting payout you'll get will make the beatdown worth it.

I'd totally take a beatdown if it would make me a multi millionaire :)

Re: Recording police with your smartphone is a Constitutional right, says DoJ

#52

Post by nzealand »

sodafountan wrote: post #28

I've actually been arrested once for recording a police officer, I went up to her with my cellphone in hand when she was questioning my intoxicated friend on my college campus. She snatched my phone away from me and said I was prohibiting her from doing her job, and so I was taken in with my friend. Looks like i'll be fighting this one. Never thought HN would be a good source for legal advice ;)

You were "interfering" with her job. You should never get in a cops face when they are arresting someone. Unfortunately cops can ask you to step back, and there is no clearly defined boundary on what distance would be considered "interference." Typically the distance is in direct correlation to the sort of recording device you have pointed at them.

Re: Recording police with your smartphone is a Constitutional right, says DoJ

#53

Post by cynicalkane »

felipemnoa wrote: post #25
newbusox wrote: post #22

Not to burst anyone's bubbles, but just because the DoJ has issued a letter stating that they believe this is constitutional does not make it so. There are opinions, I believe, from the First and Seventh Circuits that state explicitly that this is the case, but, probably until there is a definitive decision from the US Supreme Court or the like, or of an appellate court in a given state, local police could still try…

Considering this: http://www.nwprogressive.org/weblog/2012/04/supreme-court-sa... I don't think is a wise idea to take this to the supreme court at this moment. They could easily say that it is illegal to record police.

I find it very strange that you're citing (a highly erroneous summary of) a Court ruling restricting the right privacy for jail inmates in specific situations, in order to argue that the Court will extend privacy of persons in public places. Actually, the lack of prisoners' rights to privacy, and the right to record things in public areas, are both well established.

By the way, the word you're looking for is "unconstitutional", not "illegal". Even should the Court restrict the right to record--which they won't, it's a well-established right--jurisdictions may establish that right through law anyway.

Re: Recording police with your smartphone is a Constitutional right, says DoJ

#54

Post by drumdance »

spindritf wrote: post #43
ori_b wrote: post #6

Why aren't the police equipped with recording devices that are active whenever they are interacting with the public? It seems that anyone with that sort of power should have an audit trail for their actions.

There are a couple of legitimate reasons why police officers might not want to be recorded 8-12 hours a day. First is purely psychological. Would you want to have someone looking over your shoulder all the time? Would you want your employer to record everything you do on your computer through some spyware? Have a camera mounted above your head? Second is procedural. There are so many rules and regulations that it's a…

Would you want to have someone looking over your shoulder all the time?

People who work in retail seem to be doing just fine, not to mention officers of the court who's every word and deed is recorded and transcribed.

Re: Recording police with your smartphone is a Constitutional right, says DoJ

#55

Post by fffggg »

crusso wrote: post #49
dodo53 wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

that would be pretty handy for actual criminals

Ha, good point. Okay, well amend my brainstorming to just being a live feed that goes to an independent agency that can make the video available at a later date.

Yes, all that's needed is for it to become available to subpoena and other lawful process.

Re: Recording police with your smartphone is a Constitutional right, says DoJ

#57

Post by nextparadigms »

ori_b wrote: post #6

Why aren't the police equipped with recording devices that are active whenever they are interacting with the public? It seems that anyone with that sort of power should have an audit trail for their actions.

They should be, but all those video streams should be either made public or at least sent to a completely different Government agency, so the police has no power over the data.

Re: Recording police with your smartphone is a Constitutional right, says DoJ

#58

Post by mikeash »

drumdance wrote: post #54
spindritf wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are a couple of legitimate reasons why police officers might not want to be recorded 8-12 hours a day. First is purely psychological. Would you want to have someone looking over your shoulder all the time? Would you want your employer to record everything you do on your computer through some spyware? Have a camera mounted above your head? Second is procedural. There are so many rules and regulations that it's a…

Would you want to have someone looking over your shoulder all the time? People who work in retail seem to be doing just fine, not to mention officers of the court who's every word and deed is recorded and transcribed.

Don't forget airline pilots. And call center employees. And....

Well, I think it's clear enough that people can manage to do their jobs while being constantly watched. I won't say it's necessarily a good idea, but if it's a good idea for anybody, then people who are legally empowered to use force to enforce the law ought to be at the top of the list.

Re: Recording police with your smartphone is a Constitutional right, says DoJ

#59

Post by ori_b »

dodo53 wrote: post #44
crusso wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The cameras should be required to be on in order for the officer to do anything "in the line of duty". Furthermore, they should broadcast a wifi feed of what they're seeing in real time so that anyone can have a "listener" running nearby to capture it. You could have a listener in your car, at your apartment, or running on your iPhone. There should be a listener in the police car that instantly uploads the feed to a…

that would be pretty handy for actual criminals

As well as a way to find out things that should be private into something public.

As far as I'm concerned, these records should only be unsealed, and made available for court proceedings. Accountability is important, but so is privacy.

Re: Recording police with your smartphone is a Constitutional right, says DoJ

#60

Post by rhizome »

spindritf wrote: post #43
ori_b wrote: post #6

Why aren't the police equipped with recording devices that are active whenever they are interacting with the public? It seems that anyone with that sort of power should have an audit trail for their actions.

There are a couple of legitimate reasons why police officers might not want to be recorded 8-12 hours a day. First is purely psychological. Would you want to have someone looking over your shoulder all the time? Would you want your employer to record everything you do on your computer through some spyware? Have a camera mounted above your head? Second is procedural. There are so many rules and regulations that it's a…

Just like anybody else who finds themselves working in distasteful environments, they can get another job.
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