By Tian DuBelko
(Joe Szilagyi via Flickr)
New tech such as our smartphones is making it easier to record every aspect of our lives, even when the police is involved.
This is especially true if you live in Seattle. The City Council recently passed an ordinance that lets bystanders record police officers and police activity, as long as they’re not interfering.
Civilians could already record police activity before, so this isn’t groundbreaking news. But now recording bystanders are legally protected by Seattle law. That means you’re totally free to pull out a recording device even in the presence of police without any fear of retaliation.
Seattle Police Department officers are already adopting body-worn cameras to bring greater transparency to the city’s law enforcing activities. This law will allow civilians to record freely with their smartphones, tablets, or even concealed cameras.
The deployment of police body cameras is a fairly recent trend that continues to get more popular. Body cameras, along with existing dashcams are used to hold the police accountable. But under this law, civilians can also do their part in keeping the police honest.
This law states that police officers should assume that they are being observed and possibly recorded at all times. It also says that although patrol-car cameras and body-worn cameras are there to record police, civilian recordings are encouraged and important.
We have the technology to help people across the world hold their police departments accountable. But sometimes civilians still get arrested for simply recording the police. Having a law protecting civilians not only uphold police accountability but also encourages civilians to assist with that task.
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