Having the public listen in to police radios allows the press, citizens and watchdogs to keep track of what was happening and where and we applaud the “Keep Police Radio Public Act,” passed by the state Legislature Thursday. It should become law.
In recent years, what had been status-quo transparency — whereby the press and the public could listen in to the “scanners” indicating where crimes were reported and where police were being sent — became shrouded behind encryption in precinct after precinct. The NYPD has claimed this multi-million-dollar transition was necessary to protect cops, but there was never any concrete evidence of harm established.
If everything had been encrypted in 2014, the Daily News never would’ve obtained the video of Eric Garner being killed — an unquestionably important situation that helped shine a light on the police tactics in this situation.
But it’s not just about one high-profile example. It’s about the daily ebb and flow of crime reports and police response, which added up represent the single most consequential application of government power in our city. Countless life-and-death stories you read about in the Daily News could never have been told if reporters and editors had been blacked out.
If the new bill becomes law, which it should, all police radio communications will be made accessible in real-time to credentialed members of the press and emergency services organizations. “Sensitive information” is defined as communication that could reveal confidential sources or investigative techniques, compromise ongoing investigations or deprive someone of a fair trial if disclosed.
It didn’t need to be this way. The NYPD could’ve reasonably tweaked scanner access, putting them on a slight delay instead of essentially blacking them out. That would’ve maintained most public oversight while addressing the core concern police leaders claim to care about. Instead, they brought down a big blue curtain — and are now facing the consequences.
While we’re on the subject of police transparency, it’s worth noting that the NYPD has made strides in the release of body-worn camera footage over the years. Under current rules, the department releases footage of “critical incidents” — fatalities, officer shootings that hit someone and other high-interest events — within 30 days, with redactions and exceptions for privacy and investigative reasons.
In late May, the department released such footage from an officer-involved shooting. Typically, these do as much to calm the public pointing its fingers at police as to stir it up, as many supposedly suspicious uses of force turn out to have been warranted.
The police must stay true to that policy, releasing footage swiftly and with no or minimal edits, even and especially when release of footage is deemed inconvenient. And when the public requests body-worn camera footage, which it is entitled to do through Freedom of Information Law, it must make every good-faith effort to comply.
So too must the department respect the right of the public to photograph or film them doing their work. The public and press need to stay at a safe distance and not interfere with cops performing their duties.
The NYPD is engaged in sensitive business that deserves respect. Respect, transparency and accountability should all walk in lockstep.
