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As technological advances occur, the number of people carrying a device in their pocket that is capable of capturing video increases. The law doesn’t move as quickly as Steve Jobs, which is why people are being arrested for recording on-duty police officers.
Most states have not updated their laws on what citizens are and aren’t allowed to record. This vague understanding of the established rules that should govern the use of new technology is creating problems throughout the country.
National Public Radio had a report recently explaining the issues our outdated laws are creating.
Last February, a University of Maryland student was beaten by police officers after a college basketball game. Numerous viewers witnessed the fight, recorded it on their smart phones and uploaded it to YouTube. The videos showing the beating contradicted what was in the police report.
I am sure the student who was brutally beaten was thankful those people had cameras on their phones and did not hesitate to record the incident.
Especially since the police-operated security camera that covered the beating supposedly stopped functioning at the exact time the beating occurred.
Great, people caught the gruesome scene on camera and all is right in the world.
Wrong. In at least three states — Illinois, Maryland and Massachusetts — police are actively arresting people for recording on-duty police officers. In those states, like most states, they are arresting people based on an interpretation of old wiretapping laws.
What is even more ridiculous is the fact that the police are recording so much of the public’s daily lives then turning around and arresting citizens for doing the same.
Depending on where you are in the country, you can expect to find red light video cameras, video cameras mounted on the dashboards of cop cars and surveillance cameras throughout the city or state. Police officers are allowed to film you — prior to proving you have done anything illegal — but if you attempt to do the same thing, then you can be arrested.
Some states are thinking of strapping video cameras to police officers so they can record every interaction they have with civilians. I’d hope you agree that idea seems unnecessary and expensive.
I’m not implying that all of the camera ideas are useless. I’m sure the red light cameras have reduced the number of accidents due to drivers running lights. I’m also not saying that people should be able to record every aspect of a police officer’s routine, either.
When their lives overlap, though, the civilian should be allowed to record the situation.
It is necessary for citizens to push politicians to create clear and concrete laws regarding the use of video cameras in certain situations. It is especially important that we reduce, or at least equalize, the amount of power police officers have to film our lives.
Allowing police to have all of these cameras while restricting our rights to record the same situations is unfair.
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