Splaine: NH State Police now have body cams. Why can't Portsmouth?
With so much statewide acceptance of the technology of police body cams and cruiser cameras during the past year, quite recently by the New Hampshire State Police, Portsmouth and other local governments should reopen the discussion and explore how they can benefit the future of law enforcement here.
To great applause a year ago, the three-member Portsmouth Police Commission completed a year-long review of how to provide more transparency. Along with several citizens, the group agreed to over a dozen improvements, including revisiting a local study about body and cruiser cameras. At that earlier time, the commission had recommended against immediately implementing the technology primarily because other budgetary needs had priority.
2021 story: Portsmouth police reforms approved. What they are and what's next.
With the recent adoption of the city budget, some of those needs have been satisfied. Funding for improvements in police operations have been approved, and a feasibility and preliminary design of a much-needed police station is underway.
It has been needed ever since the department was squished into the footprint of the old hospital on Junkins Avenue. Squeezing professional law enforcement personnel and operations into rooms designed decades ago for hospital patients and medical staff is inefficient and doesn't meet the needs of a growing city with more businesses and residents arriving in coming decades.
The New Hampshire State Police adoption of body cams and car cameras isn't an experiment. It's clear acceptance of technology that has been proven thousands of times in police interactions during the past 30-plus years. That technology has helped resolve court cases where there has been dispute as to whether police action was appropriate.
Hundreds of the state's police cruisers and almost all of the state troopers are now or are in the process of being equipped with the technology, with the aim of increasing transparency and keeping both the troopers and public safe.
Further benefits include that complaints about actions of law enforcement personnel are substantially reduced when there is video evidence. That can save time and expense in avoiding court costs and lawsuits. Furthermore, the training value is obvious in that there is video evidence of best practices that can be taught to other police officers who can learn what works and what doesn't.
Cameras are just about everywhere now. Homes and businesses have them, and unless someone has forgotten to charge up their cell phone that morning, most people are ready to zip a video of any incident, or accident, they come across. Thousands of YouTube videos taken by passersby show police interactions. Allowing the police themselves to have videos verifying and in many cases validating their actions just makes sense, and protects citizens as well.
Joining the New Hampshire State Police initiative, a growing list of communities have or are in the process of implementing body cameras, including Manchester, Dover, Laconia, Rochester, Hollis, Hanover, Goffstown, and Weare.
Nashua just began its body cam program recently, and the Cheshire County Sheriff's Office is working to provide all deputies with body cams, with the help of state grants. Those grants provide matching funds for city and town police departments to fund body cams, so now is the time for Portsmouth and other local police departments to get in line.
Technology is a tool. As law enforcement obligations continue to expand, and new challenges arise, we need all the tools that prove valuable. Now that our State Police troopers have body cameras, we can expect to see more examples of their value, and make the judgment whether this is a tool that area law enforcement needs.
Today's quotes:
"Body cams really provide transparency in our process and security in terms of what happened, the hows and whens and who was involved and all of that. And the more information the better." — Gov. Chris Sununu, following the approval of grants by the Executive Council.
"Sometimes reliving the past does wonderful things for the present. With movies, the closest thing to life itself." — Classic 1970s Kodak movie camera advertisement.
Next time: Courageous local legislators led fight for gun regulation 20, 30 years ago.
Jim Splaine has served variously since 1969 as Portsmouth assistant mayor, Police Commission member, and School Board member, as well as New Hampshire state senator and representative. He can be reached at jimsplaineportsmouth@gmail.com
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Splaine: NH State Police now have body cams. Why can't Portsmouth, NH?
