Mayor Bloomberg Loves Security Cameras Everywhere... Until His Police Are Ordered To Wear Them

from the gobsmackingly-awful dept

Fri, Aug 30th 2013 4:59am — Tim Cushing

Lawyers representing the city of New York have filed a request for a stay of Judge Scheindlin's decision and court order pending appeal. Scheindlin found components of the NYPD's stop and frisk unconstitutional in her decision and ordered several remedies, including the installation of independent oversight, changes to the UF250 (stop and frisk) form, an overhaul of the stop and frisk program itself and mandatory lapel cameras for police officers.

The six-page filing delivers pretty much the same talking points Bloomberg and Kelly have deployed since day one: stop and frisk lowers the crime rate, minorities will be hurt if it goes away, even the tiniest bit of disruption or oversight will throw 35,000 NYPD officers into complete disarray, etc.

The letter projects a certain confidence that Scheindlin has completely blown this decision. One would think projecting a little contrition would go over better, but experience has shown that Bloomberg (especially) and Kelly aren't much for contrition.

First, defendants have a substantial likelihood of success on appeal. Defendants contend, inter alia, that: (l) the District Court erred in finding violations under the Fourth Amendment; (2) the District Court erred in finding violations in Floyd under the Fourteenth Amendment; and (3) the District Court erred in finding any actionable widespread pattern or practice, deliberate indifference or causation under Monell v, Dep't of Soc. Servs., 436 U.S 658 (1978). Finally, the injunctive relief ordered in Floyd, is not narrowly tailored or clear enough to address found wrongs, particularly as it has no discernible end point or standards.to measure success.

So, that's the opening salvo. From that point on, the arguments for the stay are based on the assumption that the city's appeal will overturn the decision. A portion of the "irreparable harm" stems from the fact that the NYPD will be forced to train its officers not to violate constitutional rights and, if the decision is reversed, retrain them to go back to violating constitutional rights. It would seem that officers, especially long-term ones, would easily lapse back into the old ways, but that's the argument.

[N]ot only will defendants be harmed by having to train on what they believe are errors of law, should defendants later prevail on the appeal, the officers will have to be retrained again, undoubtedly leading to severe and possibly irreparable disruption and confusion among the rank and file. Similar issues arise with regard to changes in monitoring, supervision, discipline and changing the UF250 form, as they are premised on the same errors of law.

Obviously, this is an insurmountable hurdle. With a bit more foresight, the city might realize that these issues with the stop and frisk program aren't just going to go away, even if this decision is overturned. There's something seriously wrong with the way the program is handled, and the NYPD is still going to be facing a lot of litigation in the forseeable future.

Whatever the expenses of retraining (and possibly "re-retraining" back to the old way), they should be easily outweighed by the department paying out fewer settlements to abused citizens. New York spent over $700 million on settlements in the last year alone, which covered suits claiming negligence, police abuse and property damage. It expects that total to rise to over $800 million per year by 2016. If following the orders results in only a 10% drop in settlements, that gives the city between $70-80 million to work with.

Keep that number in mind as we dig into a longer chunk of the city's "irreparable damage" narrative.

[T]he public interest at stake in staying the Remedies Order is no less than the creation of an environment that may stem and reverse the long-standing record of crime reduction in this city, As that crime reduction has been most heavily felt in minority communities, it is those communities that will suffer the most.

Here we have the "minorities will be hurt" argument. More debunking of that one is available here. And to address those who will show up and claim (as Bloomberg himself has) that the NYPD's targeting of minorities tracks with murders by racial makeup, here's why that argument is wrong.

Minorities may commit 88.5% of the murders in New York and stop and frisk, over the past decade, has stopped minorities 88% of the time. That may seem like it's tracking almost perfectly. But stop and frisk doesn't utilize probable cause or reasonable suspicion and does not target only suspected murders. To use this logic to claim minorities are not being unfairly targeted is to claim "88% of murderers" and "88% of the general public" is the same number. It isn't. Stop and frisk targets anybody, but especially "anybodies" who aren't Caucasian, plain and simple. To believe that curbing stop and frisk will "hurt minorities" is to believe that 88% of all minority New Yorkers are murderers.

Finally, the cost to the taxpayers to implement the open-ended and broad-sweeping Remedies Order is against the public interest when the liability foundation for the reforms has not been tested, when body cameras (and their concomitant logistics, like storage, retrieval, etc.) have never been used on as a large a scale as contemplated by the Remedies Order, and when no end date or monetary limit of any kind has been established for the Monitor - and the personnel he is permitted to hire, including experts. Moreover, should the City ultimately prevail on appeal, those scarce public funds will have been expended to no purpose.

Here's where the $700-800 million a year in settlements comes back into play. The cost associated with the Monitor and related personnel is likely minimal as compared to damages paid. But the argument about costs related to cameras is treated like it's an unknowable (but presumably incredibly large) expense.

First of all, the cameras are not being deployed on as large a scale as the filing makes it sound. Scheindlin's orders specify a rather narrow range of officers:

I am ordering the NYPD to institute a pilot project in which bodyworn cameras will be worn for a one-year period by officers on patrol in one precinct per borough -- specifically the precinct with the highest number of stops during 2012.

This means five to seven (Brooklyn and Queens are split into North and South divisions) total precincts will use cameras. There are 34,500 uniformed officers in the NYPD at last count. Using even the friendliest math (five boroughs) brings us to 6,900 officers per borough. There are 77 precincts in New York City, which gives us roughly 90 450 officers per precinct. We'll round up because we can likely assume precincts with the most stops also contain the most officers. We'll give these precincts a generous ~~120~~ 500 officers. ~~120~~ 500 officers, 5 boroughs = ~~~600~~ ~2,500 officers needing cameras.

A Wall Street Journal article on the subject of police cameras quotes Fort Worth, Texas' investment as $85,000 for 50 cameras and storage, or $1,700 per camera. If we assume every officer gets one and no one shares, we end up with a total investment of $~~1,020,000~~ 4,250,000*. Compare that to $700-800 million in settlements, or the estimated $70-80 million saved by a 10% reduction in litigation due to officer body cams. That's not a prohibitive expense, especially when other departments utilizing these cameras have seen dramatic dropoffs in both excessive force incidents and citizen complaints.

*[Math: how the f**k does it work? Thanks to Jake and John Fenderson for correcting my mangled math in the comment thread below.]

But all of the city's lousy arguments pale in comparison to this statement, which is breathtakingly audacious considering the on-record statements of both Bloomberg and Chief Kelly.

Finally, implementing a body camera pilot project itself poses significant harm in terms of time, resources and possible impingement on privacy rights of the public.

The "privacy rights of the public?" The city is suddenly concerned about that? From what I can tell, this is a newfound concern that emerged only after Judge Schiendlin ordered cameras to be worn by officers. At no point in the past have either Bloomberg or Kelly ever expressed any concern about the public's privacy.

Here's Chief Kelly, shortly after the Boston Bombing.

“I'm a major proponent of cameras,” Kelly said on MSNBC’s Morning Joe. “I think the privacy issue has really been taken off the table.”

“The people who complain about it, I would say, are a relatively small number of folks, because the genie is out of the bottle,” Kelly said. “People realize that everywhere you go now, your picture is taken.”

Oh, I see. Privacy is "taken off the table" for citizens if the camera is anywhere else but on the lapel of a cop's uniform. "Everywhere" only means places cops aren't wearing cameras. Now, suddenly, there's a privacy concern because, and only because, a cop might find himself creating some damning footage. Screw Kelly. If privacy's "off the table," it's off the table for EVERYONE.

In 2010, the NYPD had only 500 cameras up-and-running. In its quest to turn New York into the next "Ring of Steel," the department upped that to nearly 3,000 cameras by the end of 2011. Kelly loves cameras. But not on his guys.

Bloomberg is the same. Here's his post-Boston Bombing pull quote.

The Boston bombing is a terrible reminder of why we've made these investments—including camera technology that could help us deter an attack, or investigate and apprehend those involved," New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said this past week. He added the network now has the ability to "alert police to abnormalities it detects on the street, such as an abandoned package that is left on a corner."

Bloomberg will throw money at cameras, privacy be damned. But he's suddenly worried about privacy and costs if any of the cameras are to be worn by police.

And let's not forget that back in 2007, Bloomberg was so "concerned" about New Yorkers' privacy that he proposed a city wide program to allow citizens to shoot video and photos of perceived criminal acts and immediately upload them to the police department.

If nothing else, I would hope that this request for a stay pending appeal would be greeted with invitations for Bloomberg and Kelly to eat their words on the public's privacy. This is the nastiest, most self-serving hypocrisy the city's dished out yet -- a faux "concern" entirely based on protecting its own.

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Filed Under: appeal, civil liberties, michael bloomberg, nyc, privacy, ray kelly, stop and frisk

30 Comments

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That One Guy (profile), 30 Aug 2013 @ 3:29am

Uh, what?
Finally, implementing a body camera pilot project itself poses significant harm in terms of time, resources and possible impingement on privacy rights of the public.

Since when have King Bloomberg and General Kelly ever considered their private army members of the public?

I mean, through actions and deeds they've already made it abundantly clear that they could not care less about the 'privacy rights' of the actual public, so they have got to be talking about the 'rights' of their army, but I wasn't aware they considered them members of the public at the same time.
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Ninja (profile), 30 Aug 2013 @ 3:40am

If privacy's "off the table," it's off the table for EVERYONE.

This sentence summarizes it all.

There was a discussion on this issue in a previous article about the program and we put the officer's privacy in perspective. They can simply turn off the cameras when doing personal stuff (say toilet for instance).

The hypocrisy is even more enervating when you think about the ongoing surveillance scandal...
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Ryan Jentzsch (profile), 30 Aug 2013 @ 5:12am

Holy Crap
Did NYPD hire a bunch of tap dancing Prenda lawyers?
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Anonymous Coward, 30 Aug 2013 @ 5:15am

Re: Holy Crap
Now that is a bridge too far.

...Prenda couldn't tap-dance their way out of a wet rice-paper bag.
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Anonymous Coward, 30 Aug 2013 @ 5:19am

"stop and frisk lowers the crime rate, minorities will be hurt if it goes away, even the tiniest bit of disruption or oversight will throw 35,000 NYPD officers into complete disarray, etc. "

They can claim all they want, doesn't change a thing. It doesn't even matter that their claims are wrong. Stop and frisk is illegal, as in you can't do that.

"NYPD will be forced to train its officers not to violate constitutional rights "

That would make for a good reality tv series, hilarity ensues.

"to implement the open-ended and broad-sweeping Remedies Order is against the public interest "

O rly ?

"and possible impingement on privacy rights of the public"

Since when did they ever give a shit about this.
Yes, politicians are known hypocrites. Some are better at lying than others.
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out_of_the_blue, 30 Aug 2013 @ 5:44am

Just like feudalism, only money fines for crimes.
The ruling class of England not all that long ago could openly beat, kill, or even murder serfs and pay only a money fine. -- I've no doubt that law is still on the real law books, you UK serfs just don't know it. Remember 007's license to kill? That'd be from your entitled tyrants. -- It's standard practice of empire. Similarly, the US handed out a few thousand in "blood money" as total settlement for people maimed, killed, or outright murdered in Afghanistan and Iraq; almost never was/is any soldier or contractor held personally accountable, even with video from a helicopter gunship showing murdering a family.

Criminals operating under color of law need to be jailed, not taxpayers be forced to shell out for their crimes; it's doubly wrong.
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Anonymous Coward, 30 Aug 2013 @ 5:53am

the attitude these two have maybe they would be better off moving to N.Korea or somewhere similar? the government there as well as in other countries, work on a totally restrictive and totalitarian way. that appears to be how these two want to do things. living under that sort of regime should be right up their street
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Anonymous Coward, 30 Aug 2013 @ 5:58am

Finally, implementing a body camera pilot project itself poses significant harm in terms of time, resources and possible impingement on privacy rights of the public.

The only privacy right likely to be impinged is the right to be molested in private by the police. A right I think most members of the public would be willing to give up.
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Anonymous Howard (profile), 30 Aug 2013 @ 5:58am

Re: Just like feudalism, only money fines for crimes.
A fine example of this behavior:
- Admit nothing.
- Pay the casualties a few dollars.
- Reward the soldiers who did it.

'nuff said.
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Donglebert the Needlessly Obtuse, 30 Aug 2013 @ 6:11am

From the BBC website the other week...
Police introduce new body cameras It is hoped that new technology, such as body worn cameras and tablet computers, will help police officers spend less time on paperwork and more time on the beat. A force in Hampshire says it has saved the equivalent of 40 working days since April 2013 after using tablets instead of hand-writing witness statements.

Looks like other police forces consider cameras a way to save money.
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Hephaestus (profile), 30 Aug 2013 @ 6:34am

Cameras can not help you stop crime, they allow you to determine what occurred at a later time. You need actionable information before hand to stop any sort of event, and surveillance through cameras or the NSA's spying doesn't give you that, everyone knows its there. All it does is wastes resources and gives the illusion of safety.
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Shon Gale, 30 Aug 2013 @ 7:13am

Oh goody we finally get to watch all the laws the cops break in order to uphold the law. Liars! All of them. Politicians, Lawyers and Police all lie for a living. They were all trained by the best liars, the professors of law. Anybody ever notice how most politicians are lawyers? Double Liars!
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Anonymous Coward, 30 Aug 2013 @ 7:40am

Re: Just like feudalism, only money fines for crimes.
Elizabeth I freed the serfs in 1574. That's a little bit longer than "not long ago", hell it's even before the colonisation of the United States by Europeans

In Scotland however the last serfs were coal miners who had their status changed in 1799

These laws are not on the "real law books" as they were repealed by Royal Proclamation, as the monarch was the highest law of the land.

007 is a fictional character.

I do not disagree however, that criminal acts regardless of the side of the law they are perpetrated by need to both treated equally, with jail time regardless of who you are.
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RyanNerd (profile), 30 Aug 2013 @ 7:41am

Re: Re: Holy Crap
How many of them are in jail now?
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Jake, 30 Aug 2013 @ 8:13am

Your math is off
There are 77 precincts for the entire city, so there are 450 officers per precinct, and therefore around 2,500 officers needing cameras. That brings the total cost up to around $4,000,000. This is quite a bit more than your estimate, and will be argued as such. That being said, I am against stop and frisk and for officer worn cameras.
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Anonymous Coward, 30 Aug 2013 @ 8:29am

All Bloomberg is concerned with is that officers aren't filming themselves having sex with prisoners / taking bribes etc....

Well and the possibility that HE himself would be caught on camera doing stuff with police officers that he probably shouldn't...
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Anonymous Coward, 30 Aug 2013 @ 9:40am

Boomberg: What? Stopping minorities and searching them for no reason isn't against the 4th amendment this judge blew it.

How do these guys get elected without reading the Constitution? Americans are not what I would call pussies but is the fear so deep and widespread in the US that people submit to this kind of thing? Embarrassing if you ask me.
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James Burkhardt (profile), 30 Aug 2013 @ 9:46am

Re: Your math is off
Still below the 70-80 million they could save by reducing Citizen complaint setllements by 10% (which is conservative, other jurisdictions have seen more.
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John Fenderson (profile), 30 Aug 2013 @ 9:50am

Re: Your math is off
A small correction: the number of precincts in the city isn't relevant as the order was for one precinct per borough. There are five boroughs. But 5 * 450 = 2,250 so your math is still (close enough to) correct.
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HappyBlogFriend (profile), 30 Aug 2013 @ 10:00am

Privacy for me, not for thee.
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Anonymous Coward, 30 Aug 2013 @ 11:04am

IF THEY ARENT DOING ANYTHING WRONG THEY HAVE NOTHING TO HIDE RIGHT?

RIGHT?

RIGHT?
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Anonymous Coward, 30 Aug 2013 @ 11:17am

Re: Just like feudalism, only money fines for crimes.
You're not OOTB! You didnt berate Tim for meaningless bullshit!
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Anonymous Coward, 30 Aug 2013 @ 12:37pm

Bloomberg and Kelly are Unconstitutional liars with zero credibility.
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Fred, 30 Aug 2013 @ 12:51pm

Mayor Bloomberg Loves Security Cameras Everywhere... Until His Police Are Ordered To Wear Them
The reason the request for stay is written the way it is does not necessarily show a confidence the decision will be overturned. One factor in obtaining a stay is a likelihood of prevailing on the merits. If you don't at least claim that there is a likelihood you will prevail on the merits, you will almost certainly lose the request for a stay. It's legalese that you must use if you hope to get your foot in the door.
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Anonymous Coward, 30 Aug 2013 @ 1:27pm

doh!!!
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Capitalist Lion Tamer (profile), 30 Aug 2013 @ 5:46pm

Re: Your math is off
Way past the point of anyone caring, I have amended the post to reflect the math that actually adds up correctly. Thanks for the pointer, Jake.

And as a personal note, I'll be doing less drinking and mathing in the future. Or so I've told my sponsor.
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bumpysquish, 30 Aug 2013 @ 6:27pm

ouch
looks like somebody wants too know what everybodys doing
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Coyne Tibbets, 30 Aug 2013 @ 11:30pm

$700 Million Hmm?
$700 million in settlements. If NYC ends stop-and-frisk, no more settlements. So (the city reasons) that sure would hurt minorities, wouldn't it?
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Cures Riches, 31 Aug 2013 @ 2:32am

cops and cameras
secretes police is trouble
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Doug, 31 Aug 2013 @ 11:21am

Response to: Hephaestus on Aug 30th, 2013 @ 6:34am
Stop crime, no. Reduce crime, yes. If one knows there will be evidence the crime has been committed one is less likely to commit said crime.
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