We, the undersigned, ask that the Madison Police Department implement body cameras, along with effective policy to enforce their use.

At a minimum, we ask that Madison neighborhoods be allowed to determine, through a fully democratic process with broad-based community input, whether body cameras will be implemented for officers in our own neighborhoods.

Background

1. The current per capita rate of fatal officer involved shootings in Madison is higher than in most other large U.S. cities (for example, see here for a comparison of the rate of fatal officer involved shootings by Madison Police Department versus New York City Police Department).

2. There is substantial evidence that implementation of police body cameras results in a large reduction in excessive use of force by police. Three rigorous comparative trials of body cameras have been completed in the U.S., including a randomized controlled trial (i.e. the gold standard for evidence in such studies). The U.S. randomized controlled trial, in Rialto, CA, showed a 59% reduction in overall police use of force and a 87.5% reduction in citizen complaints of misconduct for officers wearing body cameras versus those not wearing body cameras. The remaining two U.S. comparative trials showed a 44% reduction in citizen complaints (in Phoenix, AZ) and a 48% reduction in complaints, including a 75% reduction in excessive force complaints, (in Mesa, AZ) for officers with body cameras. Meanwhile, a randomized controlled trial of police body cameras in Birmingham South, UK has, to this point, found a 46% reduction in citizen complaints. Additional randomized controlled trials of body cameras are occurring elsewhere in the U.S. and internationally, and the preliminary results have been reported to match the success of the initial comparative trials. Implementation of police body cameras has also been credited with being at least partially responsible for a large reduction in officer involved shootings by the Oakland Police Department.

3. Deployment of body cameras is leading to prosecutions of officers involved in fatal shootings who would otherwise have not been charged (e.g. killing of Samuel DuBose, killing of James Boyd, killing of Eric Courtney Harris).

4. Implementation of police body cameras is one of the primary demands of Black Lives Matter Campaign Zero.

5. Implementation of body cameras is one of the recommendation of the President's Task Force on 21st Century Policing.

6. Widespread implementation of police body cameras is point #1 of the National Urban League’s 10 Point Justice Plan for police reform and accountability.

7. The ACLU has also endorsed the implementation of police body cameras (see ACLU report “Police Body-Mounted Cameras: With Right Policies, a Win for All”).

8. The University of Wisconsin police force is implementing body cameras, the Town of Madison is implementing police body cameras, and the City of Milwaukee will be implementing police body cameras.

9. Polls show that the public is virtually united in favoring implementation of police body cameras. The most recent polls shows 88%-89% support for implementation, cutting across all categories of race and political affiliation. The overwhelming majority of respondents of color support implementation (e.g. 85% of black respondents).

10. Automated methods have been developed and implemented elsewhere for processing body camera footage to allow interpretation of the actions of parties in the video while obscuring/removing all personal identifying information, to preserve privacy (e.g. over-redaction filters leaving only outlines).

11. A coalition of thirty-five civil rights groups advocating for body cameras have issued a set of principles that should govern their use.

12. An ad hoc committee commissioned by the City of Madison to obtain public input regarding police body cameras failed to solicit broad-based community input, and has now voted against implementation of body cameras. Outreach appears to have been minimal. Even those most engaged with this issue, in the neighborhood most impacted by recent officer involved shootings, were unable to provide input.
As Brenda Konkel noted in her blog, Forward Lookout:
“Um, where is the sunlight, the sun shine, the transparency? This isn’t how I expect my government to act. And it sure doesn’t go along with the recommendations of the city’s Racial Equity and Social Justice report. [which states]
‘Recommendation 3b. Maximize strategies to increase community participation in City government’”