The mission of this petition is simple, reach a large signature goal and bring this petition to the attention of our city officials, specifically the Portsmouth Police Commission, Portsmouth City Council, and the Portsmouth Police Department. They cannot keep ignoring the people, and calls for basic policing equipment. This is a state wide issues as well, and we the people must demand our lawmakers create positive changes.

We call on our elected city officials, it is long overdue that police body cameras become basic policing equipment. Especially here in Portsmouth, NH - where we set an example for our beautiful state, of which I am proud to call Portsmouth my home. I've lived here nearly my entire life and mostly loved it, but our police need to be held accountable. Our Police Commission has let us down again. Commissioners: Joe Onosko, Thomas Hart, and Stefany Shaheen need to help make this change happen. We are calling on you, and our city.

A NHPR article from September of 2019 stated, "The Portsmouth Police Commission has voted unanimously against the use of body cameras. Police officials said Tuesday that body cameras would not be of value in a city with a low rate of citizen complaints." Commissioner Joe Onosko seems to be thinking fiscally, stating, "complaints just aren’t occurring for us to spend to put body cameras on our officers when we don’t have a problem, it would be a complete waste of money.” I don't believe that to be a valid reason to put citizens or police at potential risk, and we are complaining now. Every signature and supporter is a complaint. I say the cost is outweighed by the possible ramifications of encounters without body cameras. Why wait until there are real, deadly problems, to make the decision? Portsmouth, NH - can afford body cameras. The city's fiscal budget for 2020? $120 MILLION. We can afford accountability. A Seacoast Online article also stated that the yearly cost for body cameras would be $125,000. That is 0.1% of the ENTIRE BUDGET. $1 MILLION every EIGHT YEARS - for police and citizen accountability. That is less than 1% of a single yearly budget, for 8 years. Cost is not an issue here. (see below for links)

Too much of the police budget in Portsmouth is already spent on new cruisers, new gadgets and drones, and a multimillion dollar new police station - yet the Portsmouth Police Commission and Portsmouth Police Department, have refused numerous times to be held accountable, and make police body cameras an essential part of police equipment, public safety, and accountability. Without this safety net of accountability, no citizen is truly safe from the possibility of police abuse. Body cameras also ensure further safety to our law enforcement, by holding citizens equally accountable. A true win-win, and would likely bring the community closer to the police.

To quote the Cato Institute of Washington, D.C.: "Almost all Americans (89%) support requiring police officers to wear body cameras to record their on-duty interactions: 53% "strongly support" and 35% "somewhat support" this proposal. A paltry 11% oppose police wearing body cameras." (see below for link)

These are staggering statistics, of which our city seems to think do not matter. On June 15th this year, the Seacoast Online posted a poll asking voters, "Should all police officers wear body cameras?". In 37 days there were 118 votes, almost all from the local area of Portsmouth and the seacoast - as shown by the map provided on Poll-Maker. Of those 118 voted, 81% voted "Yes" (96 people), and 19% voted "No" (22 people). (see below for link)

These are not large numbers to draw conclusions from, but that is why I am making this petition. It is clear the people want our police to make the right decision, and wear body cameras. Without you, without more voices and more signatures, our voices will continue to be unheard. We must demand that our law enforcement get with the times, and hold themselves accountable. We must demand that the Portsmouth, NH Police Department wear body cameras at all times in active duty. Whatever the cost, the safety of our people should come before all else - and those providing the safety, need to be held accountable for their actions. We are a rich city with a richer history, let's make our city a better place to live. Please help make our community a safer place.

Head of the Police Commission: Joe Onosko - jonosko@comcast.net                      Reach other commissioners here: https://www.cityofportsmouth.com/police/police-commission

PETITION NEWS ARTICLE (7/28/20): https://www.seacoastonline.com/news/20200728/portsmouth-resident-petitions-for-police-body-cameras

Jim Splain, Portsmouth's Assistant Mayor has a great piece on Seacoast Online I recommend reading from June 14th, 2020: https://www.seacoastonline.com/opinion/20200614/guest-view-for-our-portsmouth-police-department-we-need-more-citizen-oversight-and-body-cams

Reference Articles:

https://www.nhpr.org/post/portsmouth-police-commission-rejects-body-cameras#stream/0​

https://www.seacoastonline.com/news/20200709/portsmouth-police-commission-stands-by-vote-against-body-cameras​

https://www.cato.org/policing-in-america/chapter-4/police-body-cameras​

https://www.seacoastonline.com/news/20200615/poll-should-all-police-officers-wear-body-cameras