Who's Watching Who?

In the wake of recent fatal police shootings, policymakers, law enforcement agents, and community advocates are questioning whether new technologies can improve public safety, civil liberties, and civil rights. At the center of this discussion is body-worn cameras. In March, a bipartisan coalition of senators introduced the Police Camera Act of 2015, designed to create a pilot grant program to assist state and local law enforcement agencies develop safe and effective body-worn camera programs that also protect civilians’ privacy rights.

Thirty-three states and the District of Columbia are also pushing or have passed legislation addressing body-worn cameras. How can law enforcement and communities use body cams to protect civil rights? What are best practices for implementation? How do citizen videos of police misconduct complicate--or complement--implementation efforts? And what’s missing from the current debate?

Join New America in collaboration with Howard University for the fourth event in the “From Moment to Movement” series to discuss the challenges and opportunities in the use and deployment of new police technology. 

Follow the discussion online using #Moment2Movement and by following @NewAmerica  

Participants: 

Malkia Cyril 
Executive Director, The Center for Media Justice 
@culturejedi  

Justin Ready
Assistant Professor, School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Arizona State University
@CCJ_ASU  

Chief Brian K. Jordan
Chief of Police and Executive Director for Safety and Security, Howard University
Former Assistant Chief of Police, Metropolitan Police Department
@HUPoliceCOP  

Nicole Austin-Hillery
Director and Counsel, The Brennan Center for Justice,
New York University School of Law
@NicoleAustinHil  

Sarah Brayne
Author, "Stratified Surveillance: Policing in the Age of Big Data" Postdoctoral Researcher, Microsoft Research New England
@Sarah_Brayne  

Moderator:

Seeta Peña Gangadharan
Senior Research Fellow, Open Technology Institute, New America
@OTI