- Each police vehicle including (and especially) motorcycles
should be trackable using GPS technology.
Tracking logs should be available to the public
just as the current police logs are (one or two days old).
We can determine for ourselves just how long those
Dunkin Donuts visits really are. Otherwise, we
need access to the Dunkin Donuts video cameras and
we do not have such access.
We can also get visual information on how the streets
of Framingham are patrolled.
The police will fiercely resist this recommendation
because they want anonymity in their behaviour. We
the taxpayers want clear transparency in their behaviour.
- Police uniforms should have
large football jersey style numbers which
allows for easy reading at a distance of 100 feet.
This removes some of their power of anonymity.
Currently their uniforms only have a tiny name tag
which can only be read if you're 5 feet away or less.
If you get any closer, you'll spook them and
they will charge you with assault and battery if you
touch them.
How utterly offensive!
- Each police cruiser should have
very large identifying numbers on each side
so that we can identify its poor driver from a distance,
using the police log files.
This removes some of their power of anonymity.
The fact that a big cruiser number is not on the side of the
cruiser and only on the roof (where you can't see it) is a
strong indication that these officers want anonymity.
- Each police cruiser should have a camcorder on its dash
that must be turned on with every encounter with the
public.
Failure to turn the camcorder on should be punishable
with 3 days of unpaid leave.
- All officers should be required to clearly identify
themselves when asked to do so. They are after all,
public servants. They should not be trying to pretend
to be our masters.
Failure to identify themselves should have a substantial
penalty attached to it, such as one week of unpaid leave.
I would suggest that every officer have business cards
to hand out.
- The
online police logs
should show us who submitted the log
entries. This would provide accountability and
transparency. These are two words that are
not well understood by our police.
The thin Blue line is very protective of itself and has often
shown us its Wall of Silence.
- The booking area in the rear of the main police station
should have automated video and audio recordings of every
person arrested in Framingham. Once a person is in the
custody of the police, they should be under video
surveillance until they are placed in a cell. Even then,
video recordings might be recommended to keep police abuse
at a minimum.