California ACLU group launches app to record possible police misconduct.

[lockedout]

(Reuters) - A California civil liberties group launched a mobile application on Thursday that will let bystanders record cell phone videos of possible cases of police misconduct and then quickly save the footage to the organization's computer servers.

The California chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union said the app will send the video to the organization and preserve it even if a phone is seized by police or destroyed.

The launch of the ACLU's "Mobile Justice CA" app comes as law enforcement agencies face scrutiny over the use of lethal force, especially against African-Americans, following several high-profile deaths of unarmed black men in encounters with police over the last year in the United States.

"It's critical that people understand what is being done by police officers, because what is being done is being done in the name of the public," said Hector Villagra, executive director of the ACLU of Southern California.

The app is targeted at residents of the most populous U.S. state, but ACLU chapters have launched similar mobile apps in at least five other states, including New York, Missouri and Mississippi over the last three years.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/...0NL2SK20150430

Everyone should have this app, hopefully it gets implemented in all 50 states.

[Endus]

Transparency should be one of the most important things to a police force. Police acting in secrecy, behind closed doors, is how you end up with the nightmares of police states.

I'm all for this kind of stuff. Cops should have zero expectations to privacy while on the job.

[dextersmith]

This much needed app sounds brilliant. If the phone is confiscated during recording, will it still save and send? Can cops use your phone to auto log in to servers for file deletion?

Why is it illegal to record cops in some places? They shouldn't have anything to hide. How else would you protect yourself?

[Dsonsion]

I don't see why this is a problem. The more things are recorded, the closer people can get to the truth. Both cops and citizens can film only the parts they want, so if there's more than one party recording, the facts can be reconstructed more faithfully.

[PC2]

Sounds good, but there should be punishment for anyone recording within a certain ft radius of cops in action. Crowding causes tension to increase, non-involved parties need to obey a lawful distance.

[lockedout]

Sounds good, but there should be punishment for anyone recording within a certain ft radius of cops in action. Crowding causes tension to increase, non-involved parties need to obey a lawful distance.

Not recording in a certain foot radius because there is already a law that handles this. When you add recording then it gives cops an out. If you're to close to police when they are conducting an arrest you can already be charged for interference. No need to add anything about recording.