MC69TA
07-25-2005, 04:12 PM
LAPD Recruits Computer to Stop Rogue Cops
NewsMax.com Wires
Sunday, July 24, 2005 LOS ANGELES - Dogged by scandal, the Los Angeles Police Department is looking beyond human judgment to technology to identify bad cops. This month, the agency began using a $35 million computer system that tracks complaints and other telling data about officers - then alerts top supervisors to possible signs of misconduct.
The system is central to a federal oversight program ordered by the U.S. Justice Department after a wave of abuse allegations in the 1990s cast doubt on the LAPD's ability - and willingness - to police itself. ......
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"I don't think any single thing will solve problems with the Police Department. But this could go a long way toward doing it," said the Rev. Cecil "Chip" Murray, an activist and former pastor of First African Methodist Episcopal Church, an influential congregation in South Los Angeles. The system, developed by Sierra Systems Group Inc. and Bearing Point Inc., mines databases of complaints, pursuits, lawsuits, uses of force and other records to detect patterns that human eyes might miss or choose to ignore.
Now, anyone whose conduct differs sharply from their peers' automatically gets flagged. That could mean a vice detective who fires significantly more shots than other investigators or anti-gang cops with a high number of excessive force complaints.
Some rank-and-file officers fear the tracking system could mistakenly tag hardworking personnel and hurt their careers.
"How many times do you have to get triggered before they slow you down, transfer you, and you get a bad reputation?" said Gary Ingemunson, independent counsel for the union that represents LAPD officers. "The subtle message is: stay in the middle of the pack. Don't stand out."
Union lawyers also argue that bad cops could game the system by curbing their activities just enough to avoid being detected, while good cops might hesitate in life-and-death situations due to concerns about getting flagged. "A lot of hesitation could get somebody killed," Ingemunson said.
http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2005/7/24/110004.shtml
NewsMax.com Wires
Sunday, July 24, 2005 LOS ANGELES - Dogged by scandal, the Los Angeles Police Department is looking beyond human judgment to technology to identify bad cops. This month, the agency began using a $35 million computer system that tracks complaints and other telling data about officers - then alerts top supervisors to possible signs of misconduct.
The system is central to a federal oversight program ordered by the U.S. Justice Department after a wave of abuse allegations in the 1990s cast doubt on the LAPD's ability - and willingness - to police itself. ......
...
"I don't think any single thing will solve problems with the Police Department. But this could go a long way toward doing it," said the Rev. Cecil "Chip" Murray, an activist and former pastor of First African Methodist Episcopal Church, an influential congregation in South Los Angeles. The system, developed by Sierra Systems Group Inc. and Bearing Point Inc., mines databases of complaints, pursuits, lawsuits, uses of force and other records to detect patterns that human eyes might miss or choose to ignore.
Now, anyone whose conduct differs sharply from their peers' automatically gets flagged. That could mean a vice detective who fires significantly more shots than other investigators or anti-gang cops with a high number of excessive force complaints.
Some rank-and-file officers fear the tracking system could mistakenly tag hardworking personnel and hurt their careers.
"How many times do you have to get triggered before they slow you down, transfer you, and you get a bad reputation?" said Gary Ingemunson, independent counsel for the union that represents LAPD officers. "The subtle message is: stay in the middle of the pack. Don't stand out."
Union lawyers also argue that bad cops could game the system by curbing their activities just enough to avoid being detected, while good cops might hesitate in life-and-death situations due to concerns about getting flagged. "A lot of hesitation could get somebody killed," Ingemunson said.
http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2005/7/24/110004.shtml