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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11-09-1999 Articles IOWA TODAY · The Gazette. Sun.. Oct. 31. 1999 Police go to video In provide -car cameras protec on, ev ence Police sold on idea By Steve Gravelie G ze,te. Sun.. Oct. 999 ,^. GAZETTE EDITORIALS 0 PINION Camera a useful tool · "" ' for law enforcement A! PRESIDENT of the union representing Iowa ity police officers, Officer Dan Dreckman has lament about using vehicle-mounted video cameras to help resolve citizen accusations against officers. (See the story by Lynn Teffi, on page lB.) "Our word isn't worth anything anymore," Dreck- man told The Iowa City Gazette. "It has to be recorded. That's too bad." It is, indeed, too bad. Unfortunately, it's another example of declining public respect for au- Cameras, which have thority. But it illustrates the advantage of official- proven to be such an dom to, in a word, be effective law prepared. enforcement tool in .The cameras, which the years they have have proven to be such been used by the Iowa an effective law enforce- Highway Patrol and ment tool in the years they have been used by other agencies, can, in the Iowa Highway Pa- fact, protect officers trol and other agencies, from bogus beefs by can, in fact, protect offi- cers from bogus beefs by angry "customers." angry "customers." Yes, there is the possi- bility a cop will be caught on tape doing something stupid, ff not illegal. It is good when they are caught, because such people shouldn't be in law enforcement. More important, however, are the times when the camera captures circumstances of a high-speed chase, a belligerent motorist, or, merely by its presence, provides a deterrent against attacks on officers. Ask officers in other jurisdictions, such as Hiawa- tha and Cedar Rapids. Because the camera doesn't lie, it is believed two legal challenges to arrests have been averted in the few weeks Hiawatha officers have had them. Word in Cedar Rapids is that there are more convictions and pre4rial plea agreements since videotaping of stops began. The cameras have multiple uses. Iowa City Police Capt. Tom Widmer, for example, told of using them to verify, before having them towed, thai vehicles were illegally parked. Takes a lot of the steam out of an irate owner who has just bailed his car out of the impound lot. Knowing Iowa City's efficiency for dispensing all manner of parking tickets -- not the least of which involve overtime parking -- they'd better not start filming those violations. The department's ba,lget couldn't afford enough cameras. Icon asks Iowa City at-large and District C city council candidates about everything from the PCRB to First Avenue Dee Vanderhoef and Char- I con talked to the at-large candidates lie Major, on the other hand, for Iowa City City Council (incum- are unwilling to commit to bent Dee Vanderhoef and challeng- such a suggestion. In fact, they ers Charlie Major and Steven Kan- are holding their counsel until net) and the District C candidates the board's mandatory review (incumbent Dean Thornberry and in two years. "We're doing a challenger lrvin Pfab) and presented each with good job with the police force, the same five questions: What would you like but we could do better," to see happen to the Police Citizens Review Vanderhoef, the~ incumbent, Board in the next term? Does downtown need said. "1 support it until we have more parking? Do you support a total review." Major said: a referendum to pay for ex- wtJuld like to see us make the pansion of the public library process easier, but it seems to and what fore, would you like be working well." Along the that expansion to take? same lines, he added: "I like Should Iowa City do more to what they're doing in some curb urban sprawl? And, final- ways. In others, I want to give ly, do you support extending them more power, and there First Avenue through to North are some things 1 would never Dodge? let them have, like the power to see police At.large candidate Tim tiles and personnel records." Borchardt was unavailable DistrictC for comment. For Thomberry, one of the major concerns re- 1. What would you volves around the board's cost to taxpayers. -- like to see happen "The PCRB in 'ts first life has, I believe, heard in the neighborhood of nine complaints with to the PCRB? 28 allegations, and only two of those allega- The Police Citizens Review r tions were sustained," he said. "It has spent Board (PCRB) is a council-appointed body about $87,000, although we anticipate that created after Iowa City artist Eric Shaw was figure going down to $70,000 a year" Thorn- fatally shot by a police officer in 1996. The berry said that the absence of sustained allega- board can sustain or dismiss citizen com- tions means "we've proven plaints about the police based on informa- we have a very good police tion revealed to the board by the police department." He said he chief's investigations, does, however, support the At-large board's continued existence "if it's not going to be too From the beginning, the limit of the board's expensive." power has been fiercely negotiated. Green Pfab said that police Party candidate Steven Kanner would like to officers, like other members broaden the range of its power. "I'd like to see of the community, need to the board be able to recommend specific pun- be held accourltable for their ishments," he said. "Right now it can't by or- adJons. And to his mind, he dinance. It can r~commend general actions, said, the PCRB doesn't have but beyond that, I want to have them be able enough power yet to accom- to recommend disciplinary actions that would be appealable to the city council." plish that. "The community should have the right to get the information it needs ine parties, and hopefully their well-thought-out recommen- dations and decisions will be followed,' tie said. Thursday, October 7, 1999 Page 0 To serve and protect, despite perceptions The UI Department of Public Safety confronts the challenges of gaining .~ ...... respect. By (?.il Levy/The Daily lowan With almost twice as many arrests during the 1998-99 school year when compared with the previous year, some UI students and Iowa City residents are feeling the effects of the UI Department of Public Safety's attempt to establish itself as a recognized police force. But even with the higher number of arrests, students' perceptions of the department are slow to change. "They just seem like rent-a-cops," said UI sophomore John Hagaard. "I don't see the point of Public Safety; they're cops, but they're not." An increase in the number of liquor-law citations, from 93 to 288, and drug offenses, from 43 to 91, reflects the department's new attitude on law enforcement. Public Safety Sgt. Larry Langley said the change may be a result of reorganization in the Public Safety administration, new officers with better definition of duties and more encouragement. "There was a dramatic increase in arrests because officers were taking more initiative," Langley said. Questioning authority Even though Public Safety officers undergo police training and regularly keep up their certification, just as do Iowa City and Coralville police officers, an officer wearing the light blue uniform is not necessarily taken as seriously, said Chuck Green, the director of Public Safety. "It happens all the time that people question our authority," he said. "There's confusion in the name; we're Public Safety officers, but essentially, we're full police officers." The Public Safety has 30 full-time officers with arrest power, the same as municipal police officers, he said, and they carry out such duties as criminal investigations, domestic calls and traffic stops. The Iowa City Police Department has approximately 75 officers Some students say that Public Safety officers are not taken seriously, believing that people don't know the jurisdictions and responsibilities of Public Safety. "It's my belief that it is our responsibility to help people to understand," Langley said. "We serve the UI community and the Iowa City area because we're fully sworn police officers; we have the same training" Even al{er being told that they have the same authority as police officers, some students still laugh at the 107999 18AM idea of Public Safety officers enforcing the law. "They don't even have a gun; I think it's funny," said UI freshman Rick Hogan. "They questioned me at my door once, and I told them to go away." Tools of the trade Public Safety is the only campus police agency in the Big Ten whose officers do not carry sidearms, Green said. The Board of Regents of the state of Iowa may be reluctant to allow them to carry firearms because it does not want to add more guns to college campuses. "I'm not certain why," Green said. "1 think any law-enforcement official should include the tools to do law enforcement. Unfortunately, in this day and age, arms are tools." Iowa City Police Chief R.J. Winkelhake said parts of his department's job, as well as Public Safety's, would be made easier if Public Safety carried sidearms. Currently, Iowa City police are needed to assist Public Safety in the event of an armed confrontation. "More than 200 years of history say it's not a good idea," he said, referring to Public Safety's lack of sidearms. "I don't believe it's reasonable" Students at the University of Michigan generally respect public safety officers, said Michigan senior Anish Wadhwa. "You think more highly of them if the situation called for a sidearm; they'd be able to do something instead of just stand there with a nightstick," he said. Nine years ago, the Michigan Department of Public Safety added firearms to its officers' equipment. "If you're going to have police officers, you equip and train them as officers," said Bill Bess, director of Michigan Public Safety. "That includes weapons." Green said he is pleased with the UI administrators for giving him the opportunities to speak to them regarding the addition of firearms. But it is ultimately the decision of the regents whether officers carry sidearms, he said. The regents made the decision a long time ago, said Regent Clarkson Kelly, though he didn't know the reasons behind it. "I don't have a problem with firearms," he said. "lfthey have the same training, I don't see why they shouldn't have them." Although Public Safety officers do not carry guns, they are armed with defensive weapons, such as a PR 24 nightstick and OC spray (pepper spray); they wear body armor as well. The Department of Public Safety at Iowa State University is not permitted to carry firearms, either Its officers carry similar defensive weapons "Students view you more as a security guard," said ISU Lt. Steve Hasstedt. "People are surprised when they get a citation or are arrested." 7999:18 AM