It’s a sad fact that relationships between police and the communities they serve are, in some parts of the country, at an all-time low. There are various reasons why this is happening, but two of them are a lack of successful community outreach programs and the fact that when police need to resort to using force, there is rarely enough evidence to prove that it was necessary, at least in the minds of many people living in affected communities.
The Miami-Dade Police Department in South Florida is the largest police department in the southeastern United States. Officers there serve a diverse community of citizens as well as tourists visiting the vacation hot spot. And they have not been immune to the problems being faced by departments across the country, with officers sometimes making controversial decisions that can strain community relations. Miami-Dade is attacking that problem on two fronts, the implementation of VIEVU body-worn cameras for officers, and a new Community on Patrol (COP) app to allow citizens to better connect with police at any time.
Read the full column at 21st Century Tech Talk.