TRANSPARENCY IN POLICING- THE KEY TO BUILDING AND KEEPING THE COMMUNITY’S TRUST
Transparency in Policing- The key to building and keeping the community’s trust By: Ron Camacho, Chief of Police, Chambersburg Borough Police Department
PA CHIEFS OF POLICE ASSOCIATION
Police agencies can be secretive and mysterious. They have their own culture, and have even been known to practice peculiar initiation rites, indulge in unique forms of dress that separate them from the rest of society, and their specially developed language leaves many baffled. Even a person, who solely reads crime novels and does nothing but watch television crime dramas, still does not fully understand what it takes to police day-in and dayout. Even with “technical advisors,” most tv shows and movies get much wrong. While I’m sure the advisors are usually telling the actors, directors, and producers what is realistic and what is not, Hollywood has a different mission. That mission is not reality; it is to entertain, which typically overrules realism. I know many tv and print reporters whose main news beats for over twenty years have been crime, yet they still fail to fully understand the culture of law enforcement. The bottom line is: if you have never worn the badge it is really hard to understand all that comes with that immense responsibility. Unfortunately, we the law enforcement community, have not done a great job of explaining and showing the public what we do, why we do it, and, most importantly, who we are. Because of these factors the public, the media, and our politicians are left to speculate on the current state of policing. Often their speculations are wrong and wholly misinformed, but damaging nonetheless. The best and only way to combat these false narratives is by embracing a philosophy of openness called TIPTransparency in Policing. Why is it that police organizations feel that every bit of information they possess is a secret? I am not speaking about investigatory information that will impede the
In a world where conspiracy theories abound and the public has reached a boiling point over both accurate and mis-perceptions of police, if we were to “pull back the curtains” and let the fresh, cleansing power of transparency shine in those dark places, we can illuminate any issue with honest and truthful responses. solving of a case, hinder its successful prosecution, or leave an innocent person convicted in the press. Nor am I talking about specific protocols that are tactical in nature, even though the amount of knowledge regarding police TTPs known to the public is shocking. Due solely to his love of video games, my 17-year-old son and I can have meaningful and informed conversations on room clearing tactics and weapon systems. What I am referring to, and what the public wants to know, is why and how police officers and law enforcement executives make their decisions. What are we thinking and what is driving us? In a world where conspiracy theories abound and the public has reached a boiling point over both accurate and mis-perceptions of police, if we were to “pull back the curtains” and let the fresh, cleansing power of transparency shine in those dark places, we can illuminate any issue with honest and truthful responses. This is transparency in action and the
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