COLUMBUS, Ohio – To strengthen the bond between Columbus police and the neighborhoods they serve, the city will explore the use of body cameras for officers, review how it handles internal-affairs complaints, and make permanent the community forums that Chief Kim Jacobs has held across the city in recent months.
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In announcing the plans Thursday, Mayor Michael B. Coleman said he believes that the relationship between city police and citizens is healthy in part because the division has recognized the importance of operating with as much transparency as feasible for a law enforcement agency.
But the division must not grow complacent, Coleman said, and more citizens must become engaged in police affairs for the relationship to move forward.
“This is a two-way street,” he said. “Citizens have an obligation to interact well with our police officers as well.”
Coleman will pick a committee to explore the cameras’ feasibility. But he says he’s concerned about possible privacy issues the cameras present.
The cost of implementation could also be an issue. Public Safety Director George Speaks says server space to store footage could cost up to $6 million.
His announcement came several weeks after the Ohio Task Force on Community-Police Relations handed Gov. John Kasich a similar blueprint for strengthening policing in Ohio. The task force — a team of citizens, legislators, clergy and law-enforcement officers — proposed better training procedures and first-ever standards for police agencies on the use of force and hiring.
Over the past year across the U.S., a series of controversial police-involved shootings and in-custody deaths have highlighted the strained relations between police and their communities. While Columbus has seen intermittent rallies by sympathetic protesters, the city has avoided the riots and violence that have erupted elsewhere.
“We really work hard at communication, and we’re taking it even a step further,” Coleman said.