I got a very interesting question that while it’s a top of mind issue here in Toronto Canada, is likely top of mind elsewhere.
IT Nerd, with all the apps out there, can you suggest apps that hold cops accountable when I get carded by them? I just want to make sure that I’m protected from anything that they might want to do to me, plus I want proof if things do go bad.
Thanks.
First let me explain what “carded” means.
Here in the City Of Toronto and in some cities and suburbs in the Greater Toronto Area, there’s been a practice called “intervention” or “street checks.” or “community engagement.” The name everyone else tends to use is “carding” as that is a reference to the contact cards police have been using for about 10 years to collect information about those who are stopped and questioned. Often without any reason to do so. This became a huge issue because of a series of investigative reports by the Toronto Star who highlighted that people stopped for the sake of “carding” between 2008 and 2013 were more likely to be African-Canadian than white and the vast majority of encounters did not involve an arrest or charges. Thus this by many people of African-Canadian heritage, along with a number of other visible minorities was seen as racial profiling. The practice of carding came to a head recently when the Ontario Government vowed to pass legislation to stop the practice. But many in marginalized communities feel that this will not stop “carding” from happening. Which I suspect is why this question has been posed to me.
In terms of specific apps that can protect you if you get “carded,” I had to do some research, but I came up with a few. Seeing as some of these apps are location specific, I’ve tried to cover as much geography as possible:
- Cop Watch Toronto: Available for iOS, The Cop Watch Toronto app provides the easiest way to create and upload videos about police-citizen interactions. Settings are available to have the app begin recording as soon as it is launched, and to upload video to YouTube automatically. The app also provides some handy reference material concerning your right to shoot these videos.
- Stop and Frisk Watch: Stop and Frisk Watch is a free app that empowers New Yorkers to monitor police activity and hold the NYPD accountable for unlawful stop-and-frisk encounters and other police misconduct. Available for iOS and Android.
- In other places in the US, the ACLU maintains a list of apps of this sort depending on where you live in the US.
- In London U.K., A collective of London-based youth clubs and organisations has released an app called Y-Stop for iOS and Android to allow people to record and report negative interactions with police.
The only thing that I would say that while it is legal (in Canada) to record your interaction with police, I have to wonder if this will simply antagonize cops at the other end of that camera. Which in turn may cause the situation to escalate negatively. Besides, isn’t the real problem the fact that some police officers regardless of where on the planet they happen to be seem not to be able to interact well with the public and that’s what needs to be addressed because apps like these don’t address that issue? Or am I looking at this wrong?
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This entry was posted on November 3, 2015 at 12:48 pm and is filed under Commentary with tags Civil Rights. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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Hey IT Nerd! Are There Apps That Hold The Cops Accountable When I’m Carded By Them?
I got a very interesting question that while it’s a top of mind issue here in Toronto Canada, is likely top of mind elsewhere.
IT Nerd, with all the apps out there, can you suggest apps that hold cops accountable when I get carded by them? I just want to make sure that I’m protected from anything that they might want to do to me, plus I want proof if things do go bad.
Thanks.
First let me explain what “carded” means.
Here in the City Of Toronto and in some cities and suburbs in the Greater Toronto Area, there’s been a practice called “intervention” or “street checks.” or “community engagement.” The name everyone else tends to use is “carding” as that is a reference to the contact cards police have been using for about 10 years to collect information about those who are stopped and questioned. Often without any reason to do so. This became a huge issue because of a series of investigative reports by the Toronto Star who highlighted that people stopped for the sake of “carding” between 2008 and 2013 were more likely to be African-Canadian than white and the vast majority of encounters did not involve an arrest or charges. Thus this by many people of African-Canadian heritage, along with a number of other visible minorities was seen as racial profiling. The practice of carding came to a head recently when the Ontario Government vowed to pass legislation to stop the practice. But many in marginalized communities feel that this will not stop “carding” from happening. Which I suspect is why this question has been posed to me.
In terms of specific apps that can protect you if you get “carded,” I had to do some research, but I came up with a few. Seeing as some of these apps are location specific, I’ve tried to cover as much geography as possible:
The only thing that I would say that while it is legal (in Canada) to record your interaction with police, I have to wonder if this will simply antagonize cops at the other end of that camera. Which in turn may cause the situation to escalate negatively. Besides, isn’t the real problem the fact that some police officers regardless of where on the planet they happen to be seem not to be able to interact well with the public and that’s what needs to be addressed because apps like these don’t address that issue? Or am I looking at this wrong?
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This entry was posted on November 3, 2015 at 12:48 pm and is filed under Commentary with tags Civil Rights. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.