Loyola’s Policing Los Angeles Series Looks at Balancing Interests of Body Cameras

The Loyola Law School, Los Angeles’s Policing Los Angeles Forum series panel will weigh the competing privacy and public-safety interests of police body cameras during a panel composed of enforcement officials, watchdogs and scholars on Wednesday, April 4, 2018 from 12-1:30 p.m. on Loyola’s downtown L.A. campus.  

The second in an ongoing dialogue on police practices, the “Police Body Cameras” panel will look at the rules and procedures governing the recording, usage and public release of footage in a way that serves all interests.

“Footage from body cameras is often important evidence when force is used,” said Professor Eric Miller, Leo J. O’Brien Fellow. “However, there can be unintended, far-reaching consequences based on who can access the footage and how it’s shared more broadly.”

Panelists will include Peter Bibring, director of Police Practices & senior staff attorney, ACLU of Southern California; Hamid Khan, campaign coordinator, Stop Police Spying Coalition; Capt. Chris Marks, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department; Cynthia McClain-Hill, Los Angeles Police Commission; and Lidia Nuño, assistant professor, California State University, Fullerton. Drawing on his extensive scholarship on police practices in shaping the discussion, Professor Miller will moderate with an eye on L.A. as a microcosm for what’s occurring beyond its borders.

"Los Angeles is the largest police district in the country,” said Professor Eric Miller. “So what happens in L.A. is significant for us Angelenos, but also of national and international significance.”

The event is open to the public free of charge and will be held in the Walter J. Lack Reading Room of Loyola’s William M. Rains Library, located at 919 Albany St., Los Angeles, CA 90015. Parking is available in the Loyola Law School, Los Angeles parking lot for the event.

The Policing Los Angeles Forum Series debuted in February 2018 with the panel “Police Policy-Making,” which looked at the benefits and drawbacks of law enforcement use of policy language created and maintained by private corporations. Find video of past panels and other information at www.lls.edu/policing.