DESOTO, TX—
Everyone is watching. In increasing numbers, millions of smart phone owners are using their phones to watch and record police actions and arrests.When Occupy protesters were arrested by Dallas police, a bystander used a phone to record the demonstrators being hauled off to jail. In Fort Worth, when police tasered a man, someone rolled video using a cell phone.
"We don't mind being watched by the public," DeSoto Police Captain, Ron Smith, said.
Smith says the officers in his department are comfortable being scrutinized by smart phone users.
"The generation coming into police work uses these themselves, so they are used to it".
The videotaping isn't without new challenges. In New York, a woman was arrested and charged with violating eavesdropping laws when she recorded police making an arrest. Civil rights advocates say the move violates the woman's 1st Amendment rights.
But, police are watching and recording in new ways too.
Officer Roderick Tasby was one of the first on the DeSoto force to wear a video camera the size of a garage door opener, clipped on his chest. He says most people don't even notice it. But, the camera records every domestic violence call and traffic stop.
"It really protects us in the long run because when we do get complaints or go into an investigation, we can use it as a backup."
More than 1,000 police departments across the country now use the Vievu recording device to capture details surrounding major events, like police-involved shootings.
But, the new technology too is sure to raise privacy concerns from those who don't realize they are being recorded.
"I don't like it at all," said Ed Black, who was pulled over for a broken tail light.
Like it or not, most agree the trend will only grow and may actually be a good thing.
