Whiny Bitches

I am referring to the San Diego Police Department, who has a sad because they will be required to reveal the technology that they use to spy on their citizens, because cops are always about, "Accountability for thee, but not for me."

They don't want any sort of civilian review of how they do their business, because the police believe that they should not be subject to any sort of accountability by the citizens whose taxes pay their salaries.

The term for what police want is a police state:

There’s very little that seems to anger public servants more than mandates requiring them to serve the public. For years, the San Diego police department has expanded its surveillance programs. And for years, these expansions have gone unchallenged.

But now that the city has passed an ordinance requiring more direct oversight of police activity, cops are singing the thin blue line blues and claiming the public has no business overseeing the business of public agencies. The cop pushback against slightly increased accountability has begun, as David Hernandez reports for the San Diego Union-Tribune. (h/t Michael Vario)

After years of work to create oversight of surveillance technologies in San Diego, an ordinance that will govern how the city uses the technology received final approval from the City Council this week.

The work began after residents learned in 2019 that the city had installed a network of about 3,000 cameras on streetlights three years earlier, and police used the technology to investigate certain types of crimes. Some residents expressed concerns over potential civil liberty violations and over-policing, particularly in communities of color.

Under the ordinance, the City Council must approve the use of technology that can monitor and identify individuals. City staff members will need to issue reports that outline the intended use of such technology, and the public and a newly created privacy advisory board will be asked to weigh in.

I know, this seems pretty anodyne, allowing civilian review of what sort of technology is being purchased by the police department, and how it is being used, but the police don't see it that way:

But this minimal push towards accountability has been greeted by the San Diego Police Department (SDPD) as a declaration of war on the department. Cops may have guns, badges, and a shitload of power, but any time someone demands a little more accountability, police officials make it clear cops have the thinnest skin and the most extreme sense of entitlement.

San Diego police Capt. Jeffrey Jordon said the department uses a host of technological devices that will require approval, including body-worn cameras, polygraphs and forensic lab equipment.

“I’m not aware of any other cities in America that have to report out this many pieces of technology,” he said.

If there is anything that the past 100 years or so of professional policing has shown us, it is that police cannot be be trusted with these decisions.  They will always abuse these powers for their own benefit and their own convenience.

That is what the whole corrupt "Thin Blue Line" is all about.