CMPD RELEASED 2012 CRIME STATISTICS

CHIEF MONROE’S STORY PROMOTING 24-HOUR SURVEILLANCE

During a 1/23/13 press conference, Charlotte’s Police Chief Rodney Monroe announced a 9.5% increase in violent crime for 2012, but according to WSOCTV, “Monroe hopes technology put in place for the DNC will help bring that number down this year.”

Monroe went on to say the new Command Center had already helped close a murder case this year when “On Jan. 7 officers in the Hickory Grove Division were investigating a homicide on Farm Pond Lane. When police arrived, they found Monte Gay shot, and he was taken to the hospital, where he died.  Witnesses pointed police to a man named Bret Samuels, who was on electronic monitoring, and records showed he had been in the area of the shooting at the time.  Within two hours, police had a suspect in custody.”

Here are a couple of problems with his rationale:  1) The Command Center has been up and running for much of 2012, but crime statistics are up 9.5 % anyway, and 2) Electronic Ankle Bracelets have been in place and monitored for years.  If electronic monitoring is what caught the homicide suspect, it would not have required the DNC-funded Command Center.

2012 CREATIVE CRIME STATISTIC REPORTING

While it’s great that there were three less murders in 2012 than in 2011, much of the credit probably goes to paramedics and hospital staff—and to quick response of police officers responding to get those who were shot or stabbed to medical help.  The statistics on attempted murder are rolled into lesser charges.  Statistics for everyone who lived through 2012 in Charlotte are less encouraging:

Murders decreased 5.5 %

Rape    increased 4 %

Robbery  increased 12 %, with Armed Robbery increasing 14 %

Aggravated Assault  increased 9 %

Burglary is reported as down about 9 %

Larceny Totals are reported as  increasing about 6 %, with

Shoplifting  increasing over 18 % *

Vehicle Theft  Increased 2 %

Arson decreased 0.5 %

Overall:

Violent Crime Reported increased 9.5 %

Property Crime Reported increased 1.8 %

HOW MANY MURDERS WERE THERE IN 2012?

It’s hard to say what numbers are being reported.  If you examine the individual division numbers per CMPD’s site and add up the 2012 murder totals for each of 13 divisions, they total 49, not the 52 total given for the City for the year.  If three murders were committed somewhere outside of Divisions, but included in the totals, then what does that say about the validity of the rest of the crime numbers?  Or is there some other explanation for these two numbers not matching?

Similarly, adding up rapes reported among divisions brings a total of 205, but the City total is reported as 219.  There are 1635 robberies added up, vs. 1798 reported as the total.  Etcetera.  

Since CMPD is basing their reported increases and decreases in crime on these numbers, an explanation is in order.  If the total number of crimes reported as 38,014 for 2012 and 36,980 for 2011 are based on faulty, misleading, or just unclear reports or calculations, that needs to be clarified or corrected.

FREEDOM DIVISION: PINS FOR BEST 2012 CRIME REDUCTION

Chief Monroe applauded the Freedom Division for crime reduction and gave out pins to commemorate accomplishments.  Monroe said the Freedom Division demonstrated the best overall reduction at 3.5%.  However, violent crime was up 22.5% in Freedom, with Robbery up 31%, Rape up 8%, and Aggravated Assault up 22%.  Murders dropped from 4 in 2011 to 1 in 2012, and Burglary and Larceny statistics were way down.

COMPARE TO PROVIDENCE DIVISION, 2011 PIN WINNERS FOR BEST CRIME REDUCTION

Last year, Monroe began his pinning tradition by awarding them to Captain Martha Dozier and the Providence Division for a drop in 2011 reported crime statistics.  Now her 2012 Crime Statistics show:

Murders increased 67 %

Rape increased 30 %

Strong-armed Robbery increased 38 %

Aggravated Assault increased 12 %

Residential Burglary increased 11 %

Shoplifting increased 55 %  

with overall larceny increasing 6 %

Vehicle Theft increased 4 %

Arson increased 233 %

NOTE SIGNIFICANT INCREASES THIS YEAR IN SHOPLIFTING REPORTED

* The marked increase in reported shoplifting must be considered.  Last year, Citynewswatch reported the little-known SHOP (Shoplifting Offender Project) program employed by CMPD that seemed to be a way to keep larceny numbers off the books.  Inquiries to the State, FBI and CMPD to get accurate Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) statistics required by the FBI and other agencies hit dead ends in many cases, but maybe there was an internal response.  Only a full audit will tell for sure, but it would be a big coincidence if suddenly 20% more incidences of shoplifting started occurring after the diversion program was exposed.  Maybe it’s just a sign of the economic times or law enforcement focus.

If you read this SHOP post, you will see that the 2008 and 2009 CMPD Annual Reports have been removed from the web, and have not been returned.  Those are the first two years of Rodney Monroe’s tenure as Police Chief in Charlotte.  Why have they been removed?  What information is problematic?  2005, 2006, and 2007 are still present. 

PUBLIC STILL IN THE DARK

Watch Commander Logs, Significant Event Logs, and other major public crime information Chief Monroe had removed from the web site still hasn't been restored, and it doesn't look promising it will ever happen.

TOP SECRET STRETCHING

Millions have been spent on the DNC-funded “Command Center” used to install video cameras, microphones and “Shot Spotter” microphone systems, along with extra License Plate Reader's, or LPR’s (cameras that capture and store the locations and actions of tens of thousands of license plates of innocent travelers as they look for a few possible violators).  Monroe still won’t release any Operating Procedures for these devices, who is authorized to use them, who is authorized to access the data, how long it will be stored, whether the data is being uploaded to any outside agencies or companies, or what the total costs are.  There is no data to substantiate the use of this equipment or data, and now Monroe is claiming the old electronic monitoring ankle bracelets are part of the new technology—making any claim necessary to associate catching a murder suspect with his expensive Command Center.

The CMPD and City STILL have not released dollars spent on this “top-secret” technology for security reasons, according to Police Chief Rodney Monroe and recently-retired City Manager Curt Walton.  Tax payers were told they had to wait until after the DNC Convention first week of September, 2012, ended to be told how the security dollars had been spent.  More than four months later, is there still a security threat to the visiting dignitaries last Fall?

No.

The finances for security spending still haven’t been disclosed.

Charlotte City Council, um, Budgeting and Planning?

Kevin Siers of the Charlotte Observer published this today after Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx made a preemptive offer to the Charlotte Panthers NFL to give away more tax money to fund fancy upgrades to benefit owners of the privately-owned stadium.  

Many on City Council have also indicated they are considering it. 

Kevin Siers from the Charlotte Observer 9/21/12

At a time when Charlotte is under the heaviest tax burden in the state, our elected leaders are salivating to fork over more of our money, with big talk about a Superbowl future as well, while also putting off important safety and education projects for lack of funding.

Council already voted to spend millions to buy the closed-down Eastland Mall.  They said it was for purposes of consolidating the property so it could be redeveloped as a whole, but now Councilman Patrick Cannon told WSOCTV "he'd like to see multiple buyers, thinking it could become something like the Ayrsley area, with homes and businesses."   It is not a comparable site.  This is not the plan City Council said they were promoting, whether it would be more or less successful than the movie studio plan that was promoted.


Beth Pickering seems to be volunteering more money up front as well, making these comments to the Observer:  "Pickering said she’s open to the city taking a greater financial role in the project, in possibly paying for the mall’s demolition. 'The devil is in the details but I’m open to that.' ”

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/09/21/3544914/movie-exec-pitches-150-million.html#storylink=misearch#storylink=cpy

When will voters demand responsibility and make a change?

Charlotte’s “Leaders” Rake in Big Raises; Don’t Want to Enact Own Special DNC Ordinances

MANAGER AND ATTORNEY GET RAISES IN WAKE OF NEW ORDINANCE

City Manager Curt Walton and City Attorney Robert Hagemann each received 6% raises in a year that most other city employees have received a maximum of 3% increase.  Police and Fire first responders finally received a 3% raise, but have still only received the 1.5% “cost of living” increase (hard to say if this is accurate after so long without a raise, and so many increases in health care and other costs).  Step Pay increases have not been paid yet.

Police are on mandatory 12-hour shifts right now protecting the city and visitors during the Democratic National Convention pre-events and for upcoming events.

While Walton and Hagemann were chiefly responsible for drafting and approving new ordinance for the city, and the City Council and Mayor voted approval, it’s written in such a way that has already been challenged in court: and lost.  See link to the full ordinance at the end of this article.

Protesters who had erected tents in front of City Hall earlier this year after the ordinance was enacted had been charged with Obstructing and Delaying a police officer.  A judge dismissed the charges.

MAYOR FOXX TAKES TWO STEPS BACK--AND PAYS FOR PORT-A-JOHNS?

“Our goal continues to be striking an appropriate balance between freedom of expression and the safety of all concerned,” Mayor Anthony Foxx said in a statement September 3rd, talking about Occupy Charlotte campers in Mecklenburg County-owned Marshall Park (Source: Charlotte Observer).

Is that Mayor Foxx’s way of saying they won’t stand behind an ordinance he pushed for?  

This is an ordinance the City spent enormous resources to develop and enact in anticipation of this specific event: the DNC 2012 Convention, which Foxx championed for Charlotte.  Now it seems the ordinance and enforcing it may be embarrassing for the party that keeps pronouncing itself “the most open and inclusive party.”

Commissioner Cogdell says “… If public health or safety issues arrive I am confident law enforcement will move quickly to remove people from Marshall Park.” *

What was the point of enacting an ordinance to begin with if there was no health or safety issue to address?  The ordinance, as written, was misguided from the beginning and Foxx and company are taking steps away from it for now.  

Torrential downpours and lightning are likely keeping down crowds, but the City further confused issues with installing port-a-johns on site at Marshall Park.  It will be a really hard argument to make that the "violators" aren't allowed to camp there when the City is aiding them by paying for port-a-johns.  Taxpayers will be further losers as County and City Attorneys we pay for would be fighting it out if anything goes more wrong.

Leader among the protestors Michael Zytkow says “The understanding right now is that during the time of the DNC, the police won’t be breaking any of our camps down.” *  No details are given on what type of understanding that is.  The understanding is in contradiction of the ordinance passed by City and County government specifically with preventing camping at the DNC 2012 Convention in mind.

Another protestor was “asking people to vote for her so she could abolish the government and give the White House to poor people.” *

COUNTY CONCERNS ABOUT A COUNTY PARK

Bill James is perturbed the CMPD won’t enforce the law which was specifically enacted for this “extraordinary event,” giving sole and extraordinary power (some would say potentially not constitutionally sound power) to one man, City Manager Curt Walton, to declare times and locations as “extraordinary events.” James stated in an email to Police Chief Rodney Monroe:

 “While I understand that some folks are trying to thread the needle by allowing these fringe elements some access, it is troubling to see that the police would allow ‘camping’ after elected bodies took heat and did the right thing and banned camping some months back.” *

*(QUOTES SOURCE: CHARLOTTE OBSERVER Sept. 1, 2012 here by Cleve Wootsen, contributors Steve Harrison, Ames Alexander, Bruce Henderson and Joe Marusak )

City Officials, presumably with the approval of Curt Walton, have abdicated responsibility to Police Chief Rodney Monroe to decide whether to enforce any ordinances now. 

SEE THE ORDINANCE HERE

HERE is the “Extraordinary Event” Ordinance, passed on January 23, 2012 in anticipation of the DNC 2012 Convention. 

WHY DON’T CITY OF CHARLOTTE POLITICIANS WANT TO ENFORCE THEIR DNC ORDINANCE?

For now it seems the low number and actions of the current protestors are more easily tolerated than that potential backlash to the reputation of Charlotte’s “political leaders” if they were to actually enforce the ordinance they wrote.

Why did City Council, the City Manager, City Attorney, and City Staff, Chief Rodney Monroe, and so many other City employees spend endless hours drafting and enacting a new ordinance specifically for this event only to toss it aside?

Is the answer because it’s embarrassing?  Possibly unconstitutional?  Probably shouldn’t have happened in the first place?  Makes references to individual officers having to divine the thoughts of people who are walking around before they can determine whether to begin attempting an arrest—risking their own personal liability as well as the City’s? 

Was it a huge waste of political time and taxpayer money, all to throw their weight around?

MEANWHILE, FRONTLINE OFFICERS ARE CHARGED WITH ENFORCEMENT

The FOP #9—the Fraternal Order of Police local—has reportedly stated their intent to protest during the DNC.  Most officers that have been in touch with Citynewswatch have emphatically said that any connection with active duty officers will not be protesting.  Aside from all officers working 12 hour shifts, nobody wants to kill their careers by speaking up against Monroe’s practices, or those policies of the City Manager or the City of Charlotte.  It will be interesting to see how many retired or other outside connections will be able to speak up for officers effectively and what they have to say.

One clue is the certified EEOC complaint that is progressing.  Another is the Judge’s ruling that has already happened, finding the City/CMPD did not follow due process in the case of a now-retired, now-former RAC Sergeant who was #1 in the City when she was demoted. 

There are other indications that will be in future columns.

More information can be found in an open letter about a review the FOP mentions on their web site and the implications for pay.  They want a seat at the table to talk about compensation and it sounds like they can’t get a meeting with the right people to talk about it with City of Charlotte Officials.

From the FOP web site, part of their open release states:

The purpose of this memo is to provide you with the FY12-13 pay plan recommendations formulated by the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #9 Fair Compensation Committee.  The recommendations were a

result of numerous discussions and meetings with our members and personnel and warrant your consideration.  

.  .  .

The mission of the Fair Compensation Committee is to provide CMPD Officer’s and Sergeant’s a voice to discuss and recommend issues to our leadership involving pay and benefits.  As in the past, pay and benefits stand at the core of our mission.  Crime has significantly declined from 2007 to 2011.  There are a number of reasons for this which ultimately is a direct reflection of our leadership.  From this reduction, we believe that the City has attracted a number of organizations and events to stimulate our economy and community.

.  .  .

The City of Charlotte is hosting the Democratic National Convention later this year.

Any officers, city officials, or citizens who have information or comments are encouraged to write to citynewswatch@gmail.com or comment below.

First Phase Over, but WHY Demote Sergeant Hatley?

It took $111K in her attorney’s fees, another amount yet undetermined from the extremely expensive outside firm of Robinson, Hinson, & Bradshaw hired by the City of Charlotte to defend the suit (unsuccessfully) filed by former Response Area Command Sergeant Tammy Hatley regarding a lack of due process when she was unfairly demoted after 28 of her 30 years of service as a dedicated CMPD officer.

In addition, there were many hours of internal billing for attorneys that work for the City & CMPD, and countless other hours of CMPD & HR personnel time to have a judge explain to Police Chief Rodney Monroe that he must follow due process dealing with his employees.

While the monetary award directly to Sgt. Hatley was only $12,000 of back pay after all of this expense and time, it is a proper victory to be sure but a difficult to understand fight against her own department.  That’s because even now, no one from her Chief Rodney Monroe to City Manager Curt Walton or any other representative has given any explanation as to why this happened to a 30-year veteran officer who received nothing but glowing and excellent PRD's (Performance Review and Development) her entire service and earned the respect of many officers she trained and worked with.  The only issue that developed was a sudden and seemingly artificial complaint from command in the midst of great crackdown on crime in one of the high-crime neighborhoods in her Response Area which Hatley credited to the hard work of her team, as always.

Strange, Sudden Orders to Change PRD's?

See below the summary of events submitted, and it defies any rational explanation.  RAC Sgt. Hatley had the #1 Crime Statistics out of the 39 RAC’s in the City, but was reamed out at a Compstat meeting for two things:  1) She and her team had merely arrested 7 armed robbery suspects since the last Compstat meeting (and the crime statistics had stayed the same in burglary in the neighborhood of Enderly Park, rather than dropping—but did not increase) and   2) The Deputy Chief also berated her because she was not familiar with a Crime Bulletin that was emailed.  The problem is, that Bulletin had been sent to a completely different RAC who was sitting next to her but remained silent at the meeting with the DC.  It was identified later, but damage done.

These hardly seem reasons to change someone’s performance rating after 28 years from “exceptional” to “marginal” to “unacceptable performance” then force them out of their job, move them to a third shift position, and demote them to a different rank.  All of these things happened to Sgt. Hatley.  Also, she did not receive incentive pay and longevity pay she should have been eligible for 2010, which will affect her retirement.

Here is a summary of events submitted regarding Tammy Hatley:

Timeline of Issues Regarding Performance Probation and Demotion

9/17/08:    Signed yearly PRD for the performance period 7/7/07 through 7/5/2008.  Rated as Exceptional Performance.    The next review date was scheduled for 7/4/2009.

9/18/08:    Promoted to the rank of RAC with no change in PRD rating period.

7/4/09:     Captain Bellamy did not complete a PRD during 2009.

3/10/10:    Captain Bellamy came to my office and gave me a PRD for the rating period of 7/5/08 through 7/3/09.  He rated me as Performance Exceeds Expectations and had no conversation with me regarding concerns for my job performance.

3/19/10:    I was called to Major Graue’s office and told that Capt. Bellamy and she had generated a PRD rating me as marginal and placing me on performance probation for the next 90 days.  I was given a list of expectation and told I would receive feedback from Capt. Bellamy every two weeks regarding my progress.

4/12/10:    Capt. Bellamy came to my office and gave me the back page of a PRD and told me sign it stating that he was told to change my evaluation from “marginal” to “unacceptable performance” to have me placed on performance probation.  I was not given a copy of the entire evaluation or the page I signed.  I later obtained a copy of this evaluation from Human Resources and found that no performance dimension in this PRD was rated at unacceptable.  Only the back, and I assume the front, pages had been changed.

During this time I sought medical attention for the extreme stress I was suddenly being put under with no notice.  My physician completed the appropriate paperwork for me to take 2 weeks of sick leave.   I received a copy of the FMLA Eligibility and Designation Notification to the Employee approving my time to be recorded as FMLA.  This form was dated 5/4/10.

4/23/10:    Major Graue met with me to discuss my progress.  The document stated “Sgt. Hatley has shown significant improvement in the areas that Major Graue and I (Capt. Bellamy) asked her to focus on.”  The document listed five positive behaviors and no negative one.  It further stated “I (Capt. Bellamy) would like to commend Sgt. Hatley for seizing the opportunity to improve while demonstrating a positive attitude.

No further communication took place with Major Graue (who had been promoted to DC) or Capt. Bellamy until sometime after the June 10^th Compstat.  The document is not dated but states “This is the second review with RAC Hatley for her Performance Probation.  Sgt. Hatley has continued to show improvement in the areas that Major Graue and I asked her to focus on.”  Four positive behaviors were listed.  One negative comment was made as the result of the Compstat.  The final comment is “I would like to comment Sgt. Hatley for seizing the opportunity to improve while demonstrating a positive attitude but encourage her to continue to seek new ways to address ongoing issues in the Enderly Park Community.

6/16/10:    Chief Monroe approved the request from DC Putney to have me relieved of my assigned.  His memorandum to the Chief is dated 6/8/10.

For the year to date crime reduction ratings among the 39 City response areas, 

RAC Sgt. Tammy Hatley’s area was ranked #1

with a 28% reduction in part one crimes for the period of 1/1/10 to 6/13/10.

Three days later, Chief Monroe approved her removal from assignment and demotion.

Grievances, Policies & Procedures

Sergeant Hatley had tried to file a grievance with the City of Charlotte HR department before filing a lawsuit, but was instructed to wait until the end of the 90 day performance probation period.  She has filed a grievance now, but he City continues to drag their feet in responding.  Maybe a several hundred thousand dollars in expenses and the loss of an excellent officer and trainer aren’t sufficient yet to cause a review of Monroe’s policies and procedures.

Several officers have complained off record of the “new” policies from CMPD management that “PUSH AND DIRECT” management are leading to some bad decisions within CMPD, and bad outcomes.  Threats, transfers, and demotions are not a good way to way to run any organization, especially one so critically dependent on teamwork and communication for survival—literally.

Thirty Years of Service Deemed Exceptional (until someone ordered otherwise)

Tammy Hatley was a SWAT Negotiator for 22 years.  Since she was promoted to Sergeant in 1998, she worked one of the most challenging areas of Charlotte as Patrol Sergeant, then Administrative Sergeant, working her way to a 24 hour/day RAC Sergeant position that Monroe credited with bringing down crime across the City.  He later claimed the positions weren’t real positions, but that has been proven wrong by Hatley’s lawsuit—a precedent now set for other RAC Sergeants. 

Hatley worked for many different supervisors and always received excellent reviews.  As a supervisor, she has earned respect of those she trained, helped them achieve status as #1 crime reduction in some of the toughest areas of town, and helped many go on to be selected for specialized positions.          

Maybe an Internal Affairs complaint would be the best way to discover possible lack of truthfulness and/or failure to follow Policy and Procedure issues with Captain Bellamy, Major Graue, and Deputy Chief Putney, regarding letters requesting a demotion and related items.  The IA process would instigate an investigation into the promotion/demotion/transfer processes used and determine what prompted Hatley’s apparent targeting.  

Sgt. Hatley reflects now, “I would just have liked to have retired as an employee who did a good job for thirty years.  If nothing else, I hope those officers that I worked with and supervised over the years learned something from me.”

Sgt. Hatley deserved respect for the way she conducted herself on the job.  She deserved a paycheck, fair treatment, and answers to what was behind the decision to change her stellar performance reviews from “Exceptional” to “Unacceptable” after 28 years--at someone’s instruction.  

Why?

Charlotte City Budget Woes

There’s no point to try to write something better about the City Council vote tonight than what Pundit House already compiled.  Check out several in-depth articles at www.PunditHouse.com, especially City Budget Bunglers from June 15^th,

Foxx and Walton have previously argued a tax hike is needed to fund projects that would stimulate investment in low-income neighborhoods and bolster property values there, reversing what Walton has called an “unsustainable” trend that leeches about half of the city’s property tax base from its northern and southern suburbs.

Also, so many people enjoyed the Muppets Mashup in last week’s post of Tom Waits’ “God’s Away on Business” that citynewswatch offers another fitting distraction to consider in the midst of the Charlotte Budget Battle via Brainpickings:  Can you imagine a more perfect illustration of “JETTISON” at a better time?

"The project is part Radiolab Homage To Words, part Johnny Carrera’s Visual Dictionary Of Curiosities, and altogether wonderful." -- Maria Popova of Brainpickings.com

TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS

MONDAY NIGHT’S CITY COUNCIL MEETING SURPRISED MAYOR FOXX

Mayor Foxx’s temper was on display when his nearly $1 Billion CIP that would have resulted in a tax increase was voted down by a 6 to 5 count at Monday’s City Council meeting.  If you missed the action live or live feed, you can watch the video here.

There is also a document to the right which has some agenda details. 

Time will tell whether this vote was purely political or if the Council is serious about forcing City Manager Curt Walton to make sensible cuts.   


Mark Pellin of PunditHouse.com has an astute analysis and comments from City Council here.   He included an explanation that this proposed budget included "$119 million to extend the streetcar project line by 2.5 miles.  The initial 1.5 mile leg of the streetcar is scheduled to open in 2015.  The whole 10-mile streetcar line would cost upward of $450 million to build and an estimated $1.5 million a year to operate."     

MEETING MINUTES STILL FOUR MONTHS BEHIND

You can see here that the City Clerk has not updated the City Council Meeting Minutes since February 20^th, 2012.  This is completely unacceptable when the minutes are supposed to be available promptly to the public.  What excuse is there that they are four months behind? 

This issue has been brought up before by Cedarposts.blogspot.com, who received no response from the City Clerk when asking about the delay back on March 26^th.  At that point, minutes were merely 16 weeks behind in the bloated City Manager’s department.  After Cedar’s inquiry to City Clerk Stephanie Kelly and a plea for assistance to City Councilman Andy Dulin, nothing happened. 

Several months have passed and the Clerk is… still 16 weeks behind.

You can search for any video or agendas, by date or keywords here, but having the written documents available is important.

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT

After you have enjoyed Mayor Foxx saying the Charlotte City Council has “just become Washington” and is “disgusting,” enjoy something else…

Take a break with this video.  Maria Popova curates a great site called Brainpickings.org.  Here’s a warning:  If you enjoy creative exploration of science, history, music, design, art, technology, and innovation of all types, you’ll have a hard time turning this site off.  Meanwhile, enjoy the dark side of the Muppets.

She introduces the video this way:

Remix culture is a frequent fixation around here and a central premise of my beliefs about combinatorial creativity. But while intellectual, academic, and legal debates about the role of remix in creative culture certainly have their place, the best way to appreciate the art of remix is through a brilliant manifestation. Case in point: Cookie Monster sings Tom Waits’ “God’s Away on Business” in the best mashup I’ve seen in ages.

“Who are the ones that we kept in charge?”

 “There's always free cheddar in
a mousetrap, baby
It's a deal, it's a deal”

Trolleys, streetcars, more to come.

LICENSE PLATE READERS ALL OVER CHARLOTTE, NO PUBLIC DEBATE, NO PUBLIC POLICY

SMILE, AMERICA.

Come to Charlotte for the Democratic National Convention in September, 2012, and you’ll likely be caught on many surveillance cameras, Department of Transportation cameras, and License Plate Readers mushrooming all over the City.

Total spending on all surveillance cameras, monitors, processors, data storage, IT personnel, maintenance, police and other personnel to operate the equipment, legal costs, and other costs are unknown at this time.  CMPD reports a “new $1.73 million video observation center” in addition to a new multi-agency Command Center similarly outfitted with surveillance and communication equipment.

Car-mounted reader like CMPD uses

Most recently though, Charlotte’s City Council approved $209,268 of Asset Forfeiture spending for License Plate Readers on March 26, 2012. 

Then on Monday, May 14, 2012, Council approved another $606,871 to be spent against a Federal USAI (Urban Area Security Initiative Grant) Grant to purchase automated license plate readers and related equipment from an existing unit price contract with NDI Recognition Systems as well. That contract was approved by City Council on June 9, 2008 and was for an initial three-year term with two additional one-year terms.  That money will be spent on:

·        Five automated license plate processors

·        37 cameras and cables

·        Related equipment

·        Installation

·        Maintenance

·        Site licensing

The new equipment enables CMPD to expand its use of automated license plate readers throughout the city.

The city’s explanation for the AF purchase includes:  Staff Resource: Harold Medlock, Police

  CMPD began using automated license plate readers in 2008 to capture license plate information and vehicle descriptions. The data is used for comparison against stolen or wanted vehicle alerts listed with the National Crime Information Center. The data has proven to be a useful investigative and predictive tool for police.

  Police want to appropriate $209,268 in assets forfeiture funds to purchase four mobile automated license plate readers and two portable “rapid deployment” automated license plate reader systems. These devices are an extension of the automated license plate reader system now being used in four CMPD patrol vehicles. The new technology provides more flexibility in deployment of the license plate readers.

Wording of “and predictive tool” indicates police will use stored data.  If they only stored data of known criminal activity, there wouldn’t be cause for concern.  However, the Automated License Plate Readers, called ALPR’s or just LPR’s, read and take in enormous amounts of data about the travels and associations of innocent citizens.

There was not one minute of public debate, information, or question in advance of these “consent” items to purchase and install surveillance equipment all over the city with absolutely no controls on their use.

There has been no mention in any network news or paper to be found about the installation of these stationary and mounted cameras all over Charlotte, collecting and storing millions of records of travel data of Charlotte’s citizens and visitors.

COSTS

The other interesting note in the city’s explanation for purchase is “The data ‘has proven’ to be a useful investigative and predictive tool for police.”   What use has there been to justify spending this money, nearly a million dollars, plus all the money dating back to 2008 on LPR’s?

May the citizens of Charlotte see this proof that is offered and discuss if it’s the best use of police funds?  Maybe the money could have accomplished the same license benefits and also hired more officers, provided wider training, better safety equipment for officers, raises, or some other good use.  It’s a lot of money.

WHAT’S HAPPENING WITH OUR DATA?

If you read this previous citynewswatch post, you saw that the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for mobile LPR operation is dated 4/29/11 and was only available by searching through a research institution’s web site.  This SOP for car-mounted LPR’s is not located on Charmeck.org in the same area as all other (known) SOP’s. 

There is no known SOP to cover stationary, mounted LPR camera units at all.  Since we are about to purchase at least 5 additional processors along with 37 cameras, you can bet CMPD is planning on collecting lots more citizen records, but they haven’t even proposed what they want to do with them.  No one has asked for any public input, debate or permission—except that City Council has already approved the purchase offline.

There should be debate about whether to store ANY data, and if so, for how long.  Any information not related to a criminal investigation should not be stored and should not be shared.  The car-mounted LPR SOP contains instructions that all records collected will be stored for at least 18 months, which is much too long.

Mounting the units in particular areas brings about yet a new dimension to privacy concerns because the police/government would then be choosing to target certain populations for monitoring and data collection.  If you happen to drive past one of these targeted area cameras frequently, your information will be accumulated faster than that of others.

CITYNEWSWATCH EXPOSED LPR PLANS, CMPD WENT ON PR CAMPAIGN

After citynewswatch exposed plans to purchase and install more cameras just before the very quiet City Council funding actions noted above, CMPD seemed to be on a PR campaign to tell us how much we need the LPR’s and how great they are.  They fed certain limited information to a local television station claiming the cameras were brand new and were being used because of a tremendous spike noticed the prior month in license plate thefts, especially in the North Tryon Division. 

However, no crime statistics were given for the report.  CMPD crime stats found elsewhere are not consistent with that statement.  It would be ludicrous to think they noticed a spike, put out and evaluated competitive bids, then installed and trained on new equipment within a month of “noticing a huge spike in license plate thefts” anyway.

And there is certainly information contradicting the “newness” of the cameras:

The PR campaign continues as CMPD Spokesman Robert Tufano sent out an invitation May 7, 2012.  It read in part:

On Tuesday, May 8, 2012, members with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department’s Auto Theft Unit will unveil the latest vehicle and tag reader donated to the CMPD by Nationwide Insurance. Nationwide Insurance has been a partner in our crime fighting efforts and this is the seventh vehicle Nationwide has donated to the CMPD over the last four years.

The donated vehicle and equipment will be critical tools that will assist our detectives in reducing the number of auto thefts in our community. Please join us on Tuesday at 2:00 p.m. in front of the Police Training Academy located at 1770 Shopton Road.

For additional information please contact Sgt. Rich Tonsberg at 704.336.2292.

CMPD really wants us to focus on car thefts and license plate thefts. 

PRIVATE COMPANIES SUPPLIED RECORDS BY LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENTS

In many jurisdictions, police collect our data and then upload it to a private company database where it is stored indefinitely, as well as used and shared without proper or agreed-upon restriction. 

This turns the government into an actor in the transaction with the private company obtaining our data and invading our privacy.  This is where Fourth Amendment concerns become most acute.  As you may have read in the last post on this topic, even when there was no agreement for this data upload to occur from police to private company, it has happened such as in Washington, D.C.

Many argue “license plates are property of the government and roads are public.”  Well, that’s true but not the correct point.  Creating a dossier of your activity—tracking your comings and goings—is not the business the government should be permitted to do for innocent citizens with no probable cause to believe you are involved in criminal activity. 


It’s not the mere observation, it’s the accumulation of data by state actors—compounded often by giving that information to a private company—that’s a problem.

The circumstances that would allow surveillance of this type or specific searches and seizures of people suspected of committing crimes require Law Enforcement Officers to SWEAR AN OATH of PROBABLE CAUSE in order to obtain a WARRANT for that activity.

Innocent people (and we are all presumed innocent) walking or driving around our home city or visiting another have the right to do that in privacy which includes relative anonymity.

EXAMPLES OF RECORDS CREATED

Vigilant Video is a private company who is compiling a massive private, national database called National Vehicle Location Service (NVLS), mostly filled with records supplied by Law Enforcement Agencies around the country—sometimes without permission—and storing them in their own, unregulated databases permanently.  Here’s how it works direct from a Vigilant Video presentation to Law Enforcement found in full here.

According to Vigilant Video,

40% of US Vehicle License Plates are Scanned Yearly.

Published reports state there are well

in excess of half a billion records in Vigilant’s database.

Page 2 includes emblems from interested parties such as the Richmond Police Department, Rodney Monroe’s old Stomping Ground, the Dept. of Homeland Security, the Department of Defense, the Department of Justice, and a number of finance companies:

Page 7 shows how extensive the information contained on an LPR RECORD is:  The scan takes in the license plate, records the driver’s location, date & time of scan.  This record collection happens whether or not the driver is a wanted criminal or suspected of criminal activity.  Most of the records created are of innocent drivers. 

Page 6 explains that data comes from UPLOADS from Law Enforcement

Page 9 shows how stationary mounted readers and readers in police cars gather data which is collected in a massive warehousing at a private company, Vigilant Video.

OFFICERS, LPR’s, and the CONSTITUTION

Most officers are being given the same line as the public is now fed: these are just efficient electronic checks for illegal behavior, such as stolen cars and plates.

Most officers, if asked to follow innocent citizens and record their movements for a year and a half with no probable cause to believe they are involved in criminal activity, would refuse that unconstitutional order.  They would also ask “why?”  

Just because it’s electronic eyes instead of human eyes, with data fed to an electronic data storage mechanism instead of an officer’s notebook, that doesn’t mean the Constitution should fly out the window.

Are officers who are being asked to feed data into the system unaware that’s what is happening?  Are they solely focused on the instantaneous check, ignoring the year and a half of data collection & storage?  By purchasing and using the LPR’s in the way designed by CMPD Policy, that is exactly what is going on.