Cops
criticized for 'misuse' of databases
With
just a couple of keystrokes, a cop can go from curiosity to a felony
Police
databases such as the Law Enforcement Automated Database System, or LEADS, are
supposed to be used solely for law-enforcement purposes -- running the license
plate of a suspicious driver, for example.
But
sometimes, like any other trove of information, it's misused. Officers can use
the databases like their own Facebook, or worse. In some cases, those trusted
with keeping the public safe have used the databases to get revenge.
"We're
all taught from the get-go as to what the system is legitimately to be used for
and what the ramifications are if you do misuse it," said Lt. Anne
Ralston, spokeswoman for the State Highway Patrol.
Since
January 2011, the patrol, which oversees LEADS, has received reports of 45
possible violations. Seven were unfounded, and 10 are still under review. Some
of the reports appear to involve innocent mistakes, such as a dispatcher
helping a caller by giving him information from the system.
Other
times, officers use the database to help themselves, such as the police officer
in Highland Heights, near Cleveland, who ran the identification number of a
Corvette he was buying to find out whether it had been stolen.
Then
there are the more malicious cases, including the Cincinnati police officer who
was convicted of unauthorized use of a computer, a fifth-degree felony, after
looking up a woman's information and stopping her vehicle more than a dozen
times. A police officer in Lucas County threw items into the front yard of two
people he looked up through LEADS. He resigned and forfeited his peace officer
certification to avoid criminal charges.
Criminal
cases are rare. Of the 28 violations found in the last year by LEADS, just four
were classified as criminal. Three more are pending in Delaware County, where
three deputies are charged with unauthorized use after looking up an
acquaintance and the wife of a man with whom one of the deputies had a dispute.
In
addition to LEADS, officers have access to the Ohio Law Enforcement Gateway
System, a Web-based system that provides real-time information about
investigations and safety plans across the state. The state attorney general's
office has received reports of 192 potential incidents of misuse since the
start of 2011. More than 30,000 people statewide have access to the system,
with 3.2 million searches performed last year
"Typically,
misuse is predominantly curiosity-driven and not malicious," said Dan
Tierney, a spokesman for the attorney general's office. He acknowledged that
easy access to the system, in cruisers, on smartphones or anywhere else with an
Internet connection, can make illegal searches tempting.
Before
the prevalence of laptops in cars and Web-based systems, officers would have to
call in a license plate or name over the radio. Now, it's as simple as a Google
search. And that has made it seem more covert, said Mark Drum, of the Fraternal
Order of Police.
"I'm
not going to call in my mom's license plate, knowing it's going to go out over
the air," he said.
But
officers should think of system searches that way. The system tracks who keys
in each inquiry.
Agencies
also need to make sure their employees are trained, Drum said, to prevent
misuse of the database. He said an officer might run his elderly mother's
license to see how she's been driving and wouldn't think of that as misuse. But
it is.
While
there are plenty of groups focused on police brutality or other injustices, few
civil-rights groups appear to focus on this more-prevalent form of law-enforcement
overreach.
"One
of the reasons we're concerned about law enforcement or any other organization
keeping databases is that, by collecting the information, it becomes a honey
pot for people who are simply curious or have a bone to pick," said
Rebecca Jeschke, a spokeswoman for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a
digital-privacy advocacy group based in San Francisco.
Delaware
Police Chief Russ Martin, current president of the Ohio Association of Chiefs
of Police, said having these databases at the fingertips of law-enforcement
officers is crucial. Taking away the databases won't solve the problems, which
are few and far between, he said. Instead, it will put the community at risk if
officers don't have the best level of information.
"I
understand the concern of the private citizen that the potential to abuse the
sharing of information is out there," he said. "We have to, on some
measure, trust that police officers are doing the right thing in the field. And
when they don't, they should be held accountable."
Had enough? Write to the Speaker of the House, U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, DC 20515 and demand federal
hearings into the police problem in America.
Demand mandatory body cameras for cops, one strike rule on abuse, and a
permanent DOJ office on Police
Misconduct.