All Over Albany

There's a community forum coming up with Albany's new police chief

Albany police chief Eric Hawkins

There's a community forum with Albany's new police chief, Eric Hawkins, lined up for October 16 at the Pine Hills Branch of the Albany Public Library. It's organized by the Albany Community Policing Advisory Committee (ACPAC).

Blurbage: "Chief Hawkins will discuss his vision for the department and listen to feedback from community members."

There's a lot to talk about regarding policing in Albany lately, from the recent flare up of gun violence, to the review of a police shooting of a man in West Hill this past August, to the rollout of officer body cameras, to the department's ongoing community policing efforts, to the concerns about traffic safety that often surface at neighborhood meetings.

And on top of all that, this could just be a good opportunity to learn more about the new chief and meet him in person.

The forum is Tuesday, October 16 from 6-8 pm at the Pine Hills Branch (517 Western Ave -- near the merge with Madison Ave).

The Albany Police Department has e-bikes -- they're still not exactly legal for the rest of us

Thank you, Home Leasing Construction who donated three pedal assist bicycles to the Neighborhood Engagement Unit this morning! Check out Chief Hawkins taking one for a spin on Madison Avenue. #Albany #CommunityPolicing pic.twitter.com/sIVE2sEvNe

— Albany Police (@albanypolice) September 12, 2018

Noted: The Albany Police Department has e-bikes, as that tweet above pointed out this week.

"Pedal-assist" e-bikes are the same sort of bikes that advocates had been trying to get formally legalized in New York State during the past session of the legislature. The push didn't make it over the finish line.

E-bikes are increasingly popular around the country because the little electric motor -- which kicks in when you pedal -- makes it easier to go up hills and maintain speed. So they can be helpful for people who commute by bike, have gotten a little older, and or have a physical limitation that might otherwise keep them from biking. (Also: They're really fun. Riding one feels a bit magical.)

You can buy the bikes in shops here. But they're still not technically legal because of state law. (New York City has pursued its own rules.) That not only puts them in a gray area for regular bike riders, it also means bike share systems won't hop on board with them here, even though the major bike share companies are heading in that direction other places.

Earlier
+ E-bikes stretch the idea of what a bike can be in interesting ways, but they're stuck in a gray area here in New York
+ Another push to get e-bikes up the hill to legalization in New York State

Albany has a new police chief, here's a quick scan of his responses to questions about how he'll do the job

The city of Albany has a new police chief. Tuesday night the Common Council approved Kathy Sheehan's appointment of Eric Hawkins to the role. (Update: He'll officially start the job September 5.)

Hawkins has been the police chief in Southfield, Michigan for the past six years. And the mayor has said he was selected in large part because of his experience with and focus on community policing.

Ahead of the Common Council appointment vote Tuesday, the council asked Hawkins a bunch of questions and his thoughts and approaches to policing.

Here's a quick scan of some of those questions, along with the answers from the new chief...

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A few thoughts about the Albany Police Department's new public data site

Traffic citations by patrol zone for Albany over the past year.

The Albany Police Department has gotten reports for 7,853 crimes over the past year.

It's cited 1,144 drivers for some sort of speeding.

And officers have used a taser 13 times during 2018.

Those bits of info are from a new public data portal the Albany Police Department unveiled this week. It includes 15 datasets that cover everything from arrests to traffic citations to documented interactions between officers and the public, much of that data coded by geographic zone. Press release blurbage:

"Throughout the years, the Albany Police Department has worked very hard to build trust, legitimacy and a meaningful relationship with members of our community," said Albany Police Chief Robert Sears. "The launch of this interactive online data portal reinforces this department's commitment to maintaining and improving residents' trust through transparency and accountability. It is my belief that by making data widely available, we will surely strengthen community partnerships, equip the public with real-time data, and allow the Department to define and achieve operational goals more effectively. I'm excited to share this new site with the Albany community and look forward to its success."

Data about what governments do -- and how -- is a wonky, but important topic. As we've argued before, having access to this sort of data is becoming a new civil right. And policing should involve plenty of public oversight.

Here are a few quick thoughts after looking around the new APD portal...

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Community policing and mental health first aid

The Albany Community Policing Advisory Committee (ACPAC) has a public event this Tuesday, May 22 at the Albany Public Library to talk about community policing and responses to situations involving people with mental health issues.

Specifically, the topic of the discussion will be mental health first aid. Joelle Monaco of the Mental Health Association of New York State will be the featured guest. And members of the public will have the chance to learn about how to identify, understand, and respond to signs of mental illness.

Mental health is an important topic generally, but it can be especially serious in the context of policing. How police officers and members of the public respond to someone with mental health issues can be a matter of life and death.

The ACPAC event is Tuesday from 6-8 pm at the Albany Public Library's Washington Ave Branch.

A few takeaways from one of the public forums about the next Albany police chief

Respectful. Fair. Open-minded. Humble.

Those were a few of the characteristics people said they'd like to see in the next Albany police chief during a public forum at the Albany Public Library Monday. It was one of three forums this week the city has been conducting as it starts the search for a permanent chief. And in a sense, the events are the start of the next chief's term -- whoever that might be.

"The more inclusive you are, the more community involvement you have, the more transparent you're going to be in your process and ultimately that provides legitimacy for the selection," said Gary Peterson of Public Sector Search & Consulting, Inc after Monday's meeting. He's assisting the city with the chief search. "And when you onboard the new chief they come in with the vote of the community, the community support. Versus if you completely exclude the community they don't have a voice, then the new chief is coming out with a strike against him or her."

Here are a few takeaways from what people had to say during Monday's conversation...

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Albany is looking for public input about the search for its next permanent police chief

The December 2016 announcement that former Brendan Cox was leaving the department.

The city of Albany has a series of public meetings lined up over the next week to get public input about the search for a new permanent police chief. Press release blurbage:

The City of Albany, along with a national search firm, Public Sector Search & Consulting, Inc., will host a series of community forums to provide Albany residents with an opportunity to share their thoughts on the personal characteristics and professional experience that are most important for the individual leading the Albany Police Department.

Here are the meetings:
+ April 15: Capital South Campus Center (20 Warren Street) - 3 pm
+ April 16: Albany Public Library Washington Ave Branch - 5:30 pm
+ April 17: Sidney Albert Albany Jewish Community Center (340 White Hall Road) - 2 pm

Albany has been without a permanent police chief since Brendan Cox left the department at the beginning of 2017 to take a job with a national organization that works on diverting people with addiction and mental health issues from the criminal justice system. The department's deputy chief -- Robert Sears -- has been serving as acting chief since then.

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The Albany Police Department is starting up its officer body camera program

One of the officer-worn body cameras that Albany police will be using.

Updated

A handful of Albany police will be routinely wearing body cameras starting this Monday, the police department formally announced Friday. APD will eventually be rolling out cameras to more than 250 officers in the months ahead.

The debut of the cameras as part of officers' regular gear is the culmination of process the department's been working on since 2015.

The cameras hold the promise of potentially adding increased clarity and accountability to interactions between police and members of public -- but they're not without limitations.

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Albany police planning to start using body cameras this summer

The crowd watching sample video at Tuesday's meeting.

The Albany Police Department has a plan to start deploying body cameras to all its officers this July.

The details of the rollout of the cameras -- and how they'll be used -- were the main topic of a presentation by acting police chief Bob Sears at an Albany Community Policing Advisory Committee forum at the Albany Public Library Washington Branch Tuesday evening. Sears also took a bunch of questions from the crowd in discussing the department's policy for the tech.

Here are a few more bits about the much-anticipated program...

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Albany police forum to talk about officer body cameras

From one of the public events last year.

There's a public forum Tuesday, May 23 to talk about the Albany Police Department's work toward using officer body cameras. The meeting -- organized by the Albany Community Policing Advisory Committee (ACPAC) -- is at the Albany Public Library's Washington Ave Branch at 6 pm.

The APD has been looking at whether/how to use body cameras for more than a year now. And last summer it released a draft policy last summer. And this past fall it began a pilot test of body cameras from four different vendors. The city has a federal grant to help cover the cost of an eventual program, which is expected to be expensive.

Police body cameras are an important topic. Advocates of the tech have touted the cameras as a tool for increasing accountability of police and helping to provide more certainty about what happens during interactions between officers and the public. But use of the cameras also prompts questions about privacy, perspective, and who gets to interpret the resulting images.

ACPAC has two public events about the issue last year -- both were well attended. And not only did people show up, they were ready with insightful, sometimes tough, questions for the department. So this is another opportunity to offer feedback.

State troopers in Albany

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What people are looking for in the next Albany police chief

Monday's press conference at City Hall.

The city of Albany officially announced Monday morning that police chief Brendan Cox will be leaving in January to take a job with a national organization focused on diverting low-level offenders suffering from drug addiction or mental illness from jail. (The Albany Police Department was one of the first departments to participate in this program, called LEAD.)

Mayor Kathy Sheehan said current deputy chief Robert Sears will take over as interim chief, and the city will start a national search for Cox's replacement.

Here's what a handful of elected and community leaders in the city say they'll be looking for in the next chief...

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Albany community policing and student neighbors

The Albany Community Policing Advisory Committee has a public meeting this Tuesday, October 18 to talk about community policing and neighborhoods in the city that have a lot of college students.

Blurbage: "Join the members of the Albany Community Policing Advisory Committee to discuss how community policing affects student neighbors. A brief presentation will be given, followed by an open floor for questions and comments."

If this is something you'd like to learn more about -- or say something about it -- this looks like a good opportunity to do so.

The meeting is Tuesday at 6 pm at the Ancient Order of Hibernian's Hall at 375 Ontario Street.

The Albany Community Policing Advisory Committee -- ACPAC -- is a group connected to the APD that's focused on building relationships and communication between police and the community.

Earlier on AOA: Imagining possible futures for the neighborhood around UAlbany's downtown campus

Albany moves toward police body cameras

APD chief Brendan Cox at the forum this week.

The Albany Police Department is moving toward testing body-worn cameras for its officers this summer.

That was one of the bits from an Albany Community Policing Advisory Committee forum this week that served as a progress report of sorts for the department's efforts to deploy the devices.

Here's a quick look at where things are at on the topic, along with a few takeaways from the meeting.

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Albany forum on police body cameras

The Albany Community Policing Advisory Committee is holding another public forum about the Albany Police Department's plans for using officer-worn body cameras. It's next Tuesday, June 14 at the Washington Ave Albany Public Library at 6 pm.

Event blurbage:

Following up on the very successful forum ACPAC held in February on this topic, ACPAC has invited the Albany Police Department to give a presentation on the progress they've made in developing Body-Worn Camera Program policies and procedures since the last forum. Following the presentation, ACPAC will invite attendees to provide further public comment on the developing program.

Here's a copy of the APD's draft policy of body cameras.

As alluded to in that clip, there was a similar forum this past February at which police leadership talked about some of the issues and complications related to body cameras, and members of the public had a chance to express their thoughts. It was an interesting event.

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Looking at the latest numbers from Albany's red light cameras

The Albany Police Department released the latest bunch of numbers from the city's red light camera system this week. And for the months of October, November, and December of 2015 the system registered almost 2,900 violations across 25 intersection approaches.

We've sifted and sorted the numbers in some easy-scan tables -- and a map.

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Thinking about police body cameras in Albany

Albany police chief Brendan Cox addressing the crowd at the start of the forum.

The Albany Police Department is planning to pilot test officer body cameras this summer, with an eye toward eventually expanding the program to the whole department. And the APD is facing a range of questions as it works out the details: When should the cameras be on? What should they capture? Who should get to see the video?

Those were some of the questions discussed at a public meeting to gather input about the topic this past Tuesday at the Albany Public Library main branch. As Albany police chief Brendan Cox told the media beforehand:

"[Body cameras] can seem very simplistic until you start getting into the nitty gritty and recognize that you're dealing with human beings, you're dealing many times with human beings in crisis, but then you're also dealing with human beings in just regular interactions. So you want to try to get it right. Because you don't want to set up false expectations, you don't want to hurt anybody, you don't want to cause any more trauma. So you really want to try to do your best to set up policies, to set up procedures, and to set up trainings."

The hope is, of course, that officer body cameras will provide more and better information about what happens between the police and the public -- from stuff like complaints about rudeness, all the way up to situations in which a person dies during an interaction with police, such as in the death of Dontay Ivy.

Members of the public at the meeting had a lot of questions about the program. (It sounds like both the police and the public are still sorting through what they think about the idea.) But there were also a lot of suggestions.

Here are four thoughts about the topic...

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Public event to discuss the future of police body cameras in Albany

The Albany Police Department and the Albany Community Policing Advisory Committee are holding a public event to discuss the use of body cameras this Tuesday, February 23 at the Albany Public Library main branch at 6 pm.

Blurbage: "Please join the members o the Albany Community Policing Advisory Committee to discuss the future of body cameras in Albany. A brief presentation will be given, followed by an open floor for questions and comments. ... Your voice is important. Make your voice heard and join us for this important discussion."

APD chief Brendan Cox will be there to give a presentation, according to an APD press release. Last fall the feds announced the city of Albany was getting a grant to help cover the cost of adding officer body cams.

Body cameras for police officers are one of those things that feel inevitable. Between the increased push for better evidence about what happens (or doesn't happen) during police-community interactions, and the falling price of the tech, it's not hard to see an eventual future where every police situation is filmed.

But. Technology is a tool, not necessarily a solution. That's one of the points made by an interesting review of body cams by the think tank Data & Society. A clip from a shorter piece about the review in The Atlantic -- "It's Not Too Late to Get Body Cameras Right" -- by two of its authors, danah boyd and Alex Rosenblat:

The temptation of technology as an accountability tool is not new, but accountability is not done by technology. Accountability is achieved by people and systems using tools like technology as part of their bureaucratic processes. There is effectively a global consensus that body cameras are a good thing to have because everyone has a different idea of what they're agreeing to, a different model of appropriate bureaucracy. The bureaucratic and political battles over policies of use, access, and retention are not yet resolved, and they are significant. Who gets to see the footage, and in what circumstances, will matter. The features and capabilities of the technology matter. What happens when the camera reveals more about what was in the officer's scope than what they could physically see at the time, especially at night? Or when cameras get additional features, like heat sensors? Even on basic practical questions, such as whether and when officers or the public should see the footage, there is no consensus.

So, there's a lot to think about to think about on the topic. And like almost all tech issues, it eventually comes back to how people act and the choices they make.

Scenes from the Dontay Ivy rally, and ideas for change

A protest shut down Henry Johnson Blvd for a little more than 10 minutes.

A crowd of approximately 200+ people gathered outside Albany police headquarters early Friday evening to protest the recent decision by an Albany County grand jury to not hand up indictments of the officers involved in the death of Dontay Ivy this past April in Arbor Hill.

The group Capital Area Against Mass Incarceration organized the rally, and the protesters issued a list of demands at the front doors of APD HQ:

+ That three officers involved in the incident in which Ivy died be fired.
+ That Albany County DA David Soares resign.
+ That the Albany police disarm, and stop using tasers.
+ And that Andrew Cuomo issue a response to the situation.

After the announcement of the demands, organizers called for an overhaul of the criminal justice system, which they described as systematically unjust.

"I feel like my family has not gotten justice," said Ivy's aunt, Celinda Okwuosa, to the crowd. She spoke of her nephew's life, including his struggles with mental illness. And she called for a change in police tactics, including an effort on their part to learn how to better relate to the different communities they serve.

After a few speeches, a group of protesters headed out to Henry Johnson Boulevard and shut down the street by lying down for 13 minutes, representing the length of time between when Ivy was first stopped by police and when he died. The protest then marched down Second Street to the spot where Ivy died.

Here are a few scenes from the protest, along with comments from a handful of people there about ideas for change that could help avoid another incident like the death of Dontay Ivy.

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Grand jury declines to indict officers involved in Dontay Ivy case

Albany County DA David Soares announced Wednesday afternoon that a grand jury has declined to hand up indictments on criminal charges for three officers involved with the incident in which Donald "Dontay" Ivy, an African-American man, died after being tasered this past April in Albany's Arbor Hill neighborhood.

Ivy, who suffered from schizophrenia and a heart condition, had gone to an ATM at an convenience store near his home that night when he was stopped by police. Officers said they had stopped Ivy because they believed he was acting suspiciously.

Details of the encounter are in a letter summarizing the DA office's investigation of the case that Soares says was sent to mayor Kathy Sheehan, and was also released to the public. It includes a narrative of the encounter -- of the stop, a search, a chase, the use of the taser, Ivy being subdued, Ivy's stopped breathing, and the EMS response -- built from comments by officers and what evidence the DA's office was able to gather.

It also reports that a forensic pathologist who examined Ivy's body -- Dr. Michael Sikirica -- concluded that Ivy had underlying heart conditions that "made him particularly susceptible to a heart attack brought on by the stress of the incident with the police." And in Sikirica's opinion, the taser did not cause Ivy's death, though it did contribute to the stress of the encounter.

The entire letter is embedded here...

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Albany red light camera intersection map

There's a larger clickable map after the jump.

The Albany Police Department released the final list of intersections for the city's new red light camera system Friday. There are 20 intersections in all.

Here's the list with some crash stats, along with a clickable map, and a few quick things and thoughts.

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On the road to Albany red light cameras

Among intersections that are candidates for red light cameras, Henry Johnson Blvd and Livingston was identified as having the highest number of crashes over a three year period.

Now that red light cameras have been approved for Albany, where will they be set up?

The Albany Police Department is currently sifting through traffic accident and ticket data as it prepares a list of 20 proposed red light camera intersections around the city. APD assistant chief Brendan Cox says the department is hoping to have the list ready by the end of December. Along the way, Cox says APD wants to share what it's learning about intersection crashes and tickets, as well as get public input about potential camera sites.

That was one of the aims of public information session about the program Tuesday afternoon. (There was another session scheduled for Tuesday evening at Albany High School.) Cox shared some preliminary data -- including a list of intersections that are among the sites currently up for consideration.

So, let's have a look.

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How would you rate this traffic ticket?

Starting this week the Albany Police Department is participating in a national study that includes what's sort of like a customer satisfaction survey distributed to people who come into contact with the police department. We get the feeling it's kind like those "rate this experience" surveys that show up on receipts at retail stores and restaurants.

From an APD press release:

As police reports are filed, a letter will be sent to community members asking them to take a survey. The survey is available in Spanish and English and can be taken either online, or by telephone. The online survey can be accessed through a computer or by scanning a QR code with a smart phone or tablet device. The letters will include a special code needed to participate in the survey and ensure that only one survey is completed for each encounter. No one asked to participate in the survey should be concerned that the information could be used in other ways. None of the information will be collected by the Albany Police Department since all survey responses will be managed by the [University of Illinois at Chicago] researchers. The results provided to the agency will not include any information identifying the individual responding to the survey or the officer involved in the contact. Police encounters that involve traffic accidents and stops, as well as most non-violent crimes, will be part of the survey. However, encounters that result from domestic violence, sexual assault, or juveniles will not be surveyed.

As the blurb notes, the surveys are part of an ongoing research project called the National Police Research Platform, which is based on at University of Illinois at Chicago. The APD's participation is part of a second phase for these community surveys that includes police and sheriff's departments across the country.

So why do this?

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Car crashes, snow, crime, and public data

A clip from a map of vacant -- and no-longer-vacant -- properties in Albany, created by Tim Varney last year. See below.

Lots of interesting bits in this Daily Gazette article by Kathleen Moore about how police in Albany and Schenectady are using data*. Here's a clip, about how Schenectady police have been paying closer attention to car crashes:

By tracking car accidents last fall, Schenectady police pinpointed patrols in the Mont Pleasant neighborhood and saw certain crimes plummet by 12 percent in the last quarter of 2012. They are using the same system to respond proactively to crime throughout the city, in hopes of getting similar results everywhere.

Maps of crashes, drunken-driving arrests and other traffic violations are overlaid with maps of crime reports. Police patrols are sent to the hotspots -- locations where traffic problems and crime are high.

"What we know is, the driver that's risky enough to drive drunk ... is often risky enough to take other risks," said federal Highway Safety Specialist Shannon Purdy. "A lot of criminals are caught at seatbelt checks."

A section about the Albany police department mentions how the APD is using weather forecasts to adjust patrols.

Also: Schenectady mayor Gary McCarthy is working with UAlbany's Center for Technology in Government to build a platform that would allow city departments to share code enforcement data (say, about code enforcement), and share it with Albany and Troy.

More, please

That common platform is a good idea. And it's worth pushing even further: Why not created a Capital District consortium for publishing and sharing public data? The org could help develop tools, set common formats, and provide a clearinghouse for sets of public data. It would open the way for more orgs and people to get involved, and even maybe set the stage for new businesses. (NYC is already doing something along these lines.)

Sure, there are obstacles: time, money, attention. And civil liberties issues will probably crop up along the way. But having meaningful access** to data generated by your government is becoming a 21st century civil right.
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* Yep, it's a Gazette article, but we have a feeling that link will work for you.

** A pdf that you have to file FOIL for is not meaningful access. It's a start, but we do a lot better.

Earlier on AOA:
+ A future timeline of Watson at RPI
+ Map: vacant -- and no-longer vacant -- buildings in Albany -- created by Tim Varney from data published in a city report last year

On the road on Long Island: APD police cars

Among the assistance that's made its way from the Capital Region to the greater New York City area for Sandy recovery: police cars. The Albany Police Department says it's loaned two of its cars to the Long Beach Police Department on Long Island (that's a photo of one of them on the right).

Long Beach is on a narrow strip of land on the south shore of Long Island, near New York City -- the storm knocked out power, contaminated the water supply, flood buildings, picked up vehicles, and pushed sand through the streets. APD spokesman Steven Smith says a majority of the LBPD's vehicles were damaged during the storm and the New York State Emergency Operations Center sent out a statewide request for police vehicles that could be sent to help. "Chief Krokoff felt that it was very important to assist them during this time of need."

Smith says one of the patrol cars the APD sent is a reserve car and the other was used for training at the police academy. He says there's an agreement to loan the cars for four weeks, with an option to extend the loan if the Long Beach PD still needs the vehicles.

photo: Trooper Patrick Sheufelt, New York State Police via APD

A hot commodity

Crime fact of the day: There have been 41 copper burglaries reported to the Albany Police Department in the last 16 months. The APD says 3/4 of the burglaries have been in vacant buildings.

The latest incident involved a vacant, bank-owned house in the Whitehall neighborhood. The APD says a man was arrested for allegedly posing as a contractor in order to strip the house of its copper piping. (Full press release after the jump.)

Copper thefts have been an ongoing problem as prices for the metal have spiked during the last decade. The problem has been so pervasive across the nation -- with thieves ripping off all sorts of piping and wire -- that the FBI reported a few years back that copper theft was a threat to the nation's critical infrastructure. The problem has prompted many states to recently pass laws that require stricter rules for how scrap copper can be sold or bought. [NYT] [FBI] [NCSL]

If you keep an eye out here in the Capital Region, you'll notice there's a copper theft story every week or so. Many of the stories have stuck out for either the audacity (and stupidity) of the people involved, or the consequences of the theft.

A few quick examples:

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