By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – The sheriff and the prosecutor have set aside an evening to talk with citizens, answer their questions and listen to their concerns.
Sheriff Rob Snaza
It takes place next month in Toledo, as part of their series of town meetings around Lewis County.
Lewis County Sheriff Rob Snaza and Prosecutor Jonathan Meyer conducted their first such gathering in March in Salkum.
Meyer called the first meeting successful and indicated he enjoyed it.
“Transparency in the prosecutor’s office is important and I am happy to share our successes and challenges with the public we serve,” he stated in a news release.
Snaza called it a great opportunity to have a conversation with citizens.
“Partnering together to address community issues is paramount to keeping Lewis County a safe place to live,” Snaza stated.
Prosecutor Jonathan Meyer
The two elected officials plan to continue with similar meetings in various other communities around the county throughout the year.
Snaza, who is just beginning a four-year term, is introducing himself and his office to the people in other ways as well.
Earlier this month, he hosted what he called “A day in the life of the sheriff’s office” by inviting 10 people to spend a Saturday touring his facilities, and engaging in hands-on activities such as lifting fingerprints and participating in a shoot-don’t shoot simulation.
What: Town Meeting with Lewis County Sheriff Rob Snaza and Lewis County Prosecutor Jonathan Meyer
Where: Cowlitz Prairie Grange, 5184 Jackson Highway, Toledo.
When: Wednesday June 24, 2015
Time: 7:30 p.m.
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For background, read “Sheriff, prosecutor talk about changes in crime fighting efforts” from Sunday March 29, 2015, here
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter
I have a few questions about the body cameras which I think they should all be wearing.
1. Who determines what info can be released to the public? If an officer is interviewing a sexual assault victim the questions get very personal and descriptive. Does just anyone have the right to request that and sit at home and watch the victim? I say no way.
2. Do the officers have a way of turning them on and off? Do they get to go potty with privacy or does everyone get to watch as the officer is in the bathroom during their shift?
3. Do officers have to inform every citizen they come into contact with that they are being recorded and do people have the right to request not to be recorded?
It would be interesting though to see if the videos citizens release of interactions with police match the officers. It has been shown that many of the videos released to the media showing officers “bad”actions are often times shortened versions or altered.
There is no doubt that policing in the 21st century will include body cams and eventually officers will be so used to wearing them it will not be controversial. If people act in a professional way, as if they are being recorded all the time, there would be no issues. We can expect some level of human errors in judgments as police are human too but the culture of policing will change.
It has changed from the early days of policing where confessions were beaten out of people and it will change with the advent of the body cams. They will serve to protect good cops against false allegations as well protect citizens from bad cops.
Sorry I got long winded. I am off my soap box now haha.
I’m going out on a limb here, but I’m guessing the same answer as each time someone asks about cameras. They will come into service when each department can afford them. The cameras are affordable, the data storage and personal required to maintain all that data, including data retrieval for FOIA requests are huge. Can you imagine the costs just from Bo asking for every traffic video every weekend?!
Good question would be when are all of the officers going to be outfitted with body cameras, police crime is out of control right now.
Good Deal.
It should be much better attended at 7:30 than the middle of the afternoon.