Think Tanks: Police body cameras work for both sides

Police body cameras could work as an accountability tool for patrol officers and help protect them from false abuse complaints. Studies have backed up the advantages of using the devices, but with technology and data storage come privacy concerns. …

Mississippi Rep. Chuck Espy, D-Clarksdale, has proposed a bill for next year’s session that would have state taxpayers buying cameras for patrol officers.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Mississippi supports the use of body cameras for police, but it acknowledges issues to address.

“Body cams can be a win-win,” said Rebecca Curry, director of policy and advocacy at the Mississippi ACLU. “For police who have accusations filed against them, they can have a transcript of what actually happened. And if something went on with police misconduct, the public has a right to know, and [cameras] would assure accountability and transparency.”

Curry said procedures would need to be put into place to safeguard people’s privacy rights and give officers guidance about when to use the cameras and when to turn them off.

“I know the public might not be incredibly comfortable with you always being on film in any encounter with the police,” Curry said. “But there are some things we can do to put up some safeguards to protect the privacy of citizens, make sure the data is not retained too long and delineate guidelines for when a camera should be in use.”

Rankin County Sheriff Bryan Bailey said he supports the use of the cameras, but address the issues first, he says.

“It’s good idea and a good concept, but the body cam is the least expensive part of the process,” Bailey said. “What do you do with the video when it gets full? You have to download it somewhere.”

SCOTLAND MOVES INTO TIDAL ENERGY

Ari Phillips for ThinkProgress: The world’s largest tidal energy project, capable of powering nearly 175,000 homes in the United Kingdom with 400 megawatts of power, will break ground next month in northeast Scotland. Atlantis, majority owner of the MeyGen project, announced that its flagship project had met all the conditions required to start drawing down finance through the U.K.’s Renewable Energy Investment Fund.

The completed project will have 269 sunken turbines, according to Atlantis, which expects to have about 60 of these installed and delivering power by 2020.

In the announcement to investors, Atlantis said: “The major construction and supply contractors to this iconic project have commenced design, engineering and procurement works in readiness for commencement of onshore construction at the project site in Caithness in January 2015.”

Tim Cornelius, chief executive officer of Atlantis, said that Lockheed Martin’s project-specific 1.5 megawatt turbines were scheduled to be delivered on time for construction purposes. In November, the MeyGen project was awarded the first-ever Navigator Award at the International Conference on Ocean Energy, in recognition of the “project’s significant contribution to global marine renewable industry.”

Scotland is trying hard to harness all forms of renewable energy as part of its goal of generating 100 percent of its electricity demand from renewables by 2020. The wind-rich country is home to around a quarter of Europe’s total offshore wind capacity. In October, the Scottish government approved four huge new offshore wind farms that could produce more than 2.2 gigawatts of power, enough to power 1.4 million homes.

NO PANIC OVER LOSS OF TERRORISM INSURANCE

R.J. Lehmann for the R Street Institute: The news that Congress would adjourn without extending the $100 billion federal backstop offered by the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act was greeted with howls of shock and dismay from the affected industries.

The Property Casualty Insurers Association of America said it was “unconscionable” that Congress would adjourn without reauthorizing the 12-year-old terrorism reinsurance program.

The Risk and Insurance Management Society, which represents major buyers of commercial insurance coverage, predicted the “program’s expiration will have many negative repercussions for commercial insurance consumers, the countless organizations they represent and the U.S. economy as a whole.”

NAIOP, the trade association for commercial real estate developers, called failure to renew “more than a speed bump, it’s a stop sign.”

But a funny thing happened on the way to the panic. Despite headlines that blared the news would cause “chaos,” leave the “community stunned,” “bode ill,” “send shockwaves,” “wreak havoc” and “roil industry,” actual prices in actual markets certainly suggest most market actors appear to be treating the news as a big ole nothingburger.

Indeed, the gift Congress offered to markets this Christmas is that most rare of commodities: genuinely new and surprising information. As Manhattan real estate developer Douglas Durst put it to the New York Times: “Everybody expected this would get done,” he said, fuming. “These actions make it impossible to make investments in this country.”

One need not be a devotee of any particular variant of the Efficient Markets Hypothesis to recognize that an action which truly made it “impossible” to invest would be expected to be reflected in sharp and immediate declines in the share prices of those public companies most affected by the developments.

And yet, that’s really not what we’ve seen this past week. Instead, the market action appears to have been fairly modest, more reflective of the old trader’s adage, with respect to negative shocks, that one ought to “sell on the rumor, buy on the news.”

Compiled by Joseph Lawler from think tank reports.