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WPEC-TV CBS12 News :: News - Palm Beach County News - ACLU introduces smartphone app that secretly records police

ACLU introduces smartphone app that secretly records police

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Smartphones allow people to check email, Facebook and Twitter accounts, and now keep an eye on the police.

If you're traveling through downtown West Palm Beach, smile, your on camera. Police tell us they hope to add another 10 cameras to the 36 the city currently has installed since 2007. But can you turn the tables on police if they cross the line?

Jim Green: A lot of people believe if it comes down to the police officers word versus the citizens word, the police are going to be believed.

Jim Green is a former attorney with the ACLU. For years, the ACLU has tried to police the police, who infringe on your rights. Now, the ACLU's New Jersey chapter has introduced a smartphone application to allow you to secretly record the police.

Jim Green: With this app it gets uploaded automatically to an ACLU server.

That means it doesn't matter if the phone is taken away by police. The app's main feature is the ability to operate in "stealth mode." When you start video recording, the screen goes black. When recording audio, the app automatically disappears.

Allan Ortman: It's going to prove the police department is a professional organization.

Allan Ortman is a spokesperson for the West Palm Beach police department. Ortman says police have nothing to hide, but there has to be limitations.

Allan Ortman: There has to be some guidelines as to when they can be used and when they can't. They can't obstruct an investigation.

Florida law says you can tape public officials without their consent while they are engaged in their official duties in public places. But there is a legal question as to whether law enforcement falls into this category.

In 2009, Green helped Peter Ballance win a $100,000 judgement against the Greenacres Police Department. He was using a recording device as a way of coping with his form of autism.

Officers told Ballance to stop recording. He didn't. They took him to the ground and charged him with resisting arrest.

Right now, the app is only available on the Android, but will be available on the iPhone in August.ACLU introduces smartphone app that secretly records police

Thursday, July 12 2012, 10:56 PM EDT

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