Controversial Web Site Rating Police Officers Hits Internet
Posted: March 13th, 2008 03:45 PM PDT
CHELSEA PHUA
Sacramento Bee (California)
It's a Web site where you can tell the world how a cop has treated you, but law enforcement officials fear it could become a place for anti-cop sentiments to flourish -- or worse, a source of information that could endanger an officer's life.
RateMyCop.com, launched in late February, lists by name 140,000 police officers and sheriff's deputies from about 450 law enforcement agencies across the nation, including the Sacramento Police Department. Users can search by name or by badge number. It contains no personal addresses or phone numbers.
Rebecca Costell, co-founder of the site, said RateMyCop.com isn't anti-cop. It aims to promote greater accountability: Good cops get the praise they deserve and bad cops are exposed for their misdeeds, she said.
But providing easy access to officers' information on the Internet can pose a risk to their safety and that of their families, law enforcement officials said.
"All of our officers are very concerned when it appears that their personal information may become more publicly accessible," said Detective Mark Tyndale, vice president of the Sacramento Police Officers Association.
Law enforcement officers fear that cop-haters or criminals will smear an officer's good name with false accusations or stalk and physically harm the officer.
Tyndale said the online roster could be used to post personal information, or as a starting point to obtain it from other sites or databases.
This could lead to solicitation schemes, harassment, identity thefts or assaults, said David Mastagni, a lawyer who represents the Sacramento Police Officers Association and the Sacramento County Deputy Sheriffs' Association.
"There is no legitimate public interest of having the identity of every single police officer in California listed on the site," Mastagni said.
Police Officer Brent Meyer, SPOA's president, said the public can submit feedback to the department using its Web site. Citizens with complaints about an officer can also contact the Police Department or the city's Office of Public Safety Accountability, he said.
Co-founder Costell defended the site.
"We just want to provide an active forum where the public can work cooperatively with law enforcement and provide feedback on their service," she said.
Users are asked to rate an officer from "poor/terrible" to "exceptional/good-natured," and if the officer used authority appropriately and was fair. Users are asked if they were satisfied with the outcome of the incident.
So far, most Sacramento police officers have not been rated, but most who have received positive reviews.
One user said a Sacramento officer was exceptional and very professional, even though he issued the user a citation. One praised an officer for being an asset to the community.
Costell said her organization cares about the safety of peace officers and some of them may have misunderstood what the site is about.
In her letters to 1,000 agencies nationwide, submitted under public records acts, Costell asked for information that is already publicly available -- names or badge numbers written on a traffic ticket to identify the issuing officer.
The letters did not request information on officers who require anonymity, such as those on undercover assignments.
Users will have to register with a valid e-mail address to leave a comment, and the comments are monitored, Costell said.
Threats will be censored, and in more serious cases, reported to authorities, she said.
"People can be angry," Costell said. "But they can't make personal attacks."
Tyndale said it's naive to assume the site would not be susceptible to abuse.
"Even something that's put out there with good intention, but can be used to unfairly destroy our reputation or credibility -- we are going to do everything that we can to oppose it," Sacramento Detective Tyndale said.
Sacramento County Sheriff John McGinness said cops safeguard their privacy for good reasons -- many have been stalked by people whom they have arrested or put behind bars. Even a minor traffic citation can tick someone off, McGinness said.
"It's important for me and the system to afford some confidentiality for the officers and the sensitivity to the environment in which they work," he said.
However, a spokesman for the Peoria, Ariz., police and fire departments said nothing on the site appears to be risking peace officers' safety.
He also noted the neutral contents of the site.
"I didn't see anything that I thought was detrimental to law enforcement on the site," Mike Tellef said. "This site is nothing more than a blog."
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