The Los Angeles Police Department is launching an internal investigation after the LA Times revealed the Amazon-owned security company Ring gave officers gifts and discounts while encouraging them to suggest the company’s products to community members.
An LA Times report found that Ring gave at least 100 LAPD officers “one or more free devices or discount codes and encouraged them to recommend the company’s web-connected doorbells and security cameras.”
The paper uncovered emails showing officers received tens of thousands of dollars of free and discounted electronics.
Even more worrying for those concerned about data privacy, Ring has video-sharing partnerships with more than 400 police forces across the United States, according to the Washington Post.
These partnerships allow police to request video from Ring for a specific area and time.
Ring has several home security devices, but one of its best-selling products is a video doorbell. Ring doorbells capture video within 30 feet of the door and can send an instant push notification to a device.
Andrew Guthrie Ferguson is a law professor and author of “The Rise of Big Data Policing.” Ferguson told The Post that Ring has found “a clever workaround for the development of a wholly new surveillance network, without the kind of scrutiny that would happen if it was coming from the police or government.”
Mohammad Tajsar, senior staff attorney with the ACLU of Southern California, told Ars Technica, “Ring and its relationship with police departments, including the LAPD, is but one example of a burgeoning problem in which there is a lack of clarity as to where the public sector ends and private surveillance capitalism begins.”
Though the police are not forcing homeowners to use Ring products, they are encouraging the use of Ring systems, which allow the department additional video to surveil. And according to The LA Times' reporting, officers within the LAPD are personally profiting from their ability to increase the number of homes using Ring.
An internal investigation conducted by the Professional Standards Bureau will look into possible violations of departmental policy.
According to the City of Los Angeles’ code of ethics for public servants, “Persons in the public service shall not… accept any gifts, gratuities or favors of any kind which might reasonably be interpreted as an attempt to influence their actions with respect to City business.”
When first asked about possible violations and presented with the email exchanges between officers and Ring, the department told the paper it did not believe officers violated agency rules.
Discount codes are “generally not in conflict with our Code of Ethics,” Det. Meghan Aguilar told the LA Times. “Of course, each situation is looked at on a case by case basis.”