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Committee and KPD discuss records-management upgrade, Axon contract and social-media policy updates
Summary
PARC members pressed KPD staff about technology changes, an outside review known in the transcript as the "21 CP report," and how new systems will affect policy and community privacy.
PARC members pressed KPD staff about technology changes, an outside review known in the transcript as the "21 CP report," and how new systems will affect policy and community concerns.
Nut graf: Committee members asked how technology upgrades and policy revisions would affect oversight and community privacy; KPD said the RMS implementation and Axon contract primarily renew body-worn and in-car cameras and upgrade the records-management system, but that the RMS switchover will take approximately 18 months and related policy revisions will follow implementation.
Assistant Chief Powell and other KPD staff summarized the department's response to a multi-page external review (referred to in the meeting as the "21 CP report"). Powell said KPD identified older technology (an aging RMS) and pursued a request for proposals that resulted in an Axon contract. The department said upgrades addressed isolated policy language updates and pledged continuing review through a policy committee. Powell described an 18-month migration period for the RMS before the department can reliably extract new data points referenced in the external review.
Committee members raised social-media concerns including use of personal phones, public posts by officers, and whether KPD conducts proactive monitoring of officers' public social media. KPD representatives said the department maintains a social-media policy that is updated regularly, provides limited, city-issued work phones, and will investigate public social-media content that comes to its attention and that materially reflects poorly on the City of Knoxville or KPD. Chief Noel and Lieutenant Wilson were identified in the discussion as supporting aggressive investigation where public posts potentially violate policy. KPD staff said constitutional limits restrict access to private phones without consent, and that regular, proactive searches of private accounts are not conducted; however, material placed in the public domain will be reviewed and could prompt discipline.
KPD also addressed community concerns about surveillance and the Axon contract. Staff said some misinformation had spread about the purchase; the contract primarily renewed body cameras, in-car cameras and tasers, and included the records-management system, not new drone capabilities. KPD staff offered to seek or prepare an executive summary describing the contract and key features; a PARC member suggested posting that summary on the PARC page and discussing it at community district meetings.
Ending: KPD agreed to locate or prepare an executive summary of the Axon/RMS contract and to provide policy documents cited in the discussion to PARC staff for distribution; no formal committee action was taken during the meeting.
