transparency

Technology and Training: High Priorities

I firmly believe that having a sheriff’s office that is up to speed with standard training and technology is a huge priority.  This is because an office that has an under-trained staff under performs.  It also puts the lives of the deputies and the public at risk.  As it presently stands, the deputies at the Orange County Sheriff’s Office do not have adequate training.   There may be individuals who are more trained than others, but as a group they must have more and better training all-around.  I worked for the Orange County Sheriff’s Office and I now work for Carrboro Police Department, and let me say that the difference is night and day. 

Checkpoints & Racial Bias

The INDY also asked about roadblocks/checkpoints and potential racial profiling.  Here are my thoughts on the matter:

If checkpoints are being manipulated to racially profile drivers, then that is a gross misuse of a tool which is a public good and such actions have no place in my administration.  Checkpoints are instituted to keep people from hurting themselves and others, not as an instrument of racial oppression or intimidation.  I would welcome review of the department’s documentation for checkpoints by organizations such as the ACLU because I am committed to justice and transparency. 

Public Address by Lawrence Lessig – Rooting out Corruption in Politics: Complicity and Complacency by the Media

I've been a huge fan of Lessig's work for some time, and I can tell you from experience that he's a really great public speaker. You'll come away smarter after listening to him.

On March 4, the Center for Media Law and Policy will host a public address by Professor Lawrence Lessig, the Roy L. Furman Professor of Law and Leadership at Harvard Law School, and director of the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard University.  Prior to rejoining the Harvard faculty, Prof. Lessig taught at Stanford Law School, where he founded the school’s Center for Internet and Society, and at the University of Chicago.

The lecture, which is free and open to the public, will tackle one of the most challenging problems we face: corruption in politics. How have good people, with good intentions, allowed our democracy to be co-opted by outside interests, weakening our institutions and especially public trust in those institutions? What role has the media played in this weakening and what should be its role going forward?

Please join us on March 4 at 6:30 p.m. at the UNC Law School when Prof. Lessig will discuss how we can root out corruption in our politics and restore faith in the Fourth Estate’s role as a watchdog of government.

 

Date: 

Monday, March 4, 2013 - 6:30pm to 8:00pm

Location: 

UNC School of Law

"New Chapel Hill website works on transparency" via DTH. Participate Chapel Hill website needs work.

Chapel Hill government and social media

Ruby's recent post about the problems with the Town's communication strategy regarding the new Downtown Development Framework got me to think about the ways in which our town's government does not use social media to communicate with constituents. I'll have more to say about this hopefully in a future blog post, but this one item jumped out at me:

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