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"Instead of trying to repair these relationships we are just throwing more surveillance equipment at the problem. We are smart people here in Oakland. We have S

by peterlk 10y ago

"Instead of trying to repair these relationships we are just throwing more surveillance equipment at the problem. We are smart people here in Oakland. We have Silicon Valley right up the road and we just think all these new tools are going to solve our problems but it just doesn't work." This is a really excellent quote. Technology does not solve human problems. Humans solve human problems - sometimes with the help of technology. Improving safety involves convincing citizens to trust police. Accepting distrust and working around it is not a viable solution.

jackweirdy 10y ago
This is at the heart of the principle of Genchi Genbutsu[0], from the Toyota Production System. "If the problem exists on the shop floor then it needs to be understood and solved at the shop floor" And of course, the more general intuition that people should aim to fix problems not just symptoms. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genchi_Genbutsu https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genchi_Genbutsu
- ethbro 10y ago
  I interact a lot with legacy businesses and processes in my job. I think the Genba-based approach is absolutely more effective than others... with a caveat. After actual process has been observed, understood, and solutions designed on the floor, those still need to be taken back up to be verified with management. In today's tall organizations, what's happening on the floor often doesn't reflect what should be happening. If there's a discrepancy, the reasons need to be understood and worked through. Otherwise you run the risk of overspecialization given the narrow focus of the worker on the floor (in the same way that you might with training data).
Zigurd 10y ago
A big problem is information asymmetry. Surveillance is done in secret. The privileged are excepted from data collection. Contracts are written to subvert the intent of transparency laws. Those things have to stop before humans even get in the room to assess and solve the human problems.
TazeTSchnitzel 10y ago
Technology amplifies power. Handing distrusted police more tech will simply amplify distrust.
mc32 10y ago
>We have Silicon Valley right up the road and we just think... Silicon Valley is the wrong place to look for alternatives or for insight. Silicon Valley is all about gathering data --as much data as possible be it on their external "users" or even their internal workforce. Everything is solved with more data and more ways of collecting more useful data. Data gathering is in their blood.
morgante 10y ago
> Improving safety involves convincing citizens to trust police. Why is the onus on citizens to be convinced (with an assumption that police are actually trustworthy, but people just need to realize that)? Trust first requires that the police are worthy of it. Given the daily incidences of police abuse, power trips, and violence, they're very far from earning that trust.

by peterlk 10y ago

jackweirdy 10y ago

This is at the heart of the principle of Genchi Genbutsu[0], from the Toyota Production System. "If the problem exists on the shop floor then it needs to be understood and solved at the shop floor" And of course, the more general intuition that people should aim to fix problems not just symptoms. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genchi_Genbutsu https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genchi_Genbutsu

ethbro 10y ago
I interact a lot with legacy businesses and processes in my job. I think the Genba-based approach is absolutely more effective than others... with a caveat. After actual process has been observed, understood, and solutions designed on the floor, those still need to be taken back up to be verified with management. In today's tall organizations, what's happening on the floor often doesn't reflect what should be happening. If there's a discrepancy, the reasons need to be understood and worked through. Otherwise you run the risk of overspecialization given the narrow focus of the worker on the floor (in the same way that you might with training data).

Zigurd 10y ago

A big problem is information asymmetry. Surveillance is done in secret. The privileged are excepted from data collection. Contracts are written to subvert the intent of transparency laws. Those things have to stop before humans even get in the room to assess and solve the human problems.

TazeTSchnitzel 10y ago

Technology amplifies power. Handing distrusted police more tech will simply amplify distrust.

mc32 10y ago

>We have Silicon Valley right up the road and we just think... Silicon Valley is the wrong place to look for alternatives or for insight. Silicon Valley is all about gathering data --as much data as possible be it on their external "users" or even their internal workforce. Everything is solved with more data and more ways of collecting more useful data. Data gathering is in their blood.

morgante 10y ago

> Improving safety involves convincing citizens to trust police. Why is the onus on citizens to be convinced (with an assumption that police are actually trustworthy, but people just need to realize that)? Trust first requires that the police are worthy of it. Given the daily incidences of police abuse, power trips, and violence, they're very far from earning that trust.