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West Newsmagazine is West St. Louis County's
exclusive direct-mailed community newspaper. |
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Current Issue Cover Story |
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Rating Police Officers - You have the right to be informed – or do you?By Gretchen A. Harman
 Everyone has the “right to be informed,” at least according to the increasingly popular Web site ratemycop.com.
With the abundance of technology in today’s world, people can tell the world about an experience that they have with a local police officer just with the click of the mouse. This increasingly popular Web site allows the average person to rate the police officers in their communities. However, the existence of such a Web site – and numerous other blogs that are available on the World Wide Web to discuss the actions, good or bad, of police officers – has raised some concerns about privacy as well as safety. While some say that that Web site is a good place for people to provide positive feedback and also hold these public servants accountable to the very public that they serve, it also has some dangerous drawbacks. There are issues in which disgruntled citizens could make libelous statements as well as fears of the “whacko” factor associated with such a site. Some say such a Web site makes police officers even more vulnerable and possibly puts a target on them. On Feb. 28, a couple from Culver City, Calif., went live online with the watchdog forum that allows citizens to voice both their praise and criticism of police officers. The idea came from one of the founders who was at dinner with a friend who had just received a ticket. The friend was telling the story of how it happened and a long conversation ensued. The Web site’s founder thought this would be a great idea for a site because the topic was one that most everyone would discuss. The site was temporarily shut down in early March, either due to some “suspicious” content or because the site exceeded its bandwidth capacity. Police officers also began complaining that their lives could be at risk if their names were posted on the Internet in such a manner. Nobody seems to know for certain why the site was shut down temporarily. The site later was resurrected without explanation. Ratemycop.com gives anyone with access to a computer and the Internet the ability to rate any officer of their choosing using the officer’s name and badge number. Currently, ratemycop.com enables users to rate more than 130,000 officers by evaluating them on authority, fairness and satisfaction. The Web site currently has ratings for officers with the Missouri Highway Patrol and a handful of other police departments in the state. However, while the departments are listed, no officers have been rated yet for local municipal and St. Louis County police forces. Other than badge numbers and the officers’ names, no personal information is located on the site. To post a comment about an officer, users answer a brief questionnaire and give the officer a 1 to 5 rating from “Callous/Cold” to “Exceptional/Good” and then can leave a brief comment. Users must register with a valid e-mail address and the comments are monitored. Threats are censored by the Web site monitor and more serious cases are reported to authorities. Does ratemycop.com actually offer anything other than the opportunity to bash police officers who citizens feel are doing a bad job? Or does the Web site put those who are doing an outstanding job into the limelight? Regardless of the answer to either question, the site does allow people to express their opinion – good or bad - about public servants. “I am a big proponent of free speech and I believe it is a person’s right to state their opinion,” Ellisville Police Department Chief Tom Felgate said. Several police agencies from coast to coast have been alerted about the site, but because it is so new, many area police agencies are not aware of it. Since the launch of the Web site in September, there have been a minimal amount of comments posted, but the number is growing as the Web site receives media attention. “We were not aware of the Web site until (West Newsmagazine) contacted us,” Ballwin Police Department Lt. Dennis Godfrey said. Some say that some police officers who are rated face unfair criticism without any opportunity to defend themselves. “One problem with Web sites such as ratemycop.com is people believe what they read on the Internet,” Creve Coeur Police Lt. William Funkhouser said. In fact, one isolated incident could cause someone to give a police office an unfavorable rating. “I think it is an issue with having no control over what a person can post on the Web sites,” Godfrey said. “If someone gets a ticket and is not happy about the situation, they can go on this Web site and vent.” Ratemycop.com allows citizens to browse through their own local police department and see how their police force compares to others. Some see this as no different as videotaping specific incidents. “You see a lot of people these days videotaping police and police also have cameras in their vehicles,” Godfrey said. “These Web sites could serve as a check on police as well.” Authorities also said that if a police officer has numerous comments posted about them on the Web site, it would give cause to have the police department investigate further. “Our department is aware of such Web sites,” Funkhouser said. “We are in favor of citizen watch groups making sure our police officers are providing a high level of service to our public. If we were not providing that high level, we would want to know.” Funkhouser said his department recently had a claim made about one of its police officers on the Internet. Funkhouser said the department investigated the claim and found it to be untrue. Citizens all over West County are torn between the Web site’s ability to provide helpful information to the public and possibly harming the reputations of police officers. Another concern is the fact that users can log on to the site and post, within reason, almost anything about the officers. “I would hope that citizens and police departments alike would use the Web site as a way of monitoring police performance,” said Joseph Conner of Creve Coeur. “Officers who do their job well will receive the public attention they deserve.” Manchester resident Jill Packard said there always should be a law enforcement presence in society and that police officers should be viewed as being there to keep the public safe. In that sense, Packard said that the Web site would be useful. “If we ever need the assistance of a police officer, whether it be for a crime or just someone to unlock our car door because we locked the keys in the car, it's great to know that they are there for us,” Packard said. “Ratemycop.com will allow users to find that cop who helped us out and offer appreciation for their deed.” Some citizens felt that the Web site could be used as a tool to publicize local areas and the strength of their police departments. “Web sites that rate police officers could serve as a source of publicity for a city,” said Robert Amcal of Ellisville. “People who are potentially moving to another city might use such Web sites to check out the police force in the area that they are moving to, allowing them to see how the police perform and their responses to situations which arise.” Amcal also said that being able to browse other people's opinions and statements of the police officer dispatched to take care of a situation and see how they reacted might give users the faith in their police force and in their community. St. Louis County resident Debbie Raub said she would love to use the site to thank a St. Louis County Police Officer who helped her after her car accident. “The officer was very nice and helped me out,” Raub said. “I would like to reach out to him and let him know how much I appreciated his kindness.” However, residents like Sue Jones, of Chesterfield, said that she worries that naming officers could put them needlessly at risk. “Having them in a place where a lot of people are viewing them can be problematic,” Jones said. “You never know what people might do.” Resident Greg Bassett agreed. “Ratemycop.com, I believe, will give the everyday person the ability to find a police officer and offer up harsh words and criticisms,” Bassett said. “The public would then be able to view these comments. A perfectly good cop might have his name drug through the mud.” Bassett also said that because ratemycop.com allows anybody to comment about anything, there is an issue of public safety. “For example, a cop makes the local news and is accused by a person who he or she arrested of police brutality,” Bassett said. “The police officer's name is smeared all over the news and suddenly comments appear in mass numbers ridiculing the police officer. Then hundreds of other people go to ratemycop.com and say the same thing has happened to them.” Citizens also said that the Web site has the potential to become a dangerous for people to fight back against police officers. “It's no secret there are some people who do not like police officers,” said Ron Gleeson of Wildwood. “Ratemycop.com can give users the ability to find police officers in their local area, get their names and do a Google search to find out where they live. This not only poses a threat to the police officer, but to his or her family as well.” While the site potentially can be used as a resource to post comments to praise or ultimately fix a problem, one-on-one contact still might be the best option. Felgate, the Ellisville police chief, said that citizens privately share stories about their interactions with law enforcement officers every day. “I am not crazy about the Web sites that allow this information to be posted, but whether it’s relayed verbally or on a Web site, everyone has a right to speak,” Felgate said.
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