The Long Beach City Council’s public safety committee on Tuesday asked the police department to consider whether using a messaging system that automatically deletes records of communications was worth the negative public perception it could bring.
The committee also asked the department to update its policies on electronic messages in the wake of a controversy over the the LBPD using the iPhone app TigerText, also called Tiger Connect, which erased all communications after five days.
Police previously said they used the app because it was efficient and secure, but Councilwoman Suzie Price, who chairs the committee, urged Deputy Chief Richard Conant to question whether the efficiency is worth losing some public trust, especially if no other police departments think it’s a best practice.
“The perception is very important, and if this is not a method of communication that we need then I don’t know why we would choose to have it,” Price said.
Long Beach police came under fire in September after a report by news outlet Al Jazeera revealed the use of TigerText. The news prompted some public outcry and concern from critics that the use of the app compromised civil and criminal cases where authorities are required to turn over relevant evidence to their opponents in court.
The department quickly suspended use of the app but left open the possibility that it or a similar tool could be used in the future.
The city then commissioned attorney Gary Schons, who specializes in public integrity issues for the law firm Best Best & Krieger, to lead a review of the situation. He concluded the department was in compliance with state laws and city policies.
On Tuesday, he presented the report to the committee and gave the public and city officials the chance to ask questions.
Schons compared the department’s use of the app to a phone call or in-person conversation, which wouldn’t come with a record. He also said that he could not find any other police department in Southern California that used TigerText or a similar messaging system.
“That just means, you know, you’re a pioneer,” Schons said.
But critics said this makes the LBPD an outlier, not a trailblazer.
“Long Beach is not a pioneer, it’s the only city in California that uses this,” Stephen Downing, a former Los Angeles Police Department deputy chief, said during public comments. Downing writes for the Beachcomber newspaper where he frequently criticizes the LBPD, including for its use of TigerText.
The department’s use of automatic-deletion technology only confirms public fears that police are trying to hide something, said Carlos Ovalle, executive director of the community group People of Long Beach.