Modesto’s ‘move along, nothing to see’ response to police breach is unacceptable | Opinion

The public trust in Modesto City Hall took a hit this week because of leaders’ poor communication about someone hacking police computers.

City leaders should have been fully transparent about the breach by coming forward with helpful information rather than waiting for word to leak out, apparently hoping it wouldn’t.

It did.

And when The Modesto Bee learned what had occurred and asked, the official response was painfully slow and of questionable value.

Is any service provided by local government more important than public safety?

Modesto voters 13 weeks ago acknowledged that the Police Department is stretched and hurting, and agreed to pay higher sales tax to, in part, make the community more safe. The passage of Measure H was largely a mandate to strengthen police protection.

Rewarding that extension of trust with silence, followed by bare-bones just trust us reassurance, is unacceptable. It suggests that leadership is somehow more interested in avoiding embarrassment than in being straight with its people.

As of noon Thursday, several days after this unfortunate breach, city management has yet to confirm that police computers fell victim to ransomware, or to present a simple sequence of events to help people understand what happened.

This is basic information that might have been offered upfront in a press release and on Modesto’s social media. The local newspaper, which can reach more people, should not be forced to rely on sources to inform residents what their government is doing with their tax dollars. Using unnamed sources is rare, something The Bee resorts to only when there is no other way to share important information that people have a right to know.

City management should understand that releasing a terse, vague statement, as Modesto did, often prompts more questions. For example, which “leading cybersecurity experts” have been engaged? What “suspicious activity on (Modesto’s) digital network” are they addressing?

Don’t be stingy with info, Modesto

How could naming a firm possibly compromise its work? Doing so might even instill confidence. But when Bee reporter Kevin Valine attempted to ask follow-up questions, he was told simply that the city would have nothing further to say.

Like other agencies, Modesto claims a commitment to transparency. In cases involving public trust, the agency in question does not get to decide what that means. Frustration is a natural result when people approach government with an expectation that their questions will be answered, and instead are met with unhelpful silence.

Again, it’s no secret that Modesto police are short-staffed and overworked. City administration should not have added to officers’ stress with loss of public trust.

People get that anyone or anything can be preyed on by bad actors. People are more forgiving when leaders acknowledge an understandable, momentary weakness rather than pretending they are invincible.

People accept that authorities can’t tell them everything. It’s when they’re told little or nothing that distrust grows. And that’s not in anyone’s best interest.

This story was originally published February 9, 2023 at 12:49 PM.