License and registration please, do you know why I pulled you over today? Your tag has expired and your left brake light is out. I need to see your license and check your information. It will take me a few minutes to verify your license. After checking your license it came to my attention you have outstanding warrants…. Door opens and the person inside attempts to reach behind his back. What do you think he is reaching for? A gun? A knife? Drugs? This is a question every officer has to ask themselves on a normal everyday traffic stop. According to the FBI there were 96 Line of Duty Deaths and another 48,315 officers assaulted during 2015 (Washington, D.C, 2015). That is an extreme high rate of loss of life and assaults. Something definitely to be done to help not only the Police Officers but to make it safe for all who serve and protect us. Police equipped with body cameras are an excellent idea and would provide an opportunity for people to see exactly how situations escalate. They could help stop people from placing blame on the Police Officer that is just doing his job. The body cameras would help everyone understand when force had to be used. Body cameras are not 100% effective there is still room for error. Having all Police Officers to wear body cameras would drastically change how we view daily interactions with law enforcement. Today during my speech I want to discuss the benefits of body cameras, statics and provide reasons on why I believe the
The social media and the public might want police body cam footage release but sometimes it might be to graphic or controversial. Police body cameras have been a topic since the incident with Michael Brown in august of 2014. Police shot and killed an unarmed individual in ferguson, MO, leading to many people wanting cameras on police. Whether the cameras are a good idea or not this paper will explore the facts and sides of police body cameras. Overall body cameras should be required Because they can save the lives of the innocent, keep innocent people from going to jail, and can help a case as more evidence.
Across the country a growing number of legislative departments have been debating about the pros and cons of police body cameras. This paper will further explore benefits, as well as the downfalls of using such devices. This paper will also look at specific cases and examine whether or not body cameras were helpful in various situations. It will examine if they were a deterrent in cases dealing with police brutality and domestic violence. It also looks at how they could be misused and assisting some officers in covering up their corrupt behavior.
Within recent years there has been much controversy surrounding police officers and whether or not they should be wearing body cameras to document their everyday interactions with the public. While the use of body cameras may seem to invade the public or police privacy. Police-worn body cameras will be beneficial to law enforcement and civilians all over the world. Police must be equipped with body cameras to alleviate any doubt in the effectiveness of officers. Law enforcement worn body cameras would enhance the trust of the public by keeping both the officers and the citizens accountable for their actions, providing evidence, and helping protect them from false accusations, while protecting privacy
Making sure that every officer has a body camera will cut down on brutality and excessive force, making it safer for the officer and the civilian or suspect. With proper tranning it will create more accountability and cost will also be cut from false accusations creating better edvidence.
First advantage in law enforcement agents wearing body cameras is to hold the officers accountable. “Holding the officers accountable, will ensure the officer adheres to policies and procedures during an encounter with victims and suspects.” Body-worn cameras are poised to help boost accountability for law enforcement and citizens and, unlike many new police technologies, the cameras share preliminary support from both law enforcement and social justice groups. Successful implementation of the cameras will require careful policies that respect and protect both the police and the public.
Body cameras in policing are still new, but more and more agencies are beginning to implement this technology into their line of work. At first police officers were very hesitant to wear these body cameras because they were afraid they would infringe themselves and give away their own privacy. Later, as body cameras were beginning to see more use in the work place, officers began to realize that these very own body cameras that they once thought would only cause themselves harm would actual prove to be useful in a variety of situations. Some of these situations can be citizen complaints, to even backing up an officers use of force. Body cameras can be the one sole thing that can give
One widely accepted idea is that body cameras for police to wear will help to observe what actually happens in traffic stops with police and serve justice to civilians and police officers. According to the article, “Should Police Wear Body Cameras?”, in May of 2015 the Obama administration started a $75 million dollar program to test how effective body cameras are, with hopes to give out 50,000 body cameras in 2018 to police officers (Majerol 6). Body cameras is a solution that is extremely considered and is already taking some effect. Moreover, research shows that body cameras can keep tense police encounters calm, help behavior of both the officer and civilian, and the footage that comes from the cameras can serve as evidence ( “Should Police Wear” 7). Research proves that body cameras can have an effect on police brutality and will help fix the issue. However, there are other techniques that can possibly help fix the issue such as training. “An officer also needs training on dealing with community members in nonthreatening ways and better communication skills” ( “Police Need Better” 1). Training will help officers work on making police encounters less tense and make sure excessive force is not a go to. Lastly, according to analysts, changing hiring practices in the law enforcement could make sure that unbiased officers that are focused on being close to all communities could help lower the amount of police brutality cases (“Police Need Better” 2). If police departments really focused on an officer’s beliefs involving the topics of race or religion, officers that are not willing to be fair to all would not be hired and in turn prevent more police brutality cases from happening. To conclude, officers wearing body cameras and police departments changing hiring practices could help stop more police brutality cases from
Have you ever asked yourself what it would be like to become a police officer. Becoming a police officer isn’t an easy take because they have to risk their life everyday to protect and serve the community. They have to go through the dangers of arresting criminals when there is a chance that they could die. However, in today’s society only a small amount of the police officers actually serves their community and protect citizens from danger. Right now, most police officers abuse their power to the point where they don’t seem to care for the safety of the community. They would usually arrest innocent people, make accusations, and even use their power as a source to show their dominance. If you think about, whenever you are stuck in traffic
Ronald Reagan once said, “Trust, but verify.” As a result of controversy behind police brutality, it is becoming increasingly important to inform ourselves on the exact details of this rising issue. My purpose for writing this letter today is because something needs to be done that will allow the government to ensure that officers and citizens are responding properly towards the law. I strongly believe that police officers should be equipped with body cameras that would be made mandatory to wear while on duty. There are many valid reasons and facts to support this request that I think you would be interested to hear
For years and years, there have been many cases that police officers use unnecessary force on citizens. Citizens have reported the incidents, taken the incidents to court, and as well as people starting protests because of this. Instead of people feeling safe that the police is around people fear them. There has been a solution that involves police officers now having to be required wear body cameras. The use of body cameras on officers will reduce the use of force and will reduce dishonesty on incident reports; however, officers should not wear body cameras as it is an invasion of their privacy.
(Weisburg) As a result, studies have shown, that citizens have developed comfort towards officers equipped with body cameras. (Fullerton Police Department) This new found trust has the ability to change the mindset of a community in a positive manner. (Mims) This alone could help revive a community such as Ferguson, that has been in shambles ever since Michael Brown was killed. Officer Drumond a highly respected officer at Sherwood said “I support body cameras and find it very comforting that everything I do is on camera”. (Weisburg) If body cameras can give officers a sense of comfort it can help improve their work ethic as well as keep them relaxed while on shift. This can lead to trust between officers and the community. Ultimately, body cameras have the ability to restore trust in a community as well as keep both citizens and officers acting within the law.
With so many incidents occurring between law enforcement and civilians, it’s about time we have our officers wear body cameras. Law enforcement wants to use body cameras, many politicians are in favor for them, Civil-rights groups are advocating them, and communities that already have a strong police presence in their neighborhoods are requesting that the police get cameras now. With the uproar of law enforcement and the death of many black American’s, body cameras can be very useful. There is always that missing link when trying to put these horrible moments back together. Far too many times we end up with the suspect dead and only get one side of the story. With the use of body cameras, we can now get more insight on the events that happen (Boyd, 2015).
Police brutality has become a major issue in the United States causing people to believe that officers do not protect and serve. There has been many questions of how we can solve this problem. One of the many questions people ask is “Should all police officers wear body cameras?” By police officers wearing body cameras it can make poor communities become safer and help communities have trust with the police. Also, body cameras can protect police officer when they get into bad confrontation.
Body cameras can be the difference between innocent and guilty. Due to the outbreak of reports of police brutality, many departments have turned to body cameras to help eliminate this concern. Despite arguments against body cameras it is clear that they will keep everyone in check. Perhaps if every officer in the U.S. wore a body camera everyone would behave like they should and protect everyone. All police officers should wear body cameras while on duty because body cameras protect the officer, the public, and keep officers accountable.
Body cameras have been proposed as a solution to police abuse of authority. Identify the potential advantages of body cameras as well as the drawbacks. If you were stopped by a police officer for a traffic offense would you want to be videotaped?