Body Cameras: Article Analysis

Are Police Body Cameras Helpful or Harmful? 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

Today, law enforcement agencies, or more specifically police officers, are under constant scrutiny from their peers as well as outside sources. Many of these problems arise from how the police treat and deal with these citizens. There is however a solution to these problems, which can not only improve officer safety, but can also protect anyone else that the officer encounters. The solution to this problem is officer mounted camera systems, or better known as body cameras. These body cameras capture almost everything an officer see’s as well as hears. This allows for protection against a police officer as well as protection for a citizen who was scrutinized for something he or she might have done or not. Body cameras are ever increasing in policing and have many benefit’s as well as draw backs.

Police-Worn Body Cameras: Rough Draft 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

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.

I selected an article about police body cameras. The article cited several studies, as well as the authors’ ideas and thoughts. The article, titled Police Body Cameras, is part of the CATO Institute’s National Police Misconduct Reporting Project, and prepared by Matthew Feeney in 2015. The theme throughout the article is that the use of body cameras will reduce police misconduct. Although we all hope this is the case, we must also look at the other issues involved with the wearing of body cameras. In an effort to gain citizen buy-in and obtain their opinions, they conducted surveys. Interestingly enough, most people did not want the officers to record them, unless it was during an enforcement encounter, such as a traffic stop or arrest situation.

I will identify the advantages of using body cameras as well as the drawbacks (Pollack, 2017). I will discuss if I was stopped by a police officer for a traffic offense would I want to be videotaped. If I was involved in a domestic violence incident would I want to be videotaped when the officers arrived? Then I will discuss whether the police should have the discretion to turn off the camera when they believe a person’s privacy is being invaded regardless of what the person involved thinks so.

Everyone is entitled to privacy, especially when it comes to law enforcement. To make the public, and the officers protecting them, feel protected the implementation of body-worn-cameras in the police force is occurring. Sometimes, this equipment malfunctions and ends up doing more harm than the good it promised. When this

N.p., n.d. Web. 23 June 2016. Abdollah, Tami. "Officers Fear Body Cameras Raise Privacy Concerns." PoliceOne. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 June 2016.

Next, let’s talk about body worn camera these are very important. This could help put a lot of people in jail or even corrupt officers. In a sample of police departments surveyed in 2013, approximately 75 percent of them reported that they did not use body-worn cameras. The survey was funded by the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services and conducted by the Police Executive Research Forum PERF’s report about the survey notes a number of perceived benefits for using body-worn cameras, including better evidence documentation and increased accountability and transparency. But the report also notes many other factors that law

We live in a time where technology is part of our everyday life, and a big part of keeping its memory is by taking pictures or saving moments by taking videos using cameras. Most people in North America carry a smartphone with the ability to take pictures and videos in

Body-Mounted Police Cameras Our police forces have become center of attention in today’s media; whether it is the constant focus on officer-involved shootings, or the false accusations being made about our police officers and law enforcement agencies, it has raised concerns throughout America. In order to assure fairness to all, there is a new technology being implemented by many law enforcement agencies: The use of body-mounted cameras being worn on all on-duty officers. The benefits of this newly-founded technology are proving to be very promising. These cameras will protect our police officers, assist with many aspects of the investigation process, and most importantly, build good relations with the public. Some argue that these cameras

According to the National Institute of Justice, at the end of 2013 only 25% of the 18,000 police departments in the United States were using body cameras (Maney, 2014). This number has increased greatly since 2013 as one-third of police departments are now outfitting policemen with wearable cameras (Delong, 2015). The American Civil Liberties Union has voiced concerns about privacy regarding footage recorded on body cameras and has asked questions about whether the scene like that of a suicide or domestic battery be made public (Vega, 2015). In response to concerns about privacy, the President of Citizen’s for Privacy authorized this study to determine if the benefits of police worn body cameras outweigh the impact on people’s privacy and to establish some recommendations to further protect citizen’s privacy with the ever growing use of this

In addition, supporters of body cameras have argued that this new innovation to policing is positive and beneficial for both police department’s administrators, police officers, citizens, and the courts in plenty of ways. Those who are in favor body camera note that recording police interactions keep the officer and the subject they are addressing well behaved because video recording is viewed as an oversight. According to Katz et al. (2014), numbers of arrests are higher among officers who wear body cameras than those do not. Also, complaints by citizens against officers who

Police brutality has been a prominent feature in the United States’ media for several decades. Tackling this issue is multifaceted, and certainly will not be easy. The argument is not focused on whether police brutality exists, rather what can be done to ensure that both public officers and citizens are equally protected in any encounters. One proposed solution is to require police officers to wear body cameras that record during interactions with the public, such as a traffic stop or responding to a call. Body worn cameras (BWCs) sound reasonable, but the literature on the topic presents mixed reviews.

In 2014, Michael Brown, an African American teenager, was shot and killed by a police officer named Darren Wilson. However, he is not alone; many people have been hurt or killed by aggressive police officers in the past few years (Dudley 44). Because of this, many Americans are demanding body cameras for officers as a solution. Body cameras are small cameras that attach to an officer’s uniform and record everything that they do. Many people believe this will solve the problem with police officers and violence. However, after research, some are unsure (Dudley 43). Due to the ineffectiveness of body cameras to change behavior, differing perspectives and video bias, and privacy issues associated with them, body cameras should not be used in the police force.