Body Cameras

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

Body cameras are proven to make policemen act better while they’re are on duty. “Police officers "tend to behave a little better"(Kon, Body Cameras for Police Officers). if they know their behavior is being recorded on camera” stated author Tsin Yen Kon. Police will act better cause they know they are being “watched”. Just like when a student has a parent to sit in their class, they act very well, police do the same. Police will also act right, because they don’t want to lose their jobs or get fired because some careless mistake that they made while on camera. “When police officers are acutely aware that their behavior is being monitored (because they turn on the cameras), and when officers tell citizens that the cameras are recording their behavior, everyone behaves better” (Knickerbocker). Brad Knickerbocker, the author, explains how both sides of the camera, police, and criminal will have an effect on their behavior because they know that they are being watched, and recorded. When people know they are being watched, it is like they get scared, because they don't want anything to be used against them. Although cameras will make police act better, people will still think that police brutality will still happen.

Do you think cops do their job the right way? Do you think cops could do their job better? In recent years more and more police brutalities have occurred from the death of Trayvon Martin in Sanford, FL on 2012 to the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, MO on 2014. Many people now do not respect or trust the cops anymore because of the way that cops have been doing their job. What is one way that the cops can gain the respect of the people again. What is one tool that could help capture what a cop does on duty. Body cameras on cops should be enforced in America because the camera can prove which person is innocent and which person is guilty in a court of law, body cameras offer a safer community, and it keeps the cop accountable of the

Some of the ways that police abuse the law is by creating unneeded tickets, wrongfully taking others possessions and using excessive force, usually referred to as “police brutality.” In some cases, allegations of police brutality are false; however, some officers use unnecessary force and innocent people suffer. In America, there are numerous cases of law enforcers that harass innocent citizens physically, mentally or verbally. Police men and women are supposed to prevent crime, not create it. “One of the main reasons that police brutality occurs is due to the mental, as well as physical, health of the officer. One of the underlying causes of these syndromes or states of being is the lack of wages, which is brought on by less funding to the police” (Cao). Dashboard cameras are one attempt to help stop police abuse but they are easily able to be removed and turned off and are under the control of the officer. If the officer did abuse somebody he could erase the footage on the camera before he even got back to the department. A new, better, solution is mounting Point of View (P.O.V.) cameras on the officers with a live feed leading to one central computer in charge of monitoring these cameras. Daniel B Wood, a professor at the University of Texas A&M, stated in the article “Why The Police Are Hard To Police,” “Mounting cameras on a police officer through federal funding will lower the amount of criminals that were not convicted because of a lack of

Imagine you received mistreatment from a police officer and decide to take legal action against them. The situation becomes their word against yours because there is no evidence to prove the mistreatment you suffered. Not all police officers are out to treat people incorrectly or use excessive force; however, in the cases when they do, there is usually no way to prove that it happened. There are also cases where people say they were mistreated by a police officer, but it is not true. What if there were a way to monitor how cops interact with the public? Body cameras offer a solution to the need to monitor police actions. They capture the truth, whether good or bad, that happens with police officers. Police should wear body cameras to be protected from legal cases, as demonstrated in the case of David Muniz, who was accused of being the reason for a Cleveland man’s death.

In the high-tech age we live in, and where the use of smart phones can capture and record live actions and moments, many of these moments are now being captured by on-duty police officers who are using body mounted cameras to record incidents as they occur. The cameras, that these officers are utilizing, are small devices that are no more than two inches long and can be easily installed onto the officer’s glasses. The recording device is then attached to the officer’s uniform and is placed in an obscured location. The use of these body cameras are still under scrutiny but are quickly becoming standard uniform equipment in law enforcement departments throughout the United States.

With today’s advanced technology, police body cameras have proven to be very useful. They are crucial in putting an end to unnecessary police misconduct. In 2012, the Rialto Police Department in California implemented police body cameras and recorded the outcome. The results showed that “the number of complaints filed against officers fell by 88 percent compared with the previous 12 months. Use of force by officers fell by almost 60 percent over the same period” (Lovett). Without a doubt, police body cameras do the trick to prevent potentially dangerous situations from occurring. As William A. Farrar, the Rialto police chief once stated, “When you put a camera on a police officer, they tend to behave a little better, follow the rules a little better. And if a citizen knows the officer is wearing a camera, chances are the citizen will behave a little better.” I strongly agree with this statement because if the interaction between the officer and the citizen is being recorded, neither of the two will want to behave badly. The citizen knows that their bad behavior could result in consequences and the officer knows that their misconduct could result in punishment or even the loss of their job. The cameras record every detail that can be looked back on if there was a complaint filed against the officer that was wearing it. Clearly, police body

From the article, “Body Cameras Will Stop Police Brutality,” author Adam Schiff writes that a “study conducted of the Rialto, California, police department found that shifts without cameras experienced twice as many use-of-force incidents as shifts using the cameras.” Police officers without cameras have had more forceful encounters, but when police do have the cameras on, they know that if they use excessive force, it will be recorded. For instance, in the article, “Body Cameras Will Stop Police Brutality,” Adam Schiff states from the same Rialto, California study, “with half of the police department wearing cameras recording each interaction with the public, the department experienced an 88 percent reduction in complaints against officers.” When body cameras are worn, it demonstrates a commitment to transparency and accountability to help de-escalate potential tense interactions. A person that sees a police officer with a camera could pick out that they don’t intend to inflict harm unless you are actually a criminal. People on the streets won’t be afraid of police officers if they had specific boundaries like the cameras, which when citizens on the street see cameras on officers, they won’t be fearful of the

Aren’t you tired of not getting any justice for innocent people dying because of police? In a sample of police departments surveyed in 2013, approximately 75 percent of them reported that they did not use body-worn cameras. All police officers should have to wear body cameras.

The officers provide protection for the community, and when they are put in danger they should feel like a camera or other device has their back. The article“Body Cameras Will Stop Police Brutality” talks about studies that have been conducted to show the effects of police body cameras. The author affirms, “Studies done in localities that have implemented body-worn cameras have shown a positive impact by demonstrating a commitment to transparency and accountability and helping to de-escalate potentially tense interactions” (1). As aforementioned body cameras have been touted as an effective method to help the defender if a cop has done wrong. Now body cameras not only defend one side but both. The use of body cameras can physically protect a police officer; in this instance the perpetrator is more willing to be arrested when he or she knows they are on tape. Additionally, author Tsin Yen Koh brings up the idea that a suspect behaves better on

While body cameras can benefit police tremendously, they can also cause concern for

Technological advances in the modern society have impacted in many ways the police community evolving from the beginning of fingerprinting to the detection of DNA from hair strands. Technology has been implemented in police cars as the dash cam for evidence of video proof in order to protect officers and the general public, now cameras have begun to be invoked into police officers themselves. The technological advancements of our world are constantly changing and innovating meaning police force must adapt to these changes, with that being said law enforcement has begun to implement body cameras to allow them to improve work ethic and may possibly help societies understand the workforce from the law enforcement point of view which can be shown

“The San Diego Police Department says that since officers began wearing body cameras nearly three years ago, there have been significant decreases in misconduct allegations and high-level uses of force” (Garrick 1). Along with reducing use of high level force by 16.4% (Garrick 1), body cameras can help prevent serious crime from happening or creating excessive tension. As Rachel Idowu said, “At some point, Boston could have a Ferguson [a killing at the hands of police]. Let’s put the cameras on to prevent that from happening. Rather than be reactive, let’s be proactive” (Marcelo 2). Body cameras also help maintain order by reducing the number of allegations made. According to a report done in San Diego, misconduct allegations decreased by 43.1% from 2013 to 2016 and more serious allegations went down 47.4 %. (Garrick 1). All of these factors are due to police body cameras, which help maintain order in

In recent years, the issue of law enforcement’s use of excessive force has led to the utilization of body cameras by various police departments. The utilization of body cameras are believed to have several benefits that includes reducing law enforcements utilization of excessive force, as well as, reducing complaints filed against officers. This would also assist in judicial claims filed against police departments. This allows transparency of police officers and can also assist in the image of officers if video evidence is available to back the claims of law enforcement. Unfortunately, there have been previous cases were it was found that law enforcement lied about a series of events. Video footage would lower false claims and could assist in regulating police misconduct (Drover & Ariel, 2015). The major issue that is presented with the utilization of body cameras is the amount it would take to equip every officer with a body camera. This could be seen as an investment compared to the amount of money that is paid out yearly in claims against law enforcement that were the result of the officer using what was perceived as excessive force.