Body Cameras Policy Essay

Updating the existing policy to read that all interactions with citizens such as, but not limited to traffic stops, field questioning, execution of warrants, and responding to emergency situations must involve an active body camera will provide needed protection to the Tempe Police Officers and the citizens with whom they interact. The city of Tempe can facilitate the means to employ a more holistic approach to policing with the implementation of one of the following four strategies:

Jamar Newsome Abstract Police departments nationwide have began to consider body cameras. Implementing body cameras department wide face many issues due to funding restrictions. Rialto Police Department faced the s

The cameras are very small portable devices, it’s the size and length of a cigarette stick. The camera is attached to the police officers uniform and sits in a pocket. Usually police officers are required to wear this body camera while they are on duty. The cameras record everything that happens between officers and civilians. The Rialto Police Department was the first to actually use and wear the body cameras in 2012. They did a yearlong study to see the impact of police relations by wearing body cameras. One officer wasn’t feeling too good about this idea because he thought the cameras would be to punish them instead of helping them out. “During the first year after the cameras were introduced, the use of force by police officers reportedly declined 60% and complaints from citizens against law enforcement officers decreased 88%.” This was a yearlong study in which 54 officers had to

Essie Mae started becoming a young woman, changed her hair and the way she dressed. She started having to deal with sexual advances from men, including her mother’s partner, Raymond, that caused immense problems in the family. She quickly grew tired of Raymond looking at her and moved in with her father and his wife until she graduated from high school from one of the new “separate but equal schools” in Wilkinson County. This section ended when Essie Mae received a basketball scholarship to attend Natchez Junior College in the fall.

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

Chiefly, they are supposed to remain on at all times for the future debrief meetings to have contextual evidence that can be used to ensure that there is a deep understanding of the circumstances surrounding the decision of the officers. The dashboard cameras are supposed to record the traffic stops made by the officers and pursuits of the police. In addition, body cameras are standard in military operations, they are used, primarily, in the recording of attacks or assaults on any

Marfin stated the different issues presented for the department, such as the individual privacy and cost as she discussed UTPD’s process of implementing this technology. She emphasized this by stating “UTPD began testing different versions of body cameras two years ago, but the implementation of the technology took many years to complete” (par.9). Although the time and cost of the body-cameras brought issues to the department the author emphasizes that UTPD’s main goal is to build trust between the community and the police officers to ensure the community’s safety. Therefore, they made sure to invest in their safety by enforcing body cameras on the officers as explained in the article, ““This is something we believe is important to the UT community and to UTPD,” UTPD Chief David Carter said. “This is something to ensure that people have confidence and trust when it comes to our department.”” (par. 3). Throughout the article the cost of the cameras is highlighted informing how the technology works and what exactly it does to preserve the safety in the community. She emphasizes this statement by saying

Historically speaking, authorities of the law were never in a position where their professional duties and their character as a public servant of the law were demeaned in a way that there needs to be constant surveillance of them and the people whom they come into contact with. There was never a need of documenting every encounter you had with a civilian before. In this day in age, things have certainly changed, and the past has always been something society likes to change and make better even if it raises concerns. Due to all the violent police stories that has surfaced in the past decade, the idea of having police officers wear video cameras as a part of their uniform while on duty has resulted in a radically divergent account of society’s future. The law may uphold cops to wear cameras while working, but is this really the best decision? This topic is very controversial and may create issues with cops and the civilians they try and protect in the future.

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 should not be relied on to help cops do their jobs. People forget things and the cameras may not get turned and therefor there would not be any video. What if officers wearing the cameras are not trained well and they do not know how to maintain the equiptment. “ Nearly one third of public safety agencies using body-worn cameras did not have a written policy governing when or under what circumstances they should be activated.”

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

Background This memorandum serves to inform the effort to aide in the use of police body cameras. There has been a major rise in the amount of attention police brutality has been receiving. With social media and the ability to change captions as well as clip videos, it has become alarming the amount of backlash police officers are receiving. Protecting the life of a police officer as well as our citizens should be our first priority.

Much interest in the technology of the body cameras comes from a growing problem that the United States has been having a major problem with police violence. Though some might argue that the wearing of body cameras violate privacy, in fact the use of the cameras will minimize violence, show accountability, and a human side of policing. These body cameras would help serve by providing video evidence that can be referenced and use anytime allegations are made against police officers and criminals alike. The use of these body cameras are somewhat in the evaluation and study stages, but they are quickly becoming the standard in some police departments across the United States. These cameras would not only serve to provide video evidence, but it provide accountability. The ideal policy for the cams is that they stay on and continue recording throughout police officers shifts, which would help eliminate any possibility of doing something that would not be used as evidence later on and help them evade the recording of abuse committed while on duty.

Requiring police forces to wear body cameras imply that they will be on their personal being and turned on throughout their entire shift. Their work-time will be recorded in its entirety and if an incident occurs, the police station can look back on the video surveillance for evidence. This is ideally meant to improve the behavior of our armed forces and those they encounter, as well as providing us extra information.

Body worn cameras (BWC) were first used by the United States within the military.  These were implemented to have video evidence of what happens overseas in hostile environments.   Now BWC’s are being put on police officers to protect everyone involved in situations.