Body Worn Cameras For Police Officers

Body cameras can hold police officers accountable for their actions, both the good and the bad. “Continuously wearing body cameras would hold police accountable for their appropriate, and inappropriate, conduct” (Buam). Also when the citizens make accusations they could pull the video from the camera and see whether the police officer did what they said they did or not. “Video recorded by body cams protect any false accusations, misconduct, or abuse

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.

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

(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.

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.

To begin with, allowing body cameras as a part of a law enforcement officers uniform would be beneficial to the police officer. A benefit of having body cameras is decreasing complaints filed against police officers. “One of the most favored advantages brought about by body cameras is the noticeable

A big controversy now a day is with police brutality. There are hundreds of people dying each day due to some association with police officers. This position is not necessarily about who’s side to pick, it’s about the use of body cameras on police officers. These cameras would solve a lot of stories of he said she said. Especially with all the hate going around these days. People could be lying about certain incidents and the world may never know because there is no footage between the bystander and the officer face to face.

Body cameras can help in many ways. " Body cameras provide richer and more accurate accounts of the incident. " Although this is true, it can be facile and more suitable for the police to gather correct information. Police officers find this a more desirable use because they think that the person who was involved in the situation would tell the

In my personal opinion, the usage of body worn cameras in law enforcement have been very beneficial for officers, lawyers, judges, solicitors, and the public as well. I agree, some officers tend to forget to activate and deactivate their body worn cameras before and after they have made contact with the citizens. As you stated in your passage, many law enforcement agencies have implemented a policy to govern their officers when they fail to follow their body worn cameras protocols. These implementation is the most effective way to assure that law enforcement officers are not thoughtless when it comes to activating their body cams before they interact with the public.

Could be evidence for cases so the jury can see what happened exactly. It can help protect police departments and the officers. According to News Max “A 2013 University of Cambridge study found that when police wear body cameras, both police and respondents are less likely to use violence. The study indicated a drop in use of force by more than a 50 percent. Body cameras could thus make the

Technology has benefited developed countries in numerous amounts of ways. Most recently, body cameras has seen use in a few U.S. law enforcement agencies across the United States and has improved public relations for those police departments. However, many police officers and lawmakers question the cost and efficiency of such devices and whether the citizens should be placed under constant surveillance when near a law enforcement officer. Whether or not body-worn cameras should be required to be implemented into law enforcement agencies across America is debatable and the decision is dependent on the factors of public safety, cost efficiency, and whether body cameras will serve a practical use or not.

⇒In addition to better behavior, body cameras are useful in the protection from false accusations. Like they say an image is worth more than a thousand words. Videos that collected from an officer’s body camera is able to prove an unbiased visual record. Many groups exist that are made of people who views are “anti-police” may try to bring thoughtless lawsuits against an officer that she or he have been enmeshed with. That is when the footage can actual show what occurred in that event which if the officer does not violent any citizen’s rights the case would be dismissed and not cost as much for the police

Recently, using advanced technologies in law enforcement agencies is becoming a current trend, because the police accountability has been a hot topic among the general public. It’s a relatively difficult choice for some police executives to decide whether to implement the policy of using the body-worn cameras. The main idea to using the advanced technologies in law enforcement agencies is to help investigate crimes and communicate with the public. Body-worn cameras are considered as one of the most popular solutions proposed to deal with the racial inequalities and inappropriate use of force among police. At the meantime, using body-worn cameras can also help the police department to avoid the false claims against the police force as well.

Some people may say that body worn cameras are a violation of privacy because it records anyone the lens are facing. When police are wearing the cameras, the recordings will capture everyday civilians that aren’t necessary to be captured. Although it is true that it records everyone in the camera's sight, it allows police to have more witnesses if a crime or complaint has been made against them. These people contribute to more evidence in court that will ultimately make the verdict fairier. If their faces have to be blurred out in court evidence it is only the officer's words against the complaint or criminal. Whether if they are able to identify bystanders and later ask them to come and explain what they saw will ensure justice where it needs

Pros- The benefits of have the police using body cameras is that the behavior of both the police officers and the citizens will improve, a faster time of the resolution of complaints and lawsuits, help proving issues like police brutality (or police misusing their authority) and the false complaints against a police officer.The police body cameras will also provide improved evidence for