"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal”(US Const. 1776). Thomas Jefferson wrote this in the second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence and these words are by far the most powerful and influential words in United States history. As America we need to live up to our words, nearly 60 years have gone by and we are still dealing with the widespread of violence against people of color. I believe the body-cam is the most effective and efficient way of knowing the truth. Enforcing stronger regulations to wearing the body-cam and requiring all police agencies to wear them. We the people have the right to know evidence if in your name, damaging footage or not releasing footage is not an option especially if the arrest end up in death by either the officer or the suspect.
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
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
Twenty five percent of the nation's police forces have some sort of body cameras. Every day people are saying they are not believable. We need to stand together to make everyone have them. The police need to wear body cameras for civilians safety and to show evidence to prove the police are doing there job.
Police body cameras have been debated for many years. Many people have concerns about them, whether they are invading the people’s right to privacy or are they really going to help officer’s wright up the incident with the full and honest truth. First and foremost I believe that body cameras should be used as a tool to provide evidence at the time of the incident. As stated early on in the story black young boy that was unarmed got shot up in a shower of bullets, and the grand jury decided not to indict the officer and protest erupted throughout the country. This is one of the reasons Police Body Cameras should be used for.
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
Police are being accused of murder, and abusing powers by the public, what if there was a way to prove their innocence or prove that they are guilty of murder. What are body cameras? Body cameras are cameras placed on an officer's body, that captures footage of what the officer is seeing. Should all police officers be outfitted with body cameras, many people think that they should, but many people think that there should be no body cameras at all on officers, because they claim them to be a privacy issue. Body cameras may be a privacy issue, but the benefits of body cameras outway the cons of body cameras, and here is why. Body cameras should be outfitted by all police officers because they help police and citizens behave better, they help
Police brutality is a huge problem in America nowadays. There have been many cases where police officers abused their positions. In 2014 was a case about Michael Browns an African-American citizen that was killed by a police officer in Ferguson. In this case there were a lot of witnesses due to the lack of good evidence and trustful testimonies. This wouldn’t happen if the police officer had had a body camera. Police stations in all the states should required officers to wear body cameras to prevent injustices. Americans overwhelming support (92%) requiring police officers wear body cameras that would record video of their interactions. Moreover fully 6 in 10 “strongly support” such proposal (Ekins).
Are you confident that the body camera is keeping both sides honest? Cameras can only show what the camera holder wants us to see. However, on some levels, I think the cameras on the officers can become beneficial because as the public a little more can become seen than just hearing the cops word. William, I worry about the body cameras, when activated because " the cameras can also capture moments after a stressful incident where statements by the officers and the public can be taken out of context and used against the person making the statements." The cameras becoming used as away to cause harm or used out of context is why I am very undecided whether the cameras are the best idea. I am glad that I am not the only one that thought
The following is an example of a situation. A police officer who is out on patrol sees a pedestrian acting very suspicious. Even with calling back up to handle the situation, it goes out of control and the civilian attacks the police officer. The officers try to control the civilian, then he is eventually arrested. By the time the case goes to court, the man changes his story and says the officers attacked him. With body cameras on police officers to capture the situation, it can ensure the truth in the situation. Police stations in all the states should agree on letting officers to wear a recording system or body cameras that are the size of a cigarette stick that can be attached to helmets, hats or even the collars on their uniforms. It keeps track of the evidence at the scene, always surveys the actions of the officer and it would enhance the trust of the public.
Khristian, you have given me some valid point in regards to the body camera being effective in law enforcement. By the same token, I do agree that the body camera has made a major impact in the way our law enforcement and correction officer are doing their job. In our line of work we are faced with many challenges and most of it is making sure that we do not violate anyone's rights. Nevertheless, the recording of the daily activities that officers encounter can be used as a training tool for the new cadet to view in their training. The footage of the body camera can also be used to determine the outcome of an arrest that leads to a major conflict that needs some answer of what transpired in the line of duty. I have enjoyed your viewpoint in
“First, there's no guarantee that the public will ever see footage from police body cameras, especially in cases where it may be helpful to defendants or civil litigants” (Buttar, 2016). Although this may be true in some cases, laws are being made to ensure that the footage is available for not only police but the public. For example, a police department in Seattle posts their footage to YouTube so everyone can see what their police have recorded (Dunn & Lieberman, 2017). Others believe body cameras should not be worn because of possible mass incarceration issues amongst the public. “Cameras could capture footage used against defendants in criminal trials—either where the footage depicts criminal acts, like jaywalking or selling loose cigarettes, or where it merely supports suspicion of potential crime, justifying subsequent stops and searches that would otherwise be illegal” (Buttar, 2016). Some cops could abuse cameras in such a way; however, the footage collected is currently reviewed only by specific professionals and debates over sending footage directly to specialized agencies for review is still highly considered. Sending the footage to these special facilities leaves little room for tampering by police and will help ensure the authenticity of the footage. Although many may believe those body cameras will cause more harm than help to the community, body cameras are still highly useful and are statistically reported to assist police and the
For every 1,000 people killed by a police officer, only 1 officer is convicted of crime. The majority of these deadly confrontations are aimed at people of color. Due to the high number of deaths, this may lead to a commonly asked question, what happened? Cops should be required to wear body cameras so that if anything happens while the officer is on duty, the event will be caught on camera.
One reason police officers should wear body cameras is to be able to use the videos as evidence. Many cases cannot be resolve due to lack of evidence and the death of citizens in the hands of police officers. Lately we had many incidents were citizens were killed by police officers, and there is not enough proof if this
If you were accused of a crime that you didn’t commit, wouldn’t you want a video proving your innocence? Well this would be possible for all cases if all police officers have body cameras. It is necessary that all law enforcement be equipped with photographic equipment. One reason for this is to improve good behavior and decrease bad behavior within communities. The second reason is that these cameras are affordable and therefore should be provided to all police officers.
Nine hundred eighty-six is the number of people killed by police officers in 2015 in the United States, which is more than double the deaths reported annually over the past decade (The Washington Post). That number given is a total count of deaths under any circumstance of the fatality. Police force against citizens has become more and more aggressive each year, all though some of the force is needed for the situation, hundreds of people each year get killed by police that use force that is not necessary. The FBI did a five year study on deaths of citizens by police officers, and compared the percentages of races killed. Outcomes of that were not surprising if you keep up with modern day news, with the myth floating out in space that blacks are more likely to be killed by police than any other race. The percentages read 51.1% black, 46.3% white, and 2.6 other races murdered by police (FBI: Uniform Crime Reporting). If all police officers were required to wear body cameras during the line of duty, it would greatly reduce police brutality and create a much safer working environment.