Essay On Should Police Officers Wear Body Cameras

Over the last few years there has been much controversy leading up to the need for law enforcement officers to wear body cameras. This is not only for citizens but also for the officers’ protection. With so much debate regarding police brutality and excessive force body cameras are quickly on the rise. New technology is giving police on a state and federal level a new opportunity to cut back on some of the allegations and negativity we have seen in the last few years. On the other hand it is giving citizens all over the country the safety they should feel when being approached by law enforcement. Our technology has improved significantly over the years and this seems to be something that will benefit everyone.

What is a body worn video? A body worn video, also known as body camera is a video recording system that is typically utilized by law enforcement to record their interactions with the public or gather video evidence at crime scenes, and have been known to increase both officer and citizen accountability. The idea is that a video camera mounted on an officer 's vest or uniform would provide an accurate, objective account of every encounter with a civilian. Ideally, the camera would discourage police misconduct while protecting officers against unfounded civil complaints of brutality or corruption. While the use of body cameras may seem to invade the privacy of officers and the public, officers should wear body cameras because playing body cameras could improve, accountability, behavior, use of force, evidence, and processing and editing.

When one thinks of a cop. What should come to mind is “hero.” But nowadays cops are seen as people you want to stay away from. In the past, they were publicly displayed as heroes on television shows and parents, as well as children, knew the names of the officers patrolling their neighborhoods. However, times have certainly changed because police departments have increased the size of their force and tactics have switched and have become less about protect and serve, and more of a militaristic approach. Police officers have abused their power for too long because they have access to so many different types of weapons and there’s been so many cases involving police brutality that it needs to come to an end and they need to be held accountable for what they’ve done.

Police body cams can make a difference in society and make it safer for the coming generations and since the technology is becoming better then the police officers will have better technology and improve the cams and make them better for the officers. These body cams can be improved by making them record more longer and make then have a longer battery charging power. Police officers feel that they should wear these cams that way there’s not that much hatred on them because of the murders of some African Americans that other officers did. Also they feel that these cams will make a change in them and make the police officers better in making them feel that they are being protected with these cams. These cams can also work for making them more usable in all the states and officers actually using them because these cams can make a difference in the police systems around the states.

I heard the city council of Durham is looking to implement the use of body cameras, this letter is to give you a better understanding of the cameras so you can make an informed decision if this is something you want in your police department.

These recordings of the victims can help the police, but Eileen Sullivan, a writer for the King County Journal newspaper, reports that the videos, “also record distraught victims, grieving family members, people suffering from mental illness and citizens exercising their rights to free speech and civil disobedience.” Along with capturing family members or other people, it can also sometimes capture the deaths of the victims or other people (Sullivan). Releasing these types of videos could cause many problems for the family or the police. Staying along the lines with arrests in a home, Matthew Feeney, who writes for Cato at Liberty, makes a good point at which, “police officers wearing body cameras enter someone’s home and leave without making an arrest.” This would show how innocent the victim is or other people are. If a police officer were to do this, it could possibly show some private information or even embarrass the people. The police have many things going against them if they want to record in homes and not ruin the privacy of the

Allegations, deaths, and misconduct transpire constantly. Who was really in the wrong in a police, citizen interaction? Sometimes citizens accuse an officer of misconduct; they go against the rules and regulations which go against how they should handle a certain situation. On the other hand, a citizen may wrongly accuse the police officer doing something that they never did. It could go either way. The government has begun to carry out the use of body-worn cameras in police forces due to the outbreaks of accusations to try to make it clear who was in the wrong. Body-worn cameras are a suitable way to begin lowering the number of these accusations.

Police Officers have been caught in the act of doing things they shouldn’t so many times and the worst part is that they try to twist the story around and lie about what happened. So it leaves witnesses no choice but to post it on social media and make it go viral, but this is only in America, but is this happening in New Zealand as well. In my essay, I will be discussing whether police officers are reliable or not along with why police officers should require wearing body cameras, and I will discuss should police officers carry around guns or not.

According to Katz, Choate, Ready, Nuno (2014) “complaints against the police declined significantly. Complaints against the officers who wore the cameras declined by 23% compared to 10.6% increase among comparison officers and 45.1% increase among patrol officers in other precincts. The need to record each planned exertion with inhabitants will point of fact restrict challenges about cop lead and the superfluous utilization of vitality, since trades are found for the audit delight of anyone cruising by. Officers and subjects tend to be more compelled, understanding that their words and activities are being gotten. Utilization of the cameras while on-responsibility gives hard video attestation of choices made by officers in high power conditions. On the off chance that a complaint is made against an officer and BWV film is accessible, Video recorded by body cameras ensure any false attestations, dreadful lead, or batter against officers. Builds straightforwardness and obligation of officers. May help give basic affirmation in securing precise witness and misfortune verbalization. Video film got help to animate court frameworks by giving certain evidence of conditions. This may incite a lessening in court costs in perspective of an augmentation in pretrial request deals or possibly a broadened rate of

It is very difficult to be a member of law enforcement or any public service job in this day in age. Over the past few years there have been countless attacks against police officers. Fathers, mothers, sons, and daughters have done the dauntless task of waking up in the morning, and putting on a badge and a gun to protect those in their community. Some of those people would never return home, laying down their lives for strangers. This is a reality I must face every day my dad drives to work. My father, Rich, has been a police officer in the City of Milford for 23 years. Public service has shaped my dad’s life, but more importantly is has influenced the person that I am today. Even though I am sure he would disagree, my dad is nothing less than a hero in

Law enforcement was created to protect the people and not to bring harm or danger to them as in recent cases like the shooting of Michael Brown an 18 year old young man, by police back in August 2014, as well as the consequential protests that it caused in Ferguson, Missouri and around the entire country. There is a serious and painful cause to mandate the use of body cameras worn by law enforcement everywhere to bring some sort of transparency when it comes to police-civilian interactions. These body cameras have received very positive evaluations from groups like the NAACP Legal Defense & Education Fund, as well as the (ACLU) , a civil liberties group . These groups applaud the use of the body worn cameras and feels that the more popular

The issue of police wearing cameras as a part of their daily duty uniform has both many proponents and opponents. Those who support the cameras feel that their usage can better protect the officers from allegations of misconduct, provide indisputable evidence in court and provide invaluable training aids for officers. As a training aid, these videos would show both proper procedures being implemented in the field, and the methods that are ineffective or to be avoided. However, opponents of using cameras may have differing reasons depending to which group they belong: some officers could feel as if everything they do, will be scrutinized for any wrongdoing on their part; average citizens may feel that they are a violation of privacy laws,

Police cameras, an important element that helps others understand the complexity that occurs during a traffic stop, confrontation, or investigation. According to the National Institute of Justice, a survey was done using various police departments, and the survey concluded that 75% of the police forces do not use cameras on the job. Police cameras can be the difference between innocent versus guilty, hero versus villain, and in some circumstances, life versus death. There are many debates in society today that are focused on whether or not police officers should be required to use dashboard cameras and body cameras. "Who should care about this topic?" one might ask. The answer to that question is very simple, the answer is everyone. Whether it is the police officer doing the investigation, or the person being investigated, everybody should care because that footage will help bring justice. Currently, there is no law set forth in the United States that requires police officers to use any type of camera. Many people are against the use cameras because of privacy reasons. However, many police forces in the United States have chosen to use camera footage even without a law being put in place. Using the cameras is a great tool for investigation purposes, behavior purposes, and safety purposes; therefore, police officers should be required to wear and use cameras during their patrol shifts.

An individual's opinions about the police are established at a very young age. Children listen to everything their parents say to them, or around them. In our society today, many parents have a negative opinion of cops, and have a tendency to instill that opinion in their children, causing a continuing cycle fear of the police. But more often than not, children absorb what they see their parents do. Children learn what they live. When they have an interaction with an officer, and the child is present, how the parent acts teaches that child more than the parents words ever will. As the child becomes a teenager, trying to find their own way, they become a prime target for activist groups.

In 2014, the shooting of the unarmed teen Michael Brown has woke the nation to discuss about excessive force used from the police and police brutality. According to statistics two out of three Americans has mentioned that the police officers does not give fair treatment and also not used the right amount of force towards the citizen. This has brought the attention to the discussion of should police should wear body cameras. I believe that police officers should be required to wear body cameras because it could decrease police brutality by 66 percent. This could also help clear up case/provide evidence towards the accusation using the body cam footage and also it could civilian complaints.