Literature Review Of Body Worn Cameras

In the past, police officers and the public only had their word as their testimony. They had no choice but to try convince the jury that their side of the story was the truth. High profile cases between officers and the public have left the public searching and wanting answers. Some law enforcement departments have added another piece of equipment to their police officers for their added protection, while they patrol the streets. This controversial piece of

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

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.

To peep or not to peep, that is the question being asked by many regarding police body cameras in communities. The topic of police brutality is a rising issue in today’s society. Several questions have arose over the use of police body cameras and whether they are a good or bad idea. Police body cameras have has a variety of concern to many communities regarding their potential. Every city has a different trust and relationship for their police force and these concerns vary depending on the community. People have the concern regarding privacy, protection, and impact on the community and more. After researching the problems caused by Police body cameras as well as its background, the current state of the issue, and the potential solutions, it is clear that communities need to bring a solution to this situation.Such as laws, policies, rules, and more to control this new information.

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

I selected an article about police body cameras. The article cited several studies, as well as the authors’ ideas and thoughts. The article, titled Police Body Cameras, is part of the CATO Institute’s National Police Misconduct Reporting Project, and prepared by Matthew Feeney in 2015. The theme throughout the article is that the use of body cameras will reduce police misconduct. Although we all hope this is the case, we must also look at the other issues involved with the wearing of body cameras. In an effort to gain citizen buy-in and obtain their opinions, they conducted surveys. Interestingly enough, most people did not want the officers to record them, unless it was during an enforcement encounter, such as a traffic stop or arrest situation.

The belief in the beneficial nature of using body-worn cameras in police work is becoming widely accepted. It has come to the point that that even police officers and their unions are supporting the universal use of body-cameras. For example, in Washington D.C., the police union backed a policy change by management mandating body cameras (Mangu-Ward). It is unusual for the police union to support a policy change mandated by management. In this case, that policy change was not subject to union approval. However, the union feels like cameras protect police. The union said that it favors body cameras because they will discourage citizens from filing false complaints against police. People who want to make false complaints will know that there is evidence to show that those complaints are false. In addition, in a

With the few peace officers in the United States convicted for defying the constitution, the body worn camera helps individuals who have been victims of police brutality, to receive the justice that they deserve. Cases such as Governski v. San Diego have made body cameras effective for civilians who have been wrongly accused. The cause of the body worn camera is the injustice police officers may implement when talking to individuals, the effect is termination and arrests that have been made against those police officers. With many groups claiming violence from police brutality, the BWC or body worn camera, has justified both

Regarding police- citizen interactions, several studies have been conducted. An early Cambridge University study conducted in 2012-2013, examined the impacts of BWC on officer’s use of force and compliance with department protocols. The study found that Officers exhibited an 87.5% reduction

Several studies, such as those done by Barak Ariel, et al. have demonstrated a very strong connection between the use of body-worn cameras and reduction of complaints (Ariel et al., “The Effect”) (Ariel, et al., “Contagious...”). There is also an argument to be made for the relationship between the police and their communities. If the departments invest in things that make the public feel safer, such as body-worn cameras, then they will in turn be safer, as their communities will not feel threatened by their presence, but protected.

As a further result of the strained relationship between law enforcement and the general population debate about the potential use of police worn body camera’s erupted not only in the United States but across the globe including

In today’s society no one is safe from everyday peril. Situations arise daily that may present either a law enforcement official or civilian that could warrant the need for extra protection. In some cases it is a matter of he said, she said. For those faced with such situations, documentation that could be provided by body cameras worn by police officials could be of great use. Body cameras have been tested in a small group of police departments and have provided an overwhelming positive effect. Police officers wearing body cameras not only provide the officers with extra peace o mind but give civilians documentation to back up their sides of the story. Not everyone is in favor of police

The research conducted to this point of the effect of body-worn cameras on policing is lacking the connection between their use and self-initiated policing. The Mesa, Arizona study showed more self-initiated citizen contacts, but a reduction in stop-and-frisk encounters and arrests (Ready & Young, 2015). Katz et al. (2014) also determined that over a third of officers surveyed felt they would conduct less

I feel that the use of dash-cams, body-cams, and cell phone video can have both a positive and a negative effect on the control of police use of force. A problem encountered when attempting to investigate most use of force complaints is the “code of silence” commonly found in police culture where it is deemed unacceptable to “rat out” a fellow officer. When an officer is wearing a body-cam or his patrol car has a dash cam, this helps to alleviate the need for one officer to turn in a fellow officer for excessive use of force. The use of body and dash cams forces an officer to be accountable for his actions, or in some cases inaction. In 2016 The Huffington Post published an article “Study Shows Less Violence, Fewer Complaints When Cops

There is an ongoing conversation on what it will take to reduce police brutality in this country. There have been many suggestions by politicians on the ways that it could possibly be reduced. One of the things that is constantly brought is the possibility of police officers nationwide wearing mounted cameras on them throughout the duration of their shifts. This technology comes with both its positive and negative benefits, but it seems to be the topic most commonly talked about. I believe that this technology goes deeper than simply ensuring police officers aren’t victimizing the public. I believe that this technology carries many more benefits along with it. Upon graduating with a degree in Criminal Justice here at IUPUI I would like to