Police misconduct is the process of committing a crime and/or not following police department policy guidelines and regulations in the course of one’s officer duties. Many believe that police misconduct is in cases few and far apart, and because of the Civil Rights Movement of 1964, there is no reason to question officer’s racial bias. Some argue that excessive police force is justified, or that the murder of unarmed black men is okay because of their “questionable characters.” Other individuals may also argue that police brutality is just a “fact of life” and an “occasional slip-up” without a solution, or even a need for one. Police brutality is a real, persistent problem in the United States. Each year thousands of innocent people, specifically …show more content…
Body cameras are attached to an officer’s uniform and, although it isn’t a popular solution, the results so far are promising. There are concerns involving privacy of officers and civilians, but this should be overcome considering this involves the lives of thousands of Americans who are victims of police brutality every year. One particular study highlights the outcome of body cameras, “In particular, a year after the Rialto, California, police department began requiring all officers to wear body cameras, use of force by officers fell by 60% and citizen complaints dropped by nearly 90%” (“Excessive or reasonable force by police?” 6). Although price is a concern, the effects clearly pay themselves off in the long-term. The advancing technology has also been able to capture cases of police misconduct, for example the case of Eric Garner, who was captured on camera being tackled, choked, and then killed by officers despite his repeated cry of “I can’t breathe.” This was highlighted in the article, “Police Misconduct,” where it is stated that police and cellphone cameras have helped officers keep themselves in-check by strengthening their accountability (“Police Misconduct” 2). The officers who attacked Garner then had to take responsibility for their actions, and were punished. Body cameras remove some of the immunity that officers have, and they’re no longer above the law. Also, on the part of the citizens, body cameras help to strengthen their accountability as well. In the use of body cameras, citizens behave better, officers behave better, and citizens are less likely to file petty complaints against officers with cameras (“Excessive or reasonable force by police?” 6). The idea of body cameras is beneficial on both sides, and if implemented around the country could preserve the well-being of
Body cameras are a source of evidence of what happens when a police officer is investigating a crime. They offer the potential to provide more accurate depiction of the moment of police brutality. Police body cameras are a solution to helping police officers reduce police misconduct through recording police and citizen encounters, as well as building trust in the community. Secondly, the best use of this information is by having the camera on while on duty, officers can document incidents as they occur, and if a shooting takes place, juries will have evidence of these interactions on tape. Furthermore, body cameras may also encourage police to be more consistently conscious and diligent towards their responsibilities, as their every move will be recorded.
The history of Police Brutality for minorities; especially people of color has left America wondering have times changed. Police brutality has deemed the opportunity for socioeconomic advancement or access to good and services for many Black/African Americans dating back as far as 1955. The system of Police brutality has affected many realms of society for minorities’ employment and family life. After some scholarly research, police brutality is still prevalent in the Black/African American community; moreover, it comes in many different forms and fashions. Police brutality is the use of excessive and/or unnecessary force by police when dealing with civilians. Excessive use
The officers provide protection for the community, and when they are put in danger they should feel like a camera or other device has their back. The article“Body Cameras Will Stop Police Brutality” talks about studies that have been conducted to show the effects of police body cameras. The author affirms, “Studies done in localities that have implemented body-worn cameras have shown a positive impact by demonstrating a commitment to transparency and accountability and helping to de-escalate potentially tense interactions” (1). As aforementioned body cameras have been touted as an effective method to help the defender if a cop has done wrong. Now body cameras not only defend one side but both. The use of body cameras can physically protect a police officer; in this instance the perpetrator is more willing to be arrested when he or she knows they are on tape. Additionally, author Tsin Yen Koh brings up the idea that a suspect behaves better on
In America, crime is a huge topic. However, many don't realize that race plays a big role in crime as well, or they choose to ignore that fact. It's important to realize the injustices that take place in crime due to race, and how many laws would likely be changed if we were forced to realize that and make every race a priority.
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
Over the past five centuries, black people have endured violence in many different ways. Today, police officers use deadly, excessive force that leads to inexcusable assaults, beatings and shootings. This demonstrates the governmentТs role in initiating and prolonging racial suppression and provides the explanation for police brutality to become a federal crime(Black Radical Congress, 3). In history, racist violence, police brutality, has been used to suppress the racial blacks and to preserve power and privileges for the white race. This was done for five primary purposes. First, it has forced black people into slavery or low wage situations. Secondly, to steal land and other resources. A 3-rd was to maintain social control. A fourth
The article “Black Lives and Blue Lives Matter” by Bryant Alston shows and represents the importance of black lives just like any other, police brutality, also showing how no matter the color of one’s skin, it should not affect one in a negative way or agitate others to want to look over one just because a person of color seemed as a more ‘fitting’ person for such a crime instead of other non-black, or non-hispanic, person. I completely agree with Bryant Alston’s perspective on those cases, which regard race and ethnicity.
Some groups of people in this society are getting incredibly out of control on how they are treating people and it’s been like this for awhile.
Over the recent years, police have been one of the organizations to be associated with the largest cases of misconduct. Police brutality can be termed as the process of misuse and abuse of authority by the police. The rising cases of police brutality are causing more harm to the public, compared to the actions perpetrated by real criminals. Although police claim that it’s sometimes necessary to curb crime, the process is illegal and police officers should be charged just like any other criminal offender. It should be the responsibility of the justice system to establish effective strategies to deal with the rising illegal activities in order to restore public trust in the law
b) Their silence and ignorance set a bad example to the communities they are meant to protect.
the principles of democracy, the respect of the equality of all people is one of its pillars. But there is an issue here, the definition of equality is not met in America. Anyone who watches the news must know by now, what is this “talk” African-American parents have with their kids. Police brutality has prompted African-American parents to take action and warn their children at a young age of the hardships they may experience as they grow up. Police brutality, towards black people mostly, is an example of the lack of equality that all people by law should receive. According to statistics, provided by The U.S. Census Bureau, of the more than
Not only has Police Brutality exposed hidden racism, but it has begun to cause separation in our nation. All of these Police Brutality cases such as Alton Sterling, Mike Brown, and Trayvon Martin just to name a few, all have happened within the last 3 years, and they were all documented on camera, exposing the reality to millions around the world. The conflict didn’t stop at the shootings though, many big-name Athletes stood up for the altercations and asked for attention. I am going to go over each individual shooting, the athletes that stood up for them, and political leaders that spoke on it.
In recent years, law enforcement in America has been criticized for its use of excessive force. While the abuse of power is not a new phenomenon, the rise of readily available cameras in the pockets of the majority of citizens has lead to more of these instances being captured on video. This has lead to an increasingly high level of distrust of law enforcement from the general public, especially from minorities. Perhaps an issue generated from this distrust, many officers have been accused of using excessive force; unfortunately, it’s difficult to tell whether or not the allegations are true or not. One debated solution to this issue is to require on duty police officers to wear body cameras (body cams). These cameras would be mounted to
An article on a study of the effect of body cameras was recently written by Amanda Ripley and Timothy William and published by the New York Times. This article covered the very touchy subject of the use of body cameras on police officers. Society has recently turned to body cameras on police officers hoping that wearing a camera would make officers think twice before they act in a potentially detrimental way. High-profile cases involving civilians being abused by law enforcement have called for change in the way police officers perform their daily duties. The study showed something much different from what researchers had believed that they would find. The study found that the use of body cameras had little effect on the behavior of police officers.