Police Brutality And Its Effects On The United States

Today, law enforcement agencies, or more specifically police officers, are under constant scrutiny from their peers as well as outside sources. Many of these problems arise from how the police treat and deal with these citizens. There is however a solution to these problems, which can not only improve officer safety, but can also protect anyone else that the officer encounters. The solution to this problem is officer mounted camera systems, or better known as body cameras. These body cameras capture almost everything an officer see’s as well as hears. This allows for protection against a police officer as well as protection for a citizen who was scrutinized for something he or she might have done or not. Body cameras are ever increasing in policing and have many benefit’s as well as draw backs.

In todays society, American citizens are unpleased with the law enforcement officers. These officers are here protecting the people of America, and to get the people doing the wrong things off the street so the rest of the people can be safe. In the past few months, there have been shootings of American citizens, and shootings of law enforcement officers. The people of society are only seeing the bad side of police officers, and never understand the whole story when needed to be heard. As the internet continues to expand, the promises it makes is beyond human understanding (Carr 56). The internet and television are the most complex form of technology, and only portray the bad side of cops. “The idea of multimedia is to combine text, sound, and pictures in a single package that you browse on screen” (Gelernter 97). The idea of body cameras put in the uniforms of the law enforcement officers has been talked about, so that everyone can see the exact truth of the situation. The idea of body cameras for the law enforcement officers has it benefits and drawbacks. I think having the body cameras will greatly benefit the law enforcement officers in society today and in the future.

In today’s society no one is safe from everyday peril. Situations arise daily that may present either a law enforcement official or just a civilian with a situation that could warrant the need for extra protection. In some cases it is a matter of he said she said. In just those instances it is important that there be some sort of documentation that provides corresponding evidence. 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 an extra peace of mind but give the civilians documentation to back up their sides of the story.

There have been many incidents in the past couple years that have dealt with police misconduct. Police should wear body mounted cameras to reduce the cases of officers getting away with any misconduct, and to also provide more evidence to the case. Stats have shown that police were less likely to use unneeded force when wearing a body mounted camera. Stats also showed that civilians complaints of police misconduct also lowered when police were wearing cameras. In many cases Body Mounted Cameras have helped provide more evidence, which has helped the right decision be made. My final supporting solution is that civilians are more in favor of police officers wearing Body Mounted Cameras than against it.

First off, wearing body worn cameras will provide better security to both police officers and civilians. In an experiment composed by the University of Cambridge’s Institute of Criminology (IoC), in which police officers in Rialto, California wore cameras as a part of their uniform for one year., results gathered from the experiment proved to be beneficial. According to the experiment, “... use-of-force by officers wearing cameras fell by 59% and reports against officers dropped by 87%...” (Lewsey). This proves that BWC’s have a positive effect on police

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

One reason body cameras is a good idea for capturing footage will always be in front of a cop. Always being able to just record an interaction directly with a clear picture is a great reason why it good to have a body camera. Another reason why body cameras are good because they are better than a police car camera. When getting footage on foot it will collect the footage of what an officer needs. In a police car it doesn’t capture everything directly; it really is not direct. While sitting in the car and officer needs to sit perfectly to capture everything and if an officer needs to reach and grab something the officer would be out of position and the camera will only pick up the interior of the car. A split second in looking away could miss the evidence the officer needs. Placing a body camera on the dash of the police cruiser in the place of in car on captures one angle and not multiple angles like an officer on foot can turn and capture more angles. If something is serious was going on and the officer had to grab the camera from the dashboard to put it on his person; it would take up too much time. Having it on the body is the best solution. Also the car camera cannot follow the police when the officer leaves the vehicle. The point of having the camera is to capture evidence the police encounter. Not every encounter is going to be in front of a police car. During a foot chase or an officer has to do an investigation it will better to have a worn body camera. If a police was doing an investigation, having the body camera would make a difference. With the use of a body camera and the police car camera it could make a complete story. Having three different views can remove the he said she said allegations. Two cameras capture a bigger picture. In Seattle they have tried to promise to post videos of body cameras on their own personal youtube channel. With privacy

Due to the new age of technology, there is questions as to what the advantages and disadvantages are regarding police officers being equipped with body cameras. These devices seem to be a day-to-day piece of gear within some police divisions throughout the United States. There is still much debate as if cameras should be included as a gear that officers should include as a part of

Once the Project of Police body-worn video camera is successfully rollout, the potential business impact and benefit is enormous, especially in this generation of law enforcement agencies and general public interaction which is scrutinized quite often. Both the police department and general public are the main stakeholders here. These BWV devices have the potential to enhance public safety and elevate relations between police and public by minimizing misconduct, facilitating the resolution of incidents that arise. For the District government, it is also advantageous to enhance public confidence in the criminal justice system, thereby reducing the city's exposure to civil liability (Kurt Vorndran, Chief Patrick et al. 2014). The main points

Even though the benefits outweigh the negatives there are still some negatives that come with every officer being outfitted with body cameras. As pointed out earlier the start out cost and maintenance cost are extremely high, but what most don’t think about is the privacy concerns. Scholars have hinted at the fact that body cameras could infringe on peoples 4th amendment right, that being the right to privacy. One of these scholars is Marc Blitz, who makes the argument that in some cases police are called to people’s homes, and if that officer was wearing a body camera it could record details and layouts of that person’s home (Blitz, M, 2015). Lindsay Miller and Jessica Toliver, both scholars working for the Office of Community Oriented Policing

Even though the benefits outweigh the negatives there are still some negatives that come with every officer being outfitted with body cameras. As pointed out earlier the start out cost and maintenance cost are extremely high, but what most don’t think about is the privacy concerns. Scholars have hinted at the fact that body cameras could infringe on people’s right to privacy. One of these scholars is Marc Blitz, who makes the argument that in some cases police are called to people’s homes, and if that officer was wearing a body camera it could record details and layouts of that person’s home (Blitz, 2015). Lindsay Miller and Jessica Toliver, both scholars working for the Office of Community Oriented Policing Service in Washington D.C. also

I am sure that we all seen an episode of Cops, a well-known television show, that depicts actual officers from across the United States, involved in different calls from routine traffic stops to high speed car chases and everything in between. Cops are faced with abuse, being cussed out, threatened, having to use force for people to just comply with simple instructions. The use of body cameras could help with people being more compliant, just because they know they are being watched. Criminologist Dr. Michael D. White, who is also a professor at Arizona State University, and the author of the U.S. Department of Justice report, stated “It’s human nature: People generally behave better when they know someone is

The first argument for officers of the law that should where body cameras is that some background info to support this argument is police should record for their shift and off when their done with the shift. this should stop police abuse and unnecessary lethal force against the public. "Everyone behaves better on camera" is an excellent quote that shows how cops could be beating the crap out of you while you 're in your , and the second you start to record them they will stop and say "license and registration please sir". One of the first cameras introduced to the law was put in their cars. so that when a suspect ran off or drove off had evidence so that

Austin, as you stated body-worn cameras do provide the ability to visually observe an officer’s process of dealing with an incident (A. Saddler, personal communication, June 20, 2018). In fact, using camera footage for training purposes is potentially extremely useful (White, 2014). Using other department’s and our videos has benefited our training division in better preparing our officers. Nonetheless, if the media or public obtain these videos with the benefit of understanding the officer’s background or standard procedures, then they judge the officer without the appropriate benefit (Graham v. Conner, 1989). Although body-worn cameras have significant potential for benefiting law enforcement their mandatory implementation was premature.

Police cams may be expensive, however, is a much cheaper alternative than wasting time in court and tax payers’ money. A study from Rialto, California showed that police reports were cut by 87.5% when body cams were used. There is no need to safeguard yourself as the video shows everything. A judge can just look at the video and guilty or not guilty is clearly visible and the case is over with. It is infrequent when a judge can misinterpret the video. Any incident caught on police cam has been through this and over this. The police and alleged culprits have been noticed to improve their behavior when recorded by police cams, therefore, they seem to ameliorate their behavior due to being on camera. None of them want to look second-rate in the case of people who might observe the footage. This, of course, consequently makes them follow the code of conduct. A research by Cambridge University stated that body cams reduced police force by 50%. Police brutality can no longer occur anymore if more cities start inducing the body cams. Body cams are generally infinitesimal compared to a normal retail camera used by average people. Police officers may carry a lot of equipment, but a body cam is infinitesimal. It's like it's not even there! The smallest one is around the size of a lipstick. Adding on to that, the battery and the camera weigh around a quarter of a pound. All these advantages make up for all the cam’s downfalls. Nothing in life is perfect, but the police cam can be the closest to perfect in the eyes of