Police Corruption

Video Footage has the potential to expose officer misconduct and exonerate civilians whose actions have been falsely accused by officers. In the case of John Crawford III, going into his local Walmart, just wanting to spend quality time with his family roasting s’mores. Officers had over 200 video cameras showing he wasn’t doing anything wrong, but they refused to look at them. Even though he had an unloaded pellet gun that he picked up off the shelf. Why shoot, instead of tasering him. (Harvard Law Review N.A., 2015). Even with some witnesses around that still didn’t stop New York Police officers from using excessive force on Eric Garner. His death was recorded, and the officers were indicted. There are many cases where officers are accused of excessive force such as PEOPLE vs ATKINSON. In cases such as this, there are officers stating force was necessary and defendants saying that unnecessary force had been used. The use of cameras helps to determine without prejudice and protect all

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

In the aftermath of the Rodney king beating a lot of things changed with police on the field. “In the wake of the Rodney king case; cameras became standard equipment in patrol cars all over the nation” (Marcou). In doing this police now cannot cover up an incident that they were a part of. “As far as citizens recording police, there is still much disagreement about how it should be handled” (Marcou). Nowhere in the constitution does it say the citizens cannot film stuff that is happening outside their house. “When it comes to training, officers are told “have your camera going at all times. A professional police officer has nothing to fear from being recorded and always act as if you are being recorded, because in today’s world you probably are” (Marcou). Thanks to cases like Rodney Kings, law enforcement is much more aware of misuse of force in the field.

recording device to an officer’s person, society is able to cut out human bias, and reveal the true

Body cameras are proven to make policemen act better while they’re are on duty. “Police officers "tend to behave a little better"(Kon, Body Cameras for Police Officers). if they know their behavior is being recorded on camera” stated author Tsin Yen Kon. Police will act better cause they know they are being “watched”. Just like when a student has a parent to sit in their class, they act very well, police do the same. Police will also act right, because they don’t want to lose their jobs or get fired because some careless mistake that they made while on camera. “When police officers are acutely aware that their behavior is being monitored (because they turn on the cameras), and when officers tell citizens that the cameras are recording their behavior, everyone behaves better” (Knickerbocker). Brad Knickerbocker, the author, explains how both sides of the camera, police, and criminal will have an effect on their behavior because they know that they are being watched, and recorded. When people know they are being watched, it is like they get scared, because they don't want anything to be used against them. Although cameras will make police act better, people will still think that police brutality will still happen.

Cop cams are small, pager-sized cameras that clip on to an officer 's uniform or are worn as a headset, and record audio and video of the officer 's interactions with the public (Lenese 126). The idea of these body-worn cameras is that they are to record all activity an officer should partake in for the duration of their shift. That means even when they are in the station doing paperwork or even in the patrol car getting to know your partner. If the cameras do not record continuously, officers could control them at

Law enforcement should always be concerned with the public trust they operate with. Officers are neighbors and regular people just like the rest of the community. Allowing a record of their actions not only gives them protection from false claims it also can keep people from overreacting in situations. Studies have shown that both officers and citizens both are more likely to remain calm in a situation where everyone knows they were being recorded beforehand (Spivak).

Currently, the trend is when being approached by an officer or seeing someone being harassed the average person will pull out their cell phone to record the situation taking place. The social climate has shifted to one where much of the historic trust that has been put in police officers has become questioned following the events in Ferguson, Missouri, and Staten Island, New York (shah, 2016). For example the case of the shooting of Walter Scott. Walter Scott was pulled over for a broken tail light but ran from officer Michael Slager. The officer ran after him, and they had a small scuffle over the officer 's taser, but the victim continued to run away when the officer pulled out his gun and shot Walter Scott eight times. Once Scott was lying face down the officer called for backup and picked up an item from the ground which was found to be the taser and placed it next to Mr.Scott 's body. He planted his taser next to me.scott who was lying on the ground. The District Court for the District of Connecticut identified that the Circuit Courts of Appeals had been split as to whether or not the right to record police activity is a constitutional right that is clearly established such that it can defeat a claim of qualified immunity when an officer inhibits those actions (shah, 2016). When a video is recorded by a staff member during an active investigation that clearly shows the officer violating the victim 's

Evidence: It is valuable for police to have recordings of witness and victim statements, but recording might make people reluctant to talk. If there are policies that restrict recording of First Amendment activity, such as protests and religious meetings, then what makes it right for police officers to record an incident?

Law enforcers and their administrative counterparts across the country have proclaimed for years, that citizens do not have the right to videotape officers while they conduct official police business. According to our constitution,

If I were stopped by a police officer for a traffic offense I would not have a problem being videotaped because if the encounter went good and I wanted to file a compliment on the officer and the officer’s supervisor would be able to view the video and see why his officer was complimented (Pollack, 2017). On the other hand, if the stop went bad either way and I filed a complaint the officer’s supervisor would be able to review the video and determine who was at fault and the appropriate actions could be taken.

The article, Accountability Vs. Privacy, written by the senior policy analyst of ACLU, Jay Stanley, talks about the police carrying body cameras and the guidelines that police should go by when using them. Stanley’s first guideline that officers should follow is to let the citizen know they are being recorded. He states that due to the fact that the body camera is attached to the police officer it may record places where privacy is expected like in someone’s home or apartment. The American civil liberties union of Illinois suggests that the police officer should notify the citizen that they are being reordered. The next guideline Stanley suggests is police officers should not be able to control what is recorded. According to the article, the

A man in Seattle was arrested for a peaceful protest early this year, and his arrest was recorded on a police body camera. He hasn’t yet had his day in court, but the footage of his arrest, name, address and date of birth are all made public records (Sullivan n.p.). Those supporting these cameras say it is their right to see the footage, but by enabling those rights the right to privacy for victims’ and officers’ become second class. The show ‘Cops’ has been around for 28 seasons and has highlighted the scenes of which police encounter every day. It’s not pretty, but those filmed are asked to sign off on permission to use the footage. If they don’t sign the footage can’t be used, this is allowing suspects their due privacy. Police body cameras invade officers’ and suspects’ rights to privacy and provide too much transparency.

Hello LaJuanda! I agree with you on the fact that the majority of citizens are private in their lives, and being in the wrong place at the wrong time could result in them being recorded during a police encounter. When I worked patrol, I was always cognizant of the fact that people are being recorded during an embarrassing and low point in their life, especially if they were being arrested. I also used that to my advantage because I knew what they were saying was being recorded and will be used as evidence down the road. It also stayed in the back of my mind that my actions were being recorded as well and would definitely be used against me if they came into question. I have several letters that were sent to me from people that I arrested

On Tuesday, December 2nd, the was a bill newly introduced saying that it would be a felony to record police while they are at work. If you are found recording a police officer, there is a sentence of two to four years in prison, which is a class three felony. Meanwhile, the bill also makes it illegal to record of a private citizen, a class 4 felony, which carries a lower sentencing range of one to three years in prison. The reason why they make recording a police officer a high sentence is because they want to make people especially afraid to record police; what police do can be very dangerous and sometimes they might want their business to be secret and not all over social media. This article is important for us citizen to know about because