Should Police Officers Be Required For Wear Cameras While On Duty?

There has been some debate on the matter of whether or not law enforcement officials should wear body cameras or not. Law enforcement officers should wear body-worn cameras because it will help the officers while on patrol and the offender while being arrested or stopped. This topic has been debated for a long period of time. It really came to light when Michael Brown, an 18 year old african american boy, was shot and killed in August of 2014 by Officer Wilson, in Ferguson, Missouri.

Across the country a growing number of legislative departments have been debating about the pros and cons of police body cameras. This paper will further explore benefits, as well as the downfalls of using such devices. This paper will also look at specific cases and examine whether or not body cameras were helpful in various situations. It will examine if they were a deterrent in cases dealing with police brutality and domestic violence. It also looks at how they could be misused and assisting some officers in covering up their corrupt behavior.

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

Police officers should have to be required to wear body cameras to ensure the safety of the citizens and to provide evidence for a court case. Many times the police have gotten away with too many things and commit crimes that go unnoticed It’s time we put a stop to that and we make a change. With the use of body cameras that police force would be more trustworthy, they wouldn’t commit crimes, and they would be able to supply the court with undisputable evidence.

In today 's society, one highly debatable topic is whether or not law enforcement agents should wear body cameras. Most cameras used by law enforcement agencies across the country record audio and video, therefore, the cameras see and hear nearly everything a law enforcement officer does. There are many advantages to law enforcement personnel using body cameras while on duty because it holds the officers accountable, is used to document the contact made between the officers and the victims and/or suspects, supports the “use of force” action, keeps the officers and citizens honest, and the videos can even be used for training for other officers.

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.

Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager, was shot and killed on August 2014, by Darren Wilson, a white police officer, in Ferguson, Mo. Brown, an 18-year-old African-American was fatally shot and killed in the street shortly after robbing a convenience store. The disputed circumstances of the shooting of the unarmed young man sparked existing tensions in the majority-black community and law enforcements in Ferguson, Mo. The event received considerable attention in the U.S. and elsewhere, attracted protesters from outside the region, and generated a powerful debate about the relationship between law enforcement and African Americans and the police use of excessive force. The shooting prompted protests that shaken the area for weeks. The announcement of the grand jury that they decided not to indict Mr. Wilson set off another wave of protests. Many police officers have defended Wilson, pointing out that officers patrolling violent neighborhoods risk their lives, while demonstrators saw the case in terms of racism and police brutality. However, Brown’s killing and the following events in Ferguson became a national controversy touching on much larger national issues of race, justice, and police brutality. While the specifics of the Brown shooting involved is not clear, the situation would have been dramatically different had Wilson worn body camera which would have recorded the actual event. With new body camera technology

Historically speaking, authorities of the law were never in a position where their professional duties and their character as a public servant of the law were demeaned in a way that there needs to be constant surveillance of them and the people whom they come into contact with. There was never a need of documenting every encounter you had with a civilian before. In this day in age, things have certainly changed, and the past has always been something society likes to change and make better even if it raises concerns. Due to all the violent police stories that has surfaced in the past decade, the idea of having police officers wear video cameras as a part of their uniform while on duty has resulted in a radically divergent account of society’s future. The law may uphold cops to wear cameras while working, but is this really the best decision? This topic is very controversial and may create issues with cops and the civilians they try and protect in the future.

Police officers should wear body cameras at all times on duty because it creates more evidence. Body cameras document everything from witnesses,victims,and suspects. “Perceived benefits that body-worn cameras offer—capturing a video recording of critical incidents and encounters with the public, strengthening police accountability, and providing a valuable new type of evidence—largely outweigh the potential drawbacks. (Ziv). This supports the argument because body cameras will be able to record any incidents and report them with the public. This quote support my big argument because only the officers and the victims knows what going on in a situation. This quote supports the position because now there will be clear evidence in certain

Is it really possible to argue against an untampered video from the scene of the crime? Police officers should be required to wear body camera when on the job. This topic is an ongoing argument that is raging like wildfire across the nation. When a police officer clocks in for the day they grab what they need for that day and go, but what if they were recording what they did when they pulled you over? What would you do? You would probably act a little bit more tamed. That is one main reason why they should start wearing body camera during every radio that they respond to.

Police brutality of minorities has brought us as a nation to discuss whether law enforcement should be equipped with body-worn cameras. As we are aware technology today has advanced exponentially - far beyond our imaginations cellphones and other electronics devices are equipped with the most awesome digital features. These devices provide citizens the capability to record anything they desire capturing the good bad and ugly including police misconduct. Last year alone, 120 million smart phones were sold in the U.S. (Hughes, 2014). Over the past years bystanders have caught vicious killings and mistreatment of civilians by police offices. Numerous accounts of their actions have demonstrated racial profiling, injustice, recklessness, inappropriate behavior and lack of sensitivity of the needs of the community resulting in division and mistrust between some communities and law enforcement agencies. As a result these devices have called us to question the legitimacies of Law Enforcements Agencies. If body-worn cameras are implemented and mandated for police officers when interacting with the public, it would be beneficial for both parties. This paper will focus on the common use of these devices and discuss their most important objectives such as: reducing police excess-use-of force, mendacious complaints against police officers, increasing prosecution rates due to evidence captured by the police and enhancing police legitimacy and transparency. Throughout the paper I will

“Everyone is on their best behavior when the cameras are running. The officers, the public, everyone.” – Ron Miller, Chief of Police, Topeka (Kansas) Police Department

Making it mandatory for law enforcement officers to have a body cam is not a new idea. In fact many police stations have been doing it for quite a while, but recently, due to some controversial events, many believe that it should be mandatory for every law enforcement officers to wear a body cam at all times. A poll that was taken a short while ago shows that 89% of people agreed that body cameras should be mandatory, but they are not. The reason that this is becoming a big issue is because many people have started to want complete transparency with law enforcement officers, and that is due to a few recent scandals. I chose to research this because it is a topic that I am not already biased about, so it should be easier for me to come to the right conclusion. I think that this topic is very important because it could set in motion quite a few changes in our law enforcement and justice systems. The primary question of my research is: should it be mandatory for law enforcement officers to have body cameras?

Do you think police officers need body cams and dashboard cams on them?If not, Imagine you're walking to the store by yourself.A disturbance happened in the store,so the police was called.The police asks you questions and you get quite smart and rude with them.They ask you for some identification to identify who you are,and you reach in your pockets to get them.The next thing you know the gun be will drown out and they will shoot you most likely kill you and guess what there is no evidence because its your word against there's and most likely they will believe them because there is no proof saying that they shot you.Now do you think they need cameras on them at all times.Cause others may think differently.

The production of law enforcement cameras on police officers should be highly enforced. In South Carolina a police officer was charged with murder after shooting an unarmed man during a traffic stop. Somehow, someone caught everything on tape. Michael T. Slager was running for his life when a police officer shot him 8 times in the back. The officer said he had feared for his life because the man had taken his gun and in the video it clearly showed the man had no weapons. Normally, police officers wouldn’t get caught or taken to jail for things like this because of their lies. If police officers were to get body cameras placed on their uniforms we could see the truth.