Should Police Officers Wear Body Cameras

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

Moreover, to stop the crime and police brutality, body cameras would not be a bad idea if they were to be taken a step forward. Nancy La Vigne writer of “Body Cameras for Police Could Be One Smart Step” talks about supervisors monitoring the cameras in case an altercation were to happen (6). Nancy also talks about body cameras invading constitutional rights of the citizens. Vigne writes, “Body cameras will capture not just an officers actions, but also those of the citizens with whom they interact – or even individuals walking by or in the background” (Vigne). Nancy’s point is that with the body cameras and civilians being recorded, should the citizens know they are being recorded. Another solution for the body cameras to be able to work would be for the cops to have no access to the cameras.

This is dealing with the major situations that the police officers are in. The purpose of the camera is to show as many details as it can for the people. If it was not for the body cameras, the things that are happening in the world would be

For years and years, there have been many cases that police officers use unnecessary force on citizens. Citizens have reported the incidents, taken the incidents to court, and as well as people starting protests because of this. Instead of people feeling safe that the police is around people fear them. There has been a solution that involves police officers now having to be required wear body cameras. The use of body cameras on officers will reduce the use of force and will reduce dishonesty on incident reports; however, officers should not wear body cameras as it is an invasion of their privacy.

One reason police should be forced to wear body cameras is that if a police officer does use excessive force when it is unnecessary, there will be evident

“We’re not anti-police, we’re anti-police brutality,” said Al Sharpton. It has to be understood that people fighting for justice are not against the police, they are against police brutality. Many cases that involve police using excessive force on civilians are occurring. There is not evidence being recorded because either officers do not have their body cameras or they are not turning them on. Innocent police officers and also innocent civilians are being charged guilty without proof of what actually happened in the encounter. Some officers are using their authority to pin everything on the civilian by using fake eyewitnesses and testimonies. Because of this, the public is having a hard time trusting authorities. It should be mandatory for police officers to have body cameras because it eliminates chances of them using excessive force, clears the confusion, and helps gain the public’s trust in them.

The body cameras will record of what occurred and this camera will be the tool which will make it clear whether the officer was justified in using force and also it will prove the fact that the officer was correct. Everyone has a right to act in self defense. The video from the body camera presents an unbiased account of the events. This is a very important fact because nowadays when police officers make an assert of a criminal we see that most of the criminals are African American which makes them biased. The body cameras has no motive to lie and it has no stake in the outcome. It merely records the event as it happens. If a police officer acts lawfully, then he should not be blamed and accused wrongfully. The officers have the right to defend themselves and not suffer the punishment which they do not deserve. The usage of the body camera will not only provide the officers defense but it will be this strongest witness which will not be argued with. There are some drawbacks to the use of body cameras such as privacy concerns for both officers and the citizens when they encounter each other. The storage of data capturing images of innocent people, the possible tampering with the images, and the

While there are still fall backs in trying to attain funding for body cameras, they are absolutely necessary and the higher ranking position holders of government are fighting to make them possible. While there is not yet a law stating that all departments have to provide body cameras for all officers, many departments across country are beginning to introduce them as a tool. Coming upon enough funding for country wide body cameras is a tough feet but one body camera per department is more than none at all. Change is not going to happen over night but we are on the road to achieving

The social media and the public might want police body cam footage release but sometimes it might be to graphic or controversial. Police body cameras have been a topic since the incident with Michael Brown in august of 2014. Police shot and killed an unarmed individual in ferguson, MO, leading to many people wanting cameras on police. Whether the cameras are a good idea or not this paper will explore the facts and sides of police body cameras. Overall body cameras should be required Because they can save the lives of the innocent, keep innocent people from going to jail, and can help a case as more evidence.

Body cameras footage has proved valuable in the investigation into police misconduct. “Some police departments are doing themselves a disservice by not using body-worn cameras. Everyone around you is going to have a camera's so that everyone else can be able to tell their story better than someone who does not have these cameras”. For example, the student in south Carolina who was pull off her chair by a police officer, because she refused to give her phone. Other students, however, recorded the situation on their phone. They claimed that the student hit the police officer, which resulted in the officer removing her from her seat. However, the student who was pulled out of the chair said she only hit the police officer because he hit her. First, the police officer had been wearing a body camera it would have proved the actual events.

Before all else, it would reduce violence between the possible suspect and the police. According to the article, “Justice Department Allocates $20 Million for Body Cameras” by Christina Beck, when the camera are in use, everyone behaves better. Studies show that uses of force were decreased by officers and citizens when body cameras were in use. Additionally, the body cameras would minimize confusion to the public because on camera it would show exactly what happened.

Many Americans have thought about the law enforcement’s limits as it has been brought to people’s attention due to the media. Ideas, such as body cameras used by police, have been debated since it became a realistic option. Body cameras are devices that would be placed on an officer’s body or uniform and turned on when an officer is on duty or approaching a civilian. The technology would be used to determine if excessive force was used when subduing a criminal. Social media has played an enormous part in why the topic of body cameras is being disputed.

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

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.

Police officers are starting to wear body cameras . This is a good things because it can then show what real went down, instead of hearing two differnt sides of a story. Now by having police officers wear a body camera you have a visual.