Should Police Officers Wear Body Cameras Affect Police Brutality?

Police brutality and office involved shootings have sparked national debate and created a strain between police officers and citizens. Recently, there have been more home videos that display acts of aggression by police officers. These police officers often use excessive forces or a condescending tone towards people of color which is why there needs to be a better way to mend police and civilian relationship. People should be able to trust the police in their communities rather than fear them.

This is an important debate to many people, because it can change crime rates and rate of police brutality dramatically. If a police officer is wearing a body camera it could save their life because the offender will know they are being watched and probably won’t try to attack the officer. As with any positives, there are negatives, like the expence of the cameras per officer as large. Also, don 't forget that they are an invasion of privacy.

First advantage in law enforcement agents wearing body cameras is to hold the officers accountable. “Holding the officers accountable, will ensure the officer adheres to policies and procedures during an encounter with victims and suspects.” Body-worn cameras are poised to help boost accountability for law enforcement and citizens and, unlike many new police technologies, the cameras share preliminary support from both law enforcement and social justice groups. Successful implementation of the cameras will require careful policies that respect and protect both the police and the public.

Making sure that every officer has a body camera will cut down on brutality and excessive force, making it safer for the officer and the civilian or suspect. With proper tranning it will create more accountability and cost will also be cut from false accusations creating better edvidence.

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

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.

In the past couple years the media has been focusing a lot of its attention on police officers. Sadly they make police officers out to be horrible people who act solely on their hatred for certain races, but in reality police officers are there for the safety of the citizens. In any profession there will be people who are there for the wrong reasons, and this is true for police officers as well. Although most police officers focus on the safety and wellbeing of the citizens, some police officers are in for their own selfish and personal reasons. As a result they act immoral and unethical. These are what the media calls bad cops. Because of the misconduct of a few police officers, the public now proposes police officers wear body cameras. The use of body cameras proves to be a valuable asset in the incrimination of justice because of its many benefits, few downsides, and overall public approval.

The topic of police brutality has come up throughout recent history and the problem is someone is always lying and with cameras you can get a first hand point of view in every case. This is important because many people view the idea of police body cameras as a way to solve

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

One study concluded, “that such cameras led to both more professional behavior on the part of officers and to speedier resolution of complaints regarding officer professionalism…” (Pagliarella). It is likely that greater amounts of officer civility will lead to a decrease in the amounts of reports of officer misconduct. Additionally, even police officers themselves are in support of the use of body cameras. One Time Magazine writer commented that, “Police interest in body cameras has accelerated in the past few years following a number of high-profile deaths at the hands of police officers” (Sanborn). Just like any regular civilian, police officers agree that body cameras could help decrease malpractice of violence, so they should be used.

Body camera for police officers might be expensive but what is money to the deaths of innocent lives along with clearing misunderstandings for future citizens who waste their times and lives in jail for something they didn’t do and was falsely accused of doing. Having body camera for officers would improve many things drastically such as accountability, transparency, improve social image, and provide evidence of decisions made by officers in intense situations. Some might say that having police officers wearing body camera might invade their privacy but in reality the things they do behind the scene are the source of problem; if they wore body cameras then it would increase accountability, prevent violence, and improve the public views towards

Social media has played a role in emphasizing the importance of capturing events on video when the actions of a police officer are questionable. The assumption that body-worn cameras will deter police officers from committing deviant acts is something that would benefit society by holding police officers accountable for actions taken and provide transparency on the conduct of police officers. Background of the Problem The news and social media is constantly showing recordings of police violence occurring in America. Recordings of police officers being filmed using excessive force creates a distrust in society.

Body cameras can prevent brutalities and fatalities from happening. The citizens and the police being aware that that they are being video taped may stop a conflict before it escalates into something bigger.In the article, Considering Police Body Cameras ,they state that: “‘The visible presence [can]… compel highly agitated people to calm down more quickly.’ Studies conducted in other locales have also found that body cameras reduce officers’ use of force in the field”(Harvard). For example, if there was a recording of the Michael Brown incident the trial may have ended differently. When the shooting

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

In 2014, Michael Brown, an African American teenager, was shot and killed by a police officer named Darren Wilson. However, he is not alone; many people have been hurt or killed by aggressive police officers in the past few years (Dudley 44). Because of this, many Americans are demanding body cameras for officers as a solution. Body cameras are small cameras that attach to an officer’s uniform and record everything that they do. Many people believe this will solve the problem with police officers and violence. However, after research, some are unsure (Dudley 43). Due to the ineffectiveness of body cameras to change behavior, differing perspectives and video bias, and privacy issues associated with them, body cameras should not be used in the police force.