The Importance Of Body Cameras On Police Officers

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

Police Brutality is a big issue in America. There has been many cases in which the Police Officer is put into question. Body Cameras have already been used in other states and it has proven that it reduces Police Brutality. On October 18, Corey Jones a musician was killed by a Palm Beach Garden’s Officer. Corey Jones was having trouble with his car so, he called his brother to come pick him up. The Police Officer didn’t have a body camera nor a police dashboard camera in his vehicle. He was was wearing a baseball cap, T-shirt, and jeans. He was driving in an unmarked 15-passenger van. There were no witnesses at the scene just the Police Officer and Corey Jones.The use of body cameras may invade the public or police privacy, but it helps more in cases because it provides evidence, reveals officers’ behavior, and protects the public as well as officers.

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

There has been a lot of talk lately in the news about police body cameras. Some people agree that body cameras should be used by all police officers, while others disagree and believe that they shouldn’t be used at all. There are some cons to having body cameras but all of the pros outweigh it. Police body cameras should be used in all towns no matter how small because the people will act less aggressive towards officers, they provide truthful evidence that cannot be altered with, and the videos can be stored so if something were to happen, they could be brought up and checked as sort of like a surveillance device.

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.

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

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

I think body cameras on police officers are worth the expense. Abby Phillips from the Washington Post says “At the 1 year memorial for Michael Brown,Tyrone Harris was supposedly armed with a 9mm Sig Sauer that was reported stolen last year so the cops opened fire on him and he is now in critical condition. His family and friends denied that he was armed.” (Phillips 1) We should have body cameras on police officers because it would show evidence of what actually happened at this crime scene and many others that are still being questioned. The cameras would basically show if there is any foul play from the cop and or if it was the actual suspects fault. Having the camera’s would end all of the questioning in police cases

For the past several years the push for police to wear body cameras has greatly increased. Body cameras are small video and audio recorders that can be worn by police officers to capture all encounters the officers have with citizens. Large cities and counties across the nation have been testing body cameras among several police departments to see if they can actually improve the way police and citizens interact with one another. Over the course of the past several years evidence has shown that the tests seem to be rather successful. Evidence has proved that in many cases the body cameras have made a significant impact on how some police officers deal with certain situations and behave toward citizens. Even the citizens who know they are being recorded have either changed the way they interact with the police or will not make false accusations or false complaints toward officers. In Rialto, California in 2012, the test of body cameras showed a decrease in officers using force and complaints of police brutality (BloombergView). When officers are aware that they are on camera they tend to follow the rules more. The same can be said about citizens, when the officers tell them they are being recorded, they change their behavior and sometimes begin to act more rational. Currently, the relationship between the police and citizens is rough. Citizens have trust issues with many officers, and officers are now scared that they may become targets of police hatred. Hopefully, with the

Law enforcement has faced a lot of criticism regarding the relationship between the people with the inner communities. The change in law enforcement is now taking place in most departments across the country. In the next ten years the criminal justice system with implement body cameras for every officer. These cameras will change the face of law enforcement. First it will protect the officer from malicious prosecution for miss use of force. For example, the Michael Brown case in Ferguson Missouri involved a police shooting of an unarmed black male. In this case the officer use of deadly force was called into question, because some witnesses believed that the shooting was unlawful. Due to the lack of supportive evidence, it created an uproar

Body cameras are a source of evidence of what happens when a police officer is investigating a crime. They offer the potential to provide more accurate depiction of the moment of police brutality. Police body cameras are a solution to helping police officers reduce police misconduct through recording police and citizen encounters, as well as building trust in the community. Secondly, the best use of this information is by having the camera on while on duty, officers can document incidents as they occur, and if a shooting takes place, juries will have evidence of these interactions on tape. Furthermore, body cameras may also encourage police to be more consistently conscious and diligent towards their responsibilities, as their every move will be recorded.

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

All police officers should wear body cameras because they would then have good proof for why they pulled someone over or arrested them. It would also be a great way to keep record of how many arrests or stops a police officer makes in a given period of time. Other police or the chief of police could then see how the person under arrest or pulled over acted towards the cop. If the cop got physical with a suspect or just someone he’d pulled over or arrested the body cam would show if he had good reason to do so. Cases like a cop getting physical have a tendency to go to court the body cam could either prevent that or prove if the policeman was out of line or doing what he had to do.

There have been significant controversies regarding the use of body cameras by police officers. Specifically, many people have questioned whether or not police officers should be required to wear the body cameras. Police have already killed 1,023 people -- many of whom were unarmed, mentally ill and people of color (Calaca). Police Officers should be required to wear body cameras so that there would be no police misconduct and prosecutors will have key evidence on video of every encounter.