Body Cameras Pros And Cons

The United States has a dark history of mistreating and racially profiling black Americans. Over the years, America has developed into one of the world’s most powerful countries; yet police brutality remains a monumental problem. Police brutality has transformed into such a hot topic, and when brought up in conversation, it sparks a debate. Nevertheless, the brutality should be talked about. Although many believe that the media pushes the narrative, that only African Americans are victims, police brutality stems from racial profiling and is an ever growing issue because stories show a painful pattern, lives are negatively affected, and the use of different solutions is utilized to expose the problem.

On the night of August 9, 2014, the town of Ferguson, Missouri became the center of riots, marches, and mass chaos. Officer Darren Wilson, aged twenty-eight, fatally shot eighteen year-old Michael Brown. The disputed circumstances of the shooting and the lack of a video recording received considerable attention in the U.S. and elsewhere, and sparked the discussion of installing body cameras on police officers to provide evidence in these kinds of cases. Police officers should be required to wear cameras because of increased police brutality, lack of evidence in legal cases, and proof of proper police officers.

In the weeks that followed the Michael Brown shooting, Ferguson was filled with violence, riots, and protests. There was massive police resistance, and demonstrators were clashing with police officers. Ferguson was all over the media and it brought up a lot of concerns. Among these concerns were police misconduct, unnecessary use-of-force, racial profiling, and police response to rioting and the public recording these incidences. It is apparent that the public consensus is that body-worn cameras are the answer to preventing another “Ferguson” from happening (Wasserman,

Samuel Ibisi; I think police officers all over the world should wear body camera's because the beginning of this article it show a image of three people and those three people were label number one was a witness , number 2 was the suspects and finally number 3 is the police officer. And all three of the people who was label all said the same thing which was I'm telling the truth but we know that one of them must be telling and this is one of the reason why should have body camera's to have prove of which is telling the lie or the truth. August 2014 it was a killing in Ferguson,Missouri of a young black , But other people in the who saw the killing was in shocked because the young black teen had his hands up and didn't do anything but the cop

Recently, there has been numerous accusations of police brutality, racism, and misconduct. In some cases the police have acted inappropriately as accused. However, in other cases, law enforcement officers have acted appropriately and followed regulations. But, it is hard to determine if an officer acted properly without actual video evidence. Of course, the officers word should be valued more than that of a criminal. But there are in fact some officers who misuse the law, attack racial minorities, or breach code. Therefore, it has become difficult to determine if an officer acted wrongly unless the officer is wearing a body camera. Likewise, the fact that an officer is wearing a body camera may make officers less likely to behave wrongly and

“I'm telling these tears, ‘Go and fall away, fall away’ May the last one burn into flames”. This is from a line in Beyonce’s song Freedom saying; Rather than falling into despair, black women have formed The Black Lives Matter movement to take action on racism and abuse. Police brutality is not only a problem within The United States, but a global problem with six other countries participating including Europe, Africa, England, Amsterdam, Ireland and the United Kingdom.

Recently in the media there has been an uproar about the treatments that citizens receive from the police in addition to how the citizens interact with police. Video footage has shown police brutality that is sometimes questionable, which often dictates on the how the community views them by causing tension. Accusations of Police brutality is nothing new but it isn’t until recently that it is being recorded and it is difficult to correct the actions of someone if there is not enough evidence provided. Recent advancements in technology police

Recording from police cameras could aid as a tool in officer training, as it could be used to observe where and how officers could correct their behavior. Captured footage from the cameras could be integrated in the police academy training programs, along with courses on sensitive topics such as racial bias and sexism, to provide new officers with a foundation that exposes them to real incidents that have happened in the field. Officers will be able to learn what encounters with members of the community should and should not look like (Harvard Law Review, 2015). Police body cameras will allow police departments to tailor their trainings and equip their officers with the knowledge they need so that officers themselves can better regulate their own behavior as well.

I grew up in an urban environment and many times were faced with much adversity. I’ve seen depression, drug addiction, violence and police brutality. There are many past events that I’ll never forget so whenever I see or hear certain things I get emotional. The reason for getting emotional is because the connection to the past. According to “Black Rage in New Orleans” as “African Americans grew in the nation’s cities, it did not take long for white officers to develop an “us versus them” mentality as they encountered African Americans on a daily basis. Consequently, they were often ready to let African Americans know who was in charge by utilizing any and all methods of police repression. Consequently, the term police brutality was all encompassing to African Americans during the postwar period. It included police homicides; unlawful arrests; assaults; threatening and abusive language; the use of racial slurs”. For example, Eric Gardner, an American man from New York were choked to death by a New York police officer. New York Times report that he was shoved to the ground gasping for air, panicking “I can’t breathe”. Eric Gardner was a victim of police brutality and like many other victims didn’t get any justice for the murder. CNN leaked footage of Eric Gardner being murdered and after seeing it I got emotional. The connection of constantly seeing police brutality and nothing being done about it made me frustrated. Another example is the power of music and

Even though the benefits outweigh the negatives there are still some negatives that come with every officer being outfitted with body cameras. As pointed out earlier the start out cost and maintenance cost are extremely high, but what most don’t think about is the privacy concerns. Scholars have hinted at the fact that body cameras could infringe on people’s right to privacy. One of these scholars is Marc Blitz, who makes the argument that in some cases police are called to people’s homes, and if that officer was wearing a body camera it could record details and layouts of that person’s home (Blitz, 2015). Lindsay Miller and Jessica Toliver, both scholars working for the Office of Community Oriented Policing Service in Washington D.C. also

In the recent wake of the death of Michael Brown, an eighteen-year-old, who was shot by Ferguson, Missouri police officer Darren Wilson, the topic of police accountability and excess force have been heavily discussed. Among those discussions a reoccurring question has been asked “Should police officers wear body cameras”? While some view this as a violation of privacy, many agree that they law enforcement should be equipped with body cameras. Law enforcement should wear body cameras to promote compliance from the public when interacting with law enforcement, provide documented evidence, and also cameras would help reduce the complaints made against officers, while promoting accountability.

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 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.

A certain case is said to have led to the discussion about body cameras and led to the start of several police departments using them. In Ferguson, Missouri on August 9, 2014, a police officer named Darren Wilson shot and killed an unarmed eighteen-year-old named Michael Brown. There are no visual recordings of what happened between the officer and the eighteen-year-old because the officer was not wearing a camera. The eyewitnesses accounts of the incidents were usually in conflict with other eyewitnesses, therefore, it is unknown what truly happened between the two. If Wilson had been wearing a body camera it could have ended the uncertainty of what happened that day and stopped the future violent protests and events that occurred (Sanburn, Josh).

In 2014, the shooting of the unarmed teen Michael Brown has woke the nation to discuss about excessive force used from the police and police brutality. According to statistics two out of three Americans has mentioned that the police officers does not give fair treatment and also not used the right amount of force towards the citizen. This has brought the attention to the discussion of should police should wear body cameras. I believe that police officers should be required to wear body cameras because it could decrease police brutality by 66 percent. This could also help clear up case/provide evidence towards the accusation using the body cam footage and also it could civilian complaints.