Why Are Body Cameras Important

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

Over the last few years there has been much controversy leading up to the need for law enforcement officers to wear body cameras. This is not only for citizens but also for the officers’ protection. With so much debate regarding police brutality and excessive force body cameras are quickly on the rise. New technology is giving police on a state and federal level a new opportunity to cut back on some of the allegations and negativity we have seen in the last few years. On the other hand it is giving citizens all over the country the safety they should feel when being approached by law enforcement. Our technology has improved significantly over the years and this seems to be something that will benefit everyone.

What is a body camera, a body camera is a small unit that is placed on police officer. It is usually a small unit place on a officers glasses, shoulder, or on the chest. Most unit are self contained but if it were malfunction the are a bit expensive to replace (Erstad). These cameras have to be manually turned on and off (EInvestigators). These cameras can possibly break or malfunction on the job but only in a rare cases (EInvestigators). Some of these cameras take a lot of maintenance to keep running like software and SD cards storage. As these cameras are getting more widespread and so city are making them mandatory to be on police at all times. But with more cameras there is more footage and people want that footage released for the public to have an opinion on. But releasing the footage might cause some controversy and may not be suitable for public eyes. This type of issue causes a lot of problems

The cameras are very small portable devices, it’s the size and length of a cigarette stick. The camera is attached to the police officers uniform and sits in a pocket. Usually police officers are required to wear this body camera while they are on duty. The cameras record everything that happens between officers and civilians. The Rialto Police Department was the first to actually use and wear the body cameras in 2012. They did a yearlong study to see the impact of police relations by wearing body cameras. One officer wasn’t feeling too good about this idea because he thought the cameras would be to punish them instead of helping them out. “During the first year after the cameras were introduced, the use of force by police officers reportedly declined 60% and complaints from citizens against law enforcement officers decreased 88%.” This was a yearlong study in which 54 officers had to

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

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.

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

Cop cams are small, pager-sized cameras that clip on to an officer 's uniform or are worn as a headset, and record audio and video of the officer 's interactions with the public (Lenese 126). The idea of these body-worn cameras is that they are to record all activity an officer should partake in for the duration of their shift. That means even when they are in the station doing paperwork or even in the patrol car getting to know your partner. If the cameras do not record continuously, officers could control them at

The dispute of police body cameras truly hit the media hard this week. Blasting from the headlines all citizens were aware that Michael Brown was lethally shot in Ferguson, Missouri. This prompted officers to become fortified with body cameras. This technologically progressive world that we live in today has shaped a world of tweeting, posting and uploading. It’s about time that police departments take advantage of the tools accessible to them, especially with the advancement of equipment. The move forward in technology will help to alleviate speculation on any misconduct perpetrated. There now will be hard honest evidence of any crime committed against a police officer.

Body cameras will prevent officers from using to much unneeded force. In the "SIRS DATABASE--At Issue: Police and Body Cameras" it states that. "In the past several years, wearable video cameras for police officers have also been issued as standard

With so many incidents occurring between law enforcement and civilians, it’s about time we have our officers wear body cameras. Law enforcement wants to use body cameras, many politicians are in favor for them, Civil-rights groups are advocating them, and communities that already have a strong police presence in their neighborhoods are requesting that the police get cameras now. With the uproar of law enforcement and the death of many black American’s, body cameras can be very useful. There is always that missing link when trying to put these horrible moments back together. Far too many times we end up with the suspect dead and only get one side of the story. With the use of body cameras, we can now get more insight on the events that happen (Boyd, 2015).

In the article, “Body Cameras For US Police Officers: Are The Programs Effective?”, it talks about a study done where body cameras are integrated in these specific police departments. “The report concluded there is ‘little evidence regarding most of the perceived benefits and drawbacks of the technology.’ White said not much has changed in the six months since the study was published” (Ross). However, most of these articles don’t give specific enough details to why body cameras are not effective, proving this to be a lackluster claim. Others say the cameras are very expensive.

There are instances people don’t cooperate because of the trust issues between them. Hopefully the cameras can reestablish the connection between police and citizens. Soon they may realize this task will much harder to complete. Some may say it a breach of privacy, “particularly in instances in which encounters with police occur in a private home.” (Police Body Cameras) This is one of the main concerns with body cameras, nobody wants to be film inside his/her own home. Also the cameras are expensive at a large scale. “Body cameras can cost in the range of $100 upward to $1,500...” (Ignasiak) It’s not rational idea to issue all officers with cameras the cost will be too

While body cameras can benefit police tremendously, they can also cause concern for

I will identify the advantages of using body cameras as well as the drawbacks (Pollack, 2017). I will discuss if I was stopped by a police officer for a traffic offense would I want to be videotaped. If I was involved in a domestic violence incident would I want to be videotaped when the officers arrived? Then I will discuss whether the police should have the discretion to turn off the camera when they believe a person’s privacy is being invaded regardless of what the person involved thinks so.