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

The use of body cameras can provide insight to the officers not only to the public. Body Cameras show more evidence than dashboards because dashboards are in a patrol car which could be farther or closer to the problem. “Supports using them, and his administration has pledged millions of dollars to local departments”(Obama). If they use dashboards there will be no guarantee that the public will be able to see the footage. Sometimes you aren’t able

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 on police officers in this day and age should be required for all departments. Body cameras should be worn to not only protect the officers but also the civilians that come into contact with police officers. It can give valuable information on what happened during an interaction between the public and law enforcement. This can protect the citizens from abuse by the police, as well as give necessary information into officer related shootings. All states should require their branches of law enforcement to require body cameras while on duty.

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

The body camera would be more effective cause the vehicle video camera can't catch everything unless the police officer is in front of the vehicle but if the suspect starts to run the officer has no choice but to chase the suspect and leave the vehicle behind, which the vehicle camera can’t catch what happens next so that when the body cameras would come in handy. “ Body-worn cameras and car cameras allows you to capture the whole picture. The body cameras are the best thing to have because you would always see what's going you're always in the line of sight. I say body cameras would be more effective than not having body cameras.

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

Furthermore, as opposed to popular belief, body cameras can not only lead citizens to act lawfully, they can also provide amenity for both officers and citizens. Throughout history, times have arisen where an officer has acted out of the law. Body cameras can ensure that officers acting unlawful are punished for their wrongdoings. (The Police Foundation) A a result, this can assure citizens that they are not the only ones being punished for acting out of the law. Officers and citizens will also be more likely to act within the law, knowing that they are on camera. (Weisburg) In response, studies have shown, that citizens have developed comfort towards officers equipped with body cameras. (Fullerton Police Department) This new found trust has the ability to change the mentality of a community in an affirmative manner. (Mims) This alone could help revive a community such as Ferguson, that has been in shambles ever since Michael Brown was killed. In addition, Officer Drumond a highly respected officer at Sherwood said “I support body cameras and find it very comforting that everything I do is on camera”. (Weisburg) If body cameras can give officers a sense of comfort it can help improve their work ethic as well as keep them relaxed while on shift. This can lead to trust between officers and the community. Ultimately, body cameras have the ability to restore trust in a community as well as keeping both citizens and officers safe and acting within the law.

In addition, this type of technology does come along with quite a few weaknesses. One of the biggest weaknesses and biggest reasons many police departments can’t use body worn cameras is because they need a place to store all of the video. Many departments cannot afford to use body worn cameras because of how much it costs to store the video. In a survey distributed by Policemisconduct.net they found that nearly 39% of departments didn’t use cameras for this reason (Feeney, The Cato

If a bad cop does something wrong the body cam will catch it. The bad cop would probably take the body camera off before doing anything wrong, however if there is a good cop around then his body cam could catch the bad cop in the act. If there was more security on police than there wouldn’t be bad cops. The police should be trusted and most of them are but what about the ones that don’t do as much or don’t check in when they’re supposed to on regular bases.

Police officers should start wearing body cameras. Wearing body cameras will help police officer evaluate themselves. Police officers have many situations and need feedback to make changes to their attitude and comprehensive skills. The videos gather by the body cameras police officers wear can be used for evidence against the citizen or police officer in case of incident. Body cameras might create financial problem to the police department and are expensive, but they will save the lives of

With the rise of anti-police groups and police surveillance groups, like one called copwatch, the need for police accountability is at an all time high. The best way to hold these officers accountable is through mandated body cameras. Seeing a video of a police officer tackling someone can be very one-sided. It is almost like reading tone into a text; you create what one wants to hear. When someone wants to “hear” that a police officer was attacking a citizen, then that is how they are going to tell someone when they show the video. With body cameras, viewers get to see the whole story and the whole conversation occur. In an excerpt from “Through The Looking Glass House” the author talks about the way people perceive things and

Some of the reasons why body cams are very beneficial is that it becomes evidence on how officers react in intense situations, evidence on any misconduct or false accusations, and etc. The one reason it is very beneficial is that it speeds up the court system. Many tax payers money is going down the drain for people who are wrongly convicted, when it could go to the body cams. It shows hard evidence that reduces pre trial plea barging and increase the right person for conviction. So many people waste so much money on these trials when it could be easily solved when the body cams of the officers show the truth of what happen on the day of any arrest that occur that day and time. In some situations, many officers get abused also and taking up the circumstance mostly a lot of people doesn’t like the cops so that false accuse him for doing something that caused him to do the “wrong doing”. With the evidence of the body cam could show that officer did nothing wrong to get abused by the civilians and could save his career and his reputation. The body cam could show accurate witnesses and get victim statements on video, so when they go to court the witness and victims wouldn’t be able to change their story. These benefits create a better and truthful system for the people and local

First off body cams is a great idea in my opinion for officers to wear while on duty because it will prevent the officers and citizens from not telling the truth. If the footage shows the officer misbehaving the officer most likely will not try to file a dishonest report, this can also play apart when the officer does something good because they will then present the actions

To begin with body cams are a helpful resource that policeman wear.Body cams have been helpful in situations where policeman would not tell the truth so the body cams did.body cams can also tell if policeman are doing their job correctly,For instance some policeman would probably slack off when there is something going on.In all body cams are a really helpful device to tell superiors if policeman are working correctly.