Body Worn Cameras Research

Well, having body cameras as part of an officer’s uniform has its pros and cons.

It’s no secret that everyone holds their own opinion regarding the actions of police officers and other positions of authority within these past years, be it good or bad. From the shootings of innocent and unarmed civilians to disciplinary action being taken against those that haven’t done anything unlawful, there’s rarely a day when the police force of the United States doesn’t find itself involved in some sort of controversy. No matter what side you find yourself supporting in these instances, be it the police or the civilian, it’s true that both sides can benefit from the use of these police body cameras.

For the past couple years there has been many injustice cases involving poor accusations of innocent victims. These poor accusations of innocent victims include shootings of innocent African Americans. One way to avoid these problems is the use of body cams. These tiny cameras have saved a Police Officer 's job, justified an innocent victim, and even has saved a person 's life. Recently Police Departments have been using these such body cameras and have seen significant results. Although some people may not like body cams, their benefits are too important to ignore.

Police Brutality is a huge problem in America today, and few steps are being taken to prevent this justice. There are numerous cases where a police officer’s motives are put into question, leading to public unrest due to controversy. Whether it is racial, simple hate, or if the police officer is simply unstable, there is an easy way to bring justice to this problem. Body cameras have been employed in various cities and states already, and have proven to be effective in reducing police brutality. Body cameras are on the verge of changing policing as we know it. Police officers should wear body cameras, because the use of body cameras should both reduce the use of force and lessen the need and the opportunity to lie about it. Also video footage from the body cameras will provide police superiors with a potent tool for reliable supervision, debriefing and discipling, enabling them to commend the good.

Police behavior could greatly improve with the assistance of body cameras. The body cameras could be a magnificent idea and could improve the public's view on police officers, as long as they are utilized responsibly. Even though they are a good idea, police cameras do have a few disadvantages that cannot be overlooked. Police body cameras are a respectable idea, and they would improve the process of arrests, allow civilians to see the good in officers, and keep officers responsible and

Police should wear body cameras because playing body cameras could improve the public’s view of police by showing the human side, help to provide evidence when a person may not be able to, and it protects the officers and public both.

Michael Brown. Everyone has heard this name tossed around on the news, heard the debates and the speculations of what truly happened. This unarmed African American teenager, shot and killed in a wrongful police encounter, was just one of the victims of police brutality this year. Countless other casualties have occurred as a result of similar crimes and most have one specific thing in common. The accused officers in a majority of these cases escaped with no consequences. For instance, the court dropped Michael Brown’s case after almost a year of consideration because of a lack of evidence. The responsible officer, Darren Wilson, suffered almost no repercussions. Unfortunately, stories like this are cropping up all over the country, with gruesome

“In Rialto, California, a police department has been using body mounted cameras and recording what happens between officers and the public. The use of force by officers declined 60% during the first year the cameras were introduced and citizen complaints against officers dropped by 88% (Safety vision). This statistic proves the debate of police body cameras or not. Though these cameras have a big price tag, they are a piece of equipment all officers need to wear in order to maintain a more clear picture of what happens in an incident.

Police brutality has been one of the most dangerous issues that have been happening around the united states. A solution that has been talked about worldwide is body cameras on police officers. This solution would be very successful in stopping or decreasing police brutality The one that would be successful is the body cameras because the station would know what is going on at all times. How this solution is better is because this solution of body cameras would decrease the amount of crimes caused by the police and this would be beneficial for the police academy to have body cameras on the officers at all times. For example, the police at ASU now have body cameras on them at all times,"It 's just a process of us bringing the ASU police department

The US Department of Justice has stated that one way of lessening this tension is implementing a system of community policing where police are more involved with the community and work together to lessen the crime and fear of it in a community. (Community Policing Defined, 2008) A goal set fourth by the Community Orientated Policing Services is "Developing effective systems and tools to prevent and respond to bias-based policing can help law enforcement maintain that mutual trust and respect." (Bias-Based Policing, n.d) The trust in officers and the respect of good behavior is needed in this method. The country needs to be able to trust it officers and make them care about the community they are policing. Through caring about the community and being more involved in it officers are able to hold themselves more accountable to their actions. Regardless of the race or ethnicity of the people they are policing. Another way officers may be held accountable to their actions is the implementation of body cameras. The city of Rialto California has undergone this change requiring the entire police force to wear these body cameras. Christopher Mimis writing for the Wall Street Journal stated that "use of force by officers declined 60%, and citizen complaints against police fell 88%." (Mimis, 2014) This data alone shows the effectiveness of these body cameras. If more police forces could implement these body cameras to hold police accountable officers would second guess taking actions against minority groups more aggressively as they are being

In their article, “Body Cameras Worn by Police are No ‘Safeguard of Truth,’ Experts Say”, Vivian Yee and Kirk Johnson emphasize on how body cameras are not effective enough to prevent police brutality against American citizens. A grand jury found out that innocent African American Men's’ rights are not being considered when they are been brutally beaten by the police. As a result, the grand jury’s solution to this problem was to create a law that forces police officers to wear body cameras when they are in the act of arresting their victims. Yee and Johnson provide several examples from the article to support this claim that the body cameras worn by the police are not necessarily effective. The title “Body Cameras Worn By Police Officers are No ‘Safeguard of

Arizona State University 's Center for Violence Prevention and Community Safety on body camera studies, Professor Michael D. White states “Body-worn cameras (BWCs) are perhaps the most debated topic in policing today. Advocates and critics have made numerous claims about the impact and consequences of the technology, but most of these claims are untested. BWCs have the potential to completely transform police-citizen encounters, and in the wake of the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, adoption of the technology is likely to be exponential. This transformation, in the virtual absence of empirical evidence on BWCs, is profoundly troubling.” So although there are many pros and cons to body worn cameras by police officers, the benefits surely outweigh the negatives and more studies are being conducted to prove

In recent years, a spotlight has been placed on innocent black men being murdered by law enforcement through news media. In fact, many times these cases have been spoken about as, “police brutality”, which almost lessens the crisis of black lives that were lost. Whether through beatings or headlocks, the fact remains that black citizens have been taken by law enforcement with no legal repercussions. American voices must be raised against the police brutality against black citizens for the sake of equality, humanity and justice.

Ever since the shooting and death of Trayvon Martin, more shootings and deaths has occurred. Cases such as the Eric Garner case, Akai Gurley case, and John Crawford case has caused outrage from the African American community and Black Lives Matter movement. In order to combat the shootings and deaths of the people in the African American community, people have marched against police brutality in order to make a change in the world. Brad Knickerbocker, staff writer of csmonitor, states that: “Thousands of Americans marched and rallied in New York, Washington, Boston, San Francisco and other cities around the country Saturday, voting with their feet against police brutality – specifically in response to recent police killings in Cleveland, New York, and Ferguson, Missouri, that have wracked a nation still dealing with issues involving racial mistrust and mistreatment of black people at the hands of white police officers” (Knickerbocker). Due to many events that have occurred against black people, “thousands of Americans” marched and fight against police brutality. If people have to march against police brutality, it is obvious that police officers should change their ways of responding to situations. Due to society’s outrage at police officer’s mistreatment of black people, police officers should start to

Although conceived as an invasion of privacy by some, body cameras worn by police officers protect civilians and themselves. The footage gained from the cameras can be used in cases to interpret the realities of crime better. The devices lower crime rates because no one wants to be seen committing crimes. For the body cameras to be completely effective, the devices must be used properly, and the footage used correctly. Consequently, body cameras are beneficial to society because they expose the realities of crime in