Police officers need to insure the safety and trust of the citizens by wearing body camera. One argument is that some people believe that body cameras will invade people's privacy. Yes, everyone has the right to keep their issues private, but the officers
Well, having body cameras as part of an officer’s uniform has its pros and cons.
Police body cameras hold one main purpose and that’s to work to prevent brutality on the parts of both the officer and civilian(s) in question. The Police brutality issue finds itself weaved into history, going back as far as the 19th century. Of course, the idea of equipping police officers with body cameras wasn't around at that time, but one can’t help but entertain the thought of how much more peaceful things would be today had we been able to incorporate them sooner. Whether anyone will really admit it or not, the police have a long history of
Although officers claim they aren’t as unprofessional as everyone says, many people beg to differ. A lot of people have evidence on how they were mistreated, and how the officers weren’t at all professional. Others have been killed and seriously injured, but the idea is still up in the air after several years. To protect themselves, and others around them, police officers should be forced to wear body cameras while they’re in a case or are talking to a suspect while on duty.
A major benefit for having body cams is the fact that it will decrease the force used by Police Officers. For the past couple of years there has been many videos of Police Officers using excessive force against innocent victims, especially with African Americans. “The notion has been around for a while. But since August 's fatal shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri -- for which witness accounts varied widely -- it 's gained traction to become part of the national conversation about police conduct.” (Brandon Griggs 1) People have been recently protesting against Police Officers because of the excessive force people have seen them use recently in viral videos. Some Departments have been using body cams and have seen some significant results. “A year-long study in Orlando found use-of-force incidents dropped by 53 percent among officers wearing bodycams and civilian complaints also dropped 65 percent.” ( Should 2) These statistics show that the force by Police Officers decreased significantly for this one city. Imagine how much this would decrease the force of Police Officers globally if they used body cams in all
Having a body camera recording all the time would not be very practical, but it would still capture everything that the officer does; holding them responsible for everything they do. Some could argue that there would have to be some instances where officers could turn the cameras off, but if the officers would be allowed to turn the cameras off they could get away with dreadful deeds. Body cameras could also be seen as an invasion of privacy, but nothing a police officer does while on the job should be private. As well as everyday behavior, the cameras would catch footage of defendants being arrested. The defendants may not wish to be recorded during these moments, but if they did not wish to be recorded they should not have committed a crime. Body cameras have potential to help, even though they have a few flaws.
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.
We are all living in a time where technology prevails freely and cameras are found everywhere (Should Police Officers Wear…). These body worn police cameras should be used to reduce the force used by officers in a police-public interaction, decrease the complaints from citizens, and increase accountability (Ariel 730-731). This evidence should show that the benefits of these cameras outweigh the concerns
Another alternative to decrease police misconduct is through the use of body cameras which would hold officers accountable for their actions. Often, commanding officers exercise little supervision over the daily activities of their officers. Not only do officers patrol alone, but they are authorized to quickly create solutions and sanctions on the spot. This provides officers the freedom to get away with both minor and major violations to outright crimes. A tactic to prevent this from occurring is to mount body cameras on officers while on duty. Stav Zhiv of Newsweek writes that body cameras “[reduce] the use of force by roughly 50 percent.” allowing for increased transparency and citizen views over police legitimacy. (1) Transparency, or
One of the causes that made body cameras almost mandatory was police brutality against citizens, and especially black people. The other cause is just the inconsistency what the police says, and what the people say, why always people should think that the police officer is telling the truth. In the last 10 years, we saw many conflicts between police officers and citizens, which result into dead of innocent people and it was not a good image for police department. One of the issues is that the law enforcement gives the police
First, they shouldn’t wear body cameras because it raises high privacy concerns. For example, “Recordings raise high privacy concerns. In some states, anyone can access the video.” (Should Police Wear Body Cameras, pg.23) Also, “Study Reveals Police Officer Are More Likely To Be Assaulted.” (Study Reveals Police Officers Wearing Body Cameras Are More Likely To Be Assaulted, pg.1) In my understanding, the critics are saying their privacy is more important than their security. We can use body cameras to help solve crimes and protect our country in the process. They are also saying police officers are more likely to be assaulted. Police Officers are here to deal with violence. They can get assaulted everyday almost, and can call for backup if needed. The police are here to protect us citizens from things like that. But with body cameras, security could reach higher levels of security. In Conclusion, these are the reasons why police officers should or shouldn’t wear body
It is unfair to send police officers out into the public with the fear of second guessing themselves every time they make a decision. If they have body cameras they will have the proof of the film to back up whatever decision is made. During a study in 2013 they accumulated stats showing first, Shifts without body cameras experience twice as many incidents of use of force of shifts with body cameras.
All too often media airs news reports with details only revealed that support their own political agenda. Even with that said, if the very officer that is supposed to uphold the laws in society is engaging in misconduct or illegal activity, the public will diminish an officer’s credibility and legitimacy. (Elliot) This is why body worn cameras are so important. Credibility is everything to an officer. From interactions on the street to testifying in open court, an officer’s word is everything. Once that credibility is gone it is almost impossible for that officer to continue in a law enforcement capacity. Body cameras have emerged as a potential solution to the evolving discussion around police trust and legitimacy issues. One benefit of having a body camera is that if a critical incident, officer involved shooting, or accusation of brutality arises, the camera will provide footage from the officer’s point of view that
In Fort Worth, an officer Sikes gave an anecdote that boils down to him having experiences where people would begin aggrandize their reactions and they would begin to calm down once they knew they were being recorded. Secondly, many police officers actually want body cameras to protect themselves against false accusations or brutality, discrimination, and many other things. In Denton County, there was a specific incident where a witness video just showed the perspective where the cop unjustly tases an African American at a NAACP protest. However, that police officers body cameras saved him in the lawsuit because it revealed that the had actually warned the person by saying “get back” multiple times before any actions were
Many people suggest that body cameras on police officers are effective in a robust way, but that is not always the case. Police body cameras cause multiple issues not only for the public, but for the officers themselves as well. The negative outcomes out these cameras being put to use on officers outweigh the positives. Many more problems occur when officers using this equipment. Police officers using body cameras create many issues in specific areas such as cost, honesty, and privacy.