Should Body Cameras Be Worn

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.

By wearing the body camera it should make the officer second guess any misconduct as well as protect the officer. These cameras will

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

Body cameras are proven to make policemen act better while they’re are on duty. “Police officers "tend to behave a little better"(Kon, Body Cameras for Police Officers). if they know their behavior is being recorded on camera” stated author Tsin Yen Kon. Police will act better cause they know they are being “watched”. Just like when a student has a parent to sit in their class, they act very well, police do the same. Police will also act right, because they don’t want to lose their jobs or get fired because some careless mistake that they made while on camera. “When police officers are acutely aware that their behavior is being monitored (because they turn on the cameras), and when officers tell citizens that the cameras are recording their behavior, everyone behaves better” (Knickerbocker). Brad Knickerbocker, the author, explains how both sides of the camera, police, and criminal will have an effect on their behavior because they know that they are being watched, and recorded. When people know they are being watched, it is like they get scared, because they don't want anything to be used against them. Although cameras will make police act better, people will still think that police brutality will still happen.

But what happens when they don’t turn the body camera on? There has been cases where an Officer was wearing a body camera but didn’t think to turn it on. Which is common sense because that takes away from the whole purpose and just wasting money. The only problem with body cameras is Officers are in charge of when they are turned on and when they are turned off. They control the record button. Officers need to be faced with the consequences when they don’t use their body camera when they are supposed to. There has already been too many cases where no one knows what happens so the Officer will always win. Just like in the Michael Brown case, where Officer Wilson killed Brown and witnesses were all saying different things as to if Brown was fighting back or if he surrendered. If a body camera would have been worn, then Officer Wilson would have been indicted and justice would have been served. Many incidents like this cause riots and distrust between the public and Officers. The department had the cameras when the killing of Michael Brown happened, but just hadn’t put them into action and start using them yet (Balko 2014). Which is really stupid on their part because if a department has these resources to make things better and to not cause problems for the city then need to be put to good use. This can lead to higher tensions between the

In February 2012, the Rialto California police department started supplying their officers with cameras they could clip on to their uniforms. At any given time, about half of their active duty officers wore these cameras. They found, in a twelve month period, that the department overall "had an 88 percent decline in the number of complaints filed against the officers". (Stross, R. 2013, April 6). They also had a 60 percent decline in the use of force by officers. They also found that officers wearing a camera were half as likely to use force as oppose to officers not wearing one. This is clear evidence that police wearing body cameras is a good

One reason police should be forced to wear body cameras is that if a police officer does use excessive force when it is unnecessary, there will be evident

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

The body cameras will record of what occurred and this camera will be the tool which will make it clear whether the officer was justified in using force and also it will prove the fact that the officer was correct. Everyone has a right to act in self defense. The video from the body camera presents an unbiased account of the events. This is a very important fact because nowadays when police officers make an assert of a criminal we see that most of the criminals are African American which makes them biased. The body cameras has no motive to lie and it has no stake in the outcome. It merely records the event as it happens. If a police officer acts lawfully, then he should not be blamed and accused wrongfully. The officers have the right to defend themselves and not suffer the punishment which they do not deserve. The usage of the body camera will not only provide the officers defense but it will be this strongest witness which will not be argued with. There are some drawbacks to the use of body cameras such as privacy concerns for both officers and the citizens when they encounter each other. The storage of data capturing images of innocent people, the possible tampering with the images, and the

In the past couple years the media has been focusing a lot of its attention on police officers. Sadly they make police officers out to be horrible people who act solely on their hatred for certain races, but in reality police officers are there for the safety of the citizens. In any profession there will be people who are there for the wrong reasons, and this is true for police officers as well. Although most police officers focus on the safety and wellbeing of the citizens, some police officers are in for their own selfish and personal reasons. As a result they act immoral and unethical. These are what the media calls bad cops. Because of the misconduct of a few police officers, the public now proposes police officers wear body cameras. The use of body cameras proves to be a valuable asset in the incrimination of justice because of its many benefits, few downsides, and overall public approval.

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

Body cameras alone will not solve the issues that have arrived over the history of policing, but they are a really good way to start showing the law enforcement departments want to start holding their officers accountable for their actions. With the right policies in place, body cameras can be an important tool for accountability and can have great evidentiary value. Law enforcement and civilian interactions will no longer be a matter of the accused’s word against that of the law enforcement officers. Since human beings change their behavior when they are under observation. The most noticeable benefit from wearing body cameras is that law enforcement officer will be holding themselves more accountable.

In recent months there has been a lot of attention in the media with regards to equipped more police officers with body cameras. According to the latest information, the use of body cameras has led to a decline in the number of incidents of “excessive use of force” by police officers. At the same time, footage that has been captured by body cameras has proven to be extremely useful in helping those who are investigating claims of police brutality and misconduct.

Over the past few years, there have been many tragedies involving police which have caused people to feel unsafe and weary. Body cameras are a great way to combat this issue because they offer both audible and visual evidence of misconduct. This can be used to keep the public and police accountable for their actions while maintaining an evidenced-based argument compared to the usual testimony based argument. In a Washington Post article by Dunn, he said: "Video provides compelling evidence of police misconduct and can be used to train, discipline, fire and even prosecute officers” (2017). Dunn is valid in saying this because the footage when appropriately handled can be used within the courtroom to help the judge, the public, and officers see

Racial profiling has increased recently and if cops had body cameras we can see if they had reasonable suspicion to pull over or arrest someone. It's hard to sell wearing cameras to cops especially older seasoned veterans said William Farrar who then explained to his officers that onlookers can film you on their phones, so why not have your own perspective on what happened to protect yourself from accusations. So why not protect yourself from accusations and just wear the camera and show people that you are there to protect us and not to hurt us. Body cameras are more reliable than dash cams because dash cams don't see everything but what's in front of the police car. “Dash cams only capture about 5% of what a cop does. And I wanted to catch 100% of what a cop does,” explains Ward, who speaks from experience. He used to be a Seattle police officer and his company’s slogan is “Made for cops by cops. Prove the truth.” ( Gillespie 1). Wearing a body camera won't end brutality but it can provide crucial evidence and show us exactly what happened during the