Should Law Enforcement Agents Wear Body Cameras?

Across the country a growing number of legislative departments have been debating about the pros and cons of police body cameras. This paper will further explore benefits, as well as the downfalls of using such devices. This paper will also look at specific cases and examine whether or not body cameras were helpful in various situations. It will examine if they were a deterrent in cases dealing with police brutality and domestic violence. It also looks at how they could be misused and assisting some officers in covering up their corrupt behavior.

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

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

The body camera has become a popular choice amongst police departments worldwide. The situation of the scenario, and if the officer or suspect acted in the right can be determined from past footage. The cause of the body camera has been the allegations against officers for how they acted in certain situations, as well as for how the suspect acted during the callout. The effect has been officers being terminated due to lack of integrity or situational awareness, as well as officer safety. Suspects have also been convicted of false accusations against a police officer, as well as crimes presented in court, from fights, to officer involved shootings. The body worn camera has benefited both police officers and the general public.

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

In today’s world, body cameras are being worn by more than half of the police officers in the United States. Many people will say that body cameras are invading their privacy and they will cause bigger issues, but others will say that the body cameras are an improvement and will help everyone out in the long run by resolving the issues. Body cameras will prevent incidents of police brutality and improve law enforcement. They should be worn for the police officer’s safety as well as the citizens who are interacting with the police, so that way the footage will show what really happened in a situation.

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 officers provide protection for the community, and when they are put in danger they should feel like a camera or other device has their back. The article“Body Cameras Will Stop Police Brutality” talks about studies that have been conducted to show the effects of police body cameras. The author affirms, “Studies done in localities that have implemented body-worn cameras have shown a positive impact by demonstrating a commitment to transparency and accountability and helping to de-escalate potentially tense interactions” (1). As aforementioned body cameras have been touted as an effective method to help the defender if a cop has done wrong. Now body cameras not only defend one side but both. The use of body cameras can physically protect a police officer; in this instance the perpetrator is more willing to be arrested when he or she knows they are on tape. Additionally, author Tsin Yen Koh brings up the idea that a suspect behaves better on

This article describes how the increase of body cameras will help reduce police misconduct by recording police-citizen encounters, and serving as evidence of what happened. This article also talks about the complications that it contains. One of the complications are the privacy concerns, many people say they don't want their police encounters to be all over social media. It also says that body cameras are not the only thing that will make officers behave, it says they also need reforms of use-of-force policy and training. Even though there are many privacy concerns experts have said that those concerns can be resolved with the right policies. This is a great article to use because it appeals to

Due to police brutality trending the last few years (or decades) departments like the NYPD and LAPD are forced to wear body cameras. The intention here is to hold them accountable for their actions. Alternatively, it can help the justice system run smoother. It sounds good in theory, but body cameras have stirred up quite a debate. Here are five things to know about it.

Body cameras are a source of evidence of what happens when a police officer is investigating a crime. They offer the potential to provide more accurate depiction of the moment of police brutality. Police body cameras are a solution to helping police officers reduce police misconduct through recording police and citizen encounters, as well as building trust in the community. Secondly, the best use of this information is by having the camera on while on duty, officers can document incidents as they occur, and if a shooting takes place, juries will have evidence of these interactions on tape. Furthermore, body cameras may also encourage police to be more consistently conscious and diligent towards their responsibilities, as their every move will be recorded.

For many years, numerous accounts of police brutality have gone unknown or inaccurately recorded due to lack of eye witnesses or imprecise written statements. Criminal charges have been dropped or dismissed because there wasn’t enough evidence proving that the suspect committed the crime. Police body cameras are beneficial and helpful for police officers and citizens, to prevent instances of police brutality, monitor the interaction between police officers and citizens and forcing law enforcement to take more accountability for their actions.

One reason police officers should wear body cameras is to be able to use the videos as evidence. Many cases cannot be resolve due to lack of evidence and the death of citizens in the hands of police officers. Lately we had many incidents were citizens were killed by police officers, and there is not enough proof if this

Body cameras can help the police force in many ways. For example, if a police officer is attacked, the body camera can provide crucial evidence to help identify the suspect. In an incident in Randolph County, NC, a deputy was attacked by a man with a knife. The camera provides “beautiful evidence” (Spain, “Body Camera Records Man Attacking Deputy with a Knife”) for the jury. It allows the officer to “show a judge or jury exactly what happened at the scene” (Spain). In the past, when police officers interact with suspects, the officer and the suspect could have conflicting accounts of what actually took place. Viewing footage from the body camera leaves no question as to what actually took place. The body camera can also be used as a way of teaching and training officers and provide a good example of what to do in certain procedures for

In this day in age, technology has a big influence on people lives and one of these influences is the use of recording videos. Going on the internet you can find any type of video and stream it, which can be good for a learning experience, but it also could have a negative experience as well. This is no different for police with body worn cameras, since there is always will be pros and cons when dealing with devices like video cameras. As technology grows so does the idea of using the technology in the law enforcement field. There are many pros to having cameras, some of these would be to minimize complaints, false accusations & increases