Argumentative Essay On Police Body Cameras

Did you know “... the main reasons (about 80% each) that local police and sheriffs' offices had acquired body-worn cameras were to improve officer safety, increase evidence quality, reduce civilian complaints, and reduce agency liability” (“Research on Body Worn Cameras and Law Enforcement”)? Police body cameras have multiple usages and ways they can be useful to society. Police body cameras should be enforced to protect both officers and citizens.

To begin, police Body Cameras can improve the chance of having better evidence to prove accusations. The author states, “One 2016 study found that 92.6 percent of prosecutors’ offices nationally in jurisdictions where police wear body cameras have used that footage as evidence in cases against private

But do they increase accountability”). This proves that police body cameras improve the chance of having better evidence to prove accusations. The statistic shows that jurisdictions can use footage from body cameras as evidence sometimes to prosecute officers. The text states, “...The police department had a video that showed what happened was inconsistent with the officer’s initial statement, thanks to the body-worn camera on the officer. The officer who shot him was fired three days after Jordan was killed and now faces murder charges” (Body Cameras Help Everyone-Including the Police). This evidence shows that body cameras can be used as evidence to be proven later guilty or innocent. The officer was proven guilty by body camera footage which was incorrect from his

The text states, “People will be less likely to come forward to share information if they know their conversation is going to be recorded, particularly in high-crime neighborhoods where residents might be subject to retaliation if they are seen as cooperating with police” (“Community Oriented Policy Services”). This evidence proves that when people are being recorded, they tend to be more skeptical about giving information about certain cases or incidents. While it may be true that people might withhold information because they are being recorded, However, police body cameras help train police officers so they could have “real life” video footage of possible scenarios. The author states, “They can use this footage to identify if officer training is working, when training needs to occur and when officers need refresher training, all while improving...we developed these skills during training programs, whether it is based on experience or whether they are just innately effective verbal communicators” (“How body Camera Footage Can Enhance Officer Training”). This evidence shows that police body cameras can help with giving police officers in training real-life examples of situations and encounters they could