Should cops wear cameras? The concept has been around for a while, but it has gained more attention since the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. The whole idea is that police officers wear small, pager-sized cameras that clip onto their uniform and record audio and video. The purpose of the 'cop cams' or 'body cams' is to document interactions with suspects, and then this evidence can later be used to support court cases. With products such as the GoPro growing more and more popular, the implementation of cameras in different industries outside of sport is also becoming of interest. Although the majority of people see this as a win-win situation (for the cops and the suspects), many people only see it as an opportunity to invade police officers' privacy and potentially complicate cases.
Negatives
Despite the benefits the usage of cameras could create, there are still some major concerns. The main
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In terms of privacy, it is confirmed that ninety nine percent of the footage would be deleted without ever being reviewed. The video evidence would only be used where the evidence is needed. For example, if an encounter is reported to the police department, the evidence would be of use and they would specifically watch the camera footage. As described earlier, mass surveillance could build to be an issue. One possibility that the Department of Justice is looking into is developing the camera into an automated trigger, where it would only record if the camera detects raised voices or certain types of movement. This would minimize the footage but also ensure fraught encounters are captured. This is just one idea brought up by the industry, however it may be too complex to design and implement, so if it is not carried through, the technology would just be designed and tested to ensure that police cannot switch the recording system on and