Police Body Cameras Advantages And Disadvantages
The first thing to consider is that cameras do not eliminate bias and multiple interpretations of the footage based on the viewer. As the footage will only show the situation from the first person viewpoint of the officer leading to a specific framing of the event. This could become a major concern during court trials considering that reliance on video recordings for evidence will greatly increase as body cameras become more standard in the police force. This will create a need for a documented chain of custody and secure storing for possibly hundreds of hours of footage recorded daily. That will need to be sorted, saved, or deleted as necessary.
Police body cameras are a necessity for the protection of the perpetrator from an officer that is using excessive force to get him or her to calm down and obey orders. People need to feel safe and should not feel afraid of the cops when they are doing nothing wrong, by using body cameras everyone is and feels
This would reduce wrongful convictions in situations with the police. A book called Police Officer Body-Worn Cameras: Assessing the Evidence, by Michael White, gives a run down, step by step,of how effective these body worn cameras are by police officers and how it will reduce the wrongful convictions. White explains how “Body-worn cameras have evidentiary benefits that expedite resolution of citizen complaints or lawsuits and that improve evidence for arrest and prosecution”(White, p.7, 2014). This will decrease police officers getting blamed for something they have not done and citizens will stop getting blamed for things they have not done. There will be fewer complaints from both sides and police brutality will reduce as well.
To begin with, the footage shows you the truth. It makes sure that the officers don't lie. When there is footage of what happened, the officers have to tell the court exactly what happened. The cameras can be accessed by the officer's chief at any time to see what the officers are doing while they're patrolling. In addition, it makes officers do the right thing.
All in all, police cameras could greatly improve the behavior of police officers. Police body cameras have the potential to improve officer behavior in numerous ways. Presenting footage from the body cameras to the public
Additionally, it will protect officers from any false accusations. Secondly, having the cameras will instill trust. On several occasions, people have been killed by officers and the community started to lose trust in them. Now with a camera
Another child has lost their life to senseless violence and the officers have been slapped on the wrist. Body cams can prevent a tragedy and aid officers in building a better community and protect their image. Not only that the body cams are the only way officers can improve on the daily. Body cams are a way to prevent unneeded violence in the community and get the truth. The cams will allow every detail of the event to be recorded and played back.
Such videos like the videos recorded by dash cams in law enforcement vehicles get posted up to youtube all the time for everyone to see, and now with body cameras, more personal, up-close videos will be recorded and posted online. (Pearce, 2014). Supporters also argue that there are many advantages for law enforcement to be equipped with a body camera Including, more transparency on police and civilian interactions, and it is also beneficial for everyone on both parties, so civilians, cops, and the courts can see exactly what happened before, during, and after the interaction. Additionally, decisions made by law enforcement in the line of duty can also be reviewed by courts to ensure that the police officers are abiding by the same laws that they are enforcing. The cold hard evidence of a video immediately eliminates any possible lies brought by the citizen, the cop, or a witness who saw the
According to Tsin, “ One hypothesis is that body cameras have a civilizing effect on behavior on both sides of the camera” (Tsin). This proves that body cameras speaks for both the police officer and the citizen. This also shows that body cameras can establish trust between the police officer and the communities they serve. As Tsin stated in “Body Cameras Increase Police Transparency and Accountability”, “the use of body cameras can also improve the gathering of evidence at a crime scene by providing an accurate and contemporaneous record of events” (Tsin point). This shows that body cameras are accurate and aren’t based on the officer's memory of what happened.
So many lives could be saved and so many police officers’ careers could be saved through the utilization of this idea and the reaping of its benefits. Whether it captures a citizen attack on a police officer or whether it captures a case of police brutality, the great possibilities outweigh the potential cons of police body cameras and make them a risk worth taking. Whether one takes the side of the citizens and believe the police are typically irrational or one takes the side of the police and believe they are only doing their jobs to the best of their ability, the incorporation of body cameras to the controversial police force would be extremely beneficial for
For officers, body cameras are used to encourage officers to follow department policies and deter the officers from engaging in misconduct, unethical behavior, and in instances of unjustified use of force. For civilians, being recorded during a police contact can prevent them from engaging in violent acts towards other civilians or police officers. Altogether, body cameras can be used to prevent cases of police misconduct, to deescalate situations, and be used as evidence in criminal investigations (David Yokum,
It will give everyone clear footage, and protect both the officer and everyone else. The footage given through the
Without the videos proving a victim to be innocent, these police would be walking among us as killers, disguised as our protectors. When officers and citizens are aware that their behavior is being monitored, both parties have an immediate tendency to behave accordingly. “The results of this study suggest that this increase in self awareness leads to more positive outcomes in police-citizen interaction,” (Wile, 2015). The government is losing money by not subjecting police to wear body cameras. Police misconduct expenditure costs $1.8 billion annually, while the cost to supply police with body cameras across the nation only ranges up to $20
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)
The use of previous videos can be detrimental to new cops because it can teach them how to deal with many different situations correctly that way they don’t put their career in jeopardy or the lives of their partners in danger. Everyone knows that there is always three sides to a story: what one individual says happens, what the other individual says happened, and what happened. With the execution of body-worn cameras, it would eliminate, the reduction seen in complaints filed and sustained against officers and videos can reduce the need for lengthy
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