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Police Body Cameras Essay

976 Words4 Pages

Police body cameras are extremely helpful to the justice system and law enforcement because they provide visual and audio evidence for events that have happened. They are efficient and reliable because they are clipped to a police officer's shirt, and records everything that goes on during a dispute. Police body cameras improve police accountability, they provide evidence in criminal cases, and prove police testimony to the public and to Law Enforcement. They record interactions between the police officers and the public, and provide truthful information to the public and Law Enforcement agencies. One thing that police body cameras do is improve police accountability. The camera records what happened, and records audio as well, to be reviewed …show more content…

Something that can help to solve a few of these is to use Police body cameras. They can provide evidence of events that happened. An online article, titled, “Why Law Enforcement agencies use BWC’s”, the author writes, “Body-worn cameras allow officers to record events and statements from witnesses and victims.” It explains how this evidence can be used to prosecute criminals. This article also says, “According to a survey of prosecutors (PDF), over 90 percent of prosecutors’ offices in jurisdictions with BWCs have used BWC evidence to prosecute community members, and 8.3 percent of offices have used it to prosecute police officers.” Police Body cameras have played a huge role in providing evidence in criminal cases. Shannon Prather, a research consultant in St. Paul, Minnesota says, “In the six months since body cameras were deployed in Burnsville, police recorded video for almost every domestic violence case, something former Chief Deputy of the Dakota County Attorney’s Office, Phil Prokopowicz, JD, found useful.” Shannon explains how there is alway evidence or something useful to help the case when events are being recorded by police body cameras. This is how police body cameras provide evidence to assist in criminal …show more content…

It justifies the use of police body cameras. On What Can Policymakers Expect of Body-Worn Cameras in Law Enforcement after a Decade of Use? | Urban Institute, the author says, “Police body-worn cameras offer transparency and accountability to the public, which is an attempt to “mend that frayed relationship between the police and the community,” according to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, JD.” Andrew Cuomo explains that transparency between police and the community can help their “frayed relationship”. The same article also says, “A July 2020 University of Maryland School of Public Policy survey found 90% support for all police officers being required to wear body cameras, including 85% of republicans, 86% of independents, and 94% of democrats.” The author is explaining that no matter the political belief, they all want the same thing for the community. Police Body Cameras - Pros & Cons - ProCon.org says, “Body-worn cameras are believed to improve officer and community member behavior (PDF) by promoting civil interactions” This explains how the overall behavior of police officers and members of the public improve when interactions are being recorded and can be used against them

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Body Cameras on Police Officers There are pro and cons to police officers wearing body cameras. In light of all the recent killings caused by the law, concern of the safety of both the authority figures and the public have caused the issue of there being a mandatory law that officers should have to wear body cameras at all time and make sure they are turned on whenever they are to interact with the public. Most recently there has been a plethora of killings of unarmed young minorities just for the simple reasoning that they looked "suspicious" or "they seemed like they were up to no good". The reason many states would like to put the law that every officer should be mandated to wear body cameras into place will be for the purpose of being able to record any interaction that an officer has with a person of the public.

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Yes these cameras would make solving issues in cases much easier, but there are many who think this is a violation of their privacy to have an officer with a camera entering their house or looking into their car. It is understandable that someone would not want a rolling camera seeing into their home, but the ability to prove innocence or guilt in a court case should more than outweigh this temporary invasion. If someone is accused of something and the option of having a camera that could prove or revoke the accusation, or having no evidence to prove anything, which should be chosen? Should police officers carry body cameras? If so, should there be restrictions on when and where they can be used?

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Speech Outline Title: Body Cameras I. Introduction Attention-getter: Body cameras were used because of Michael Brown’s death and police misconduct. B. Significance Body cameras may increase police accountability and protect them from accusations. C. Credibility: My interest in this topic is due to the latest deadly encounters with police officers and improving the communities’ safety.

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Unfortunately, there are cases where some people went to jail and weren’t necessarily suppose to go to jail. But who truly knew if the officers or witness were telling the truth about the incident? That’s why body cameras should be mandatory for all police officers. It will force the suspects to not lie and enable the judge to have direct evidence in court, rather than comparing both stories and trying to put two and two together.

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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

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Body cameras on law enforcement officers can by far be one of the best ways to slow down or even stop law enforcement officer’s misconduct in the field by providing a bird’s eye view of the law enforcement officer’s encounters with the public in the community they have sworn to protect. Body cameras can be a deterrent and possibly make law enforcement officers and the citizens think very hard before acting in an inappropriate manner because they know they are being recorded and these recording can be used as evidence in a court of

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Next, I will talk about cases that have been solved with the use of cameras. According to Amalcar Scott (2015), Eric Garner was a man who was a victim of frequent harassment. He was placed under arrest for selling loose cigarettes. Four officers wrestle him to the ground. According to the policemen they never used a choke hold on the victim but the video showed something different.

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How Police Body Cameras are Effective Police body cameras are an excellent tool to use. Police body cameras show the truth and evidence about what actually happened in the story. If video evidence is shown in a courtroom, it could possibly save anyone from getting sentenced to jail. With police body cameras being issued, they improve the safety of police officers and citizens. With more police body cameras, people can rely on them more than the police officer or the citizen.

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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

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First, is letting the community know what the police are doing. Another, to find truth or false statements or accusations. First, of all, body cameras can show the community what the police are doing. First, if the community wants to know what the police are doing, body cameras are a great way to show it.

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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.

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From interactions on the street to testifying in open court, an officer’s word is everything. Once that credibility is gone it is almost impossible for that officer to continue in a law enforcement capacity. Body cameras have emerged as a potential solution to the evolving discussion around police trust and legitimacy issues. One benefit of having a body camera is that if a critical incident, officer involved shooting, or accusation of brutality arises, the camera will provide footage from the officer’s point of view that

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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)

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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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