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Should Police Officers Be Allowed To Have Body Cameras Essay

538 Words3 Pages

Watching Eyes Uh-oh, there’s another person getting pulled over again by the police. What did they do? Well that is answered by both the officer and the dash camera video the officer’s car provides. But what about when the officer steps out of their vehicle and approaches the person who is being pulled over? Well then the officer’s car is still viewing the stopped car and the officer. The officers have microphones that let the video also have a recording of what the officer is saying while they speaking to the person pulled over. Then what about when what is happening moves outside the dash camera’s line of sight? The audio is still present, but all that is known to have happened is whatever the officer and the person who was pulled over says …show more content…

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? Should officers always have a recording of everything they do? Should people be able to choose if an officer can record inside their home? There are two sides to everything, and both have their own points. There are both civilians and police who say that body cameras should be allowed, enforced and encouraged. The civilians saying that the extra eyes make sure they are treated fairly, and the officers saying that the cameras can help prevent them from being penalized for action that should have been taken. On the other end are those still uncomfortable with their crimes being recorded and officers who think that the body cameras are excessive and

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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.

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Why officers should wear body cameras The federal government should provide body cameras for police officers to improve the way the officers and the public respond because of accountability, instill trust, and prevent violence. Police Officers wearing body cameras are now being held as a solution to preventing police conduct and enhancing police accountability. With these cameras, we will be more Intune with an officer's appropriate and inappropriate conduct. For example, these cameras will keep track of what the officer says or does when at the scene of the crime. Having these cameras will also speed up court proceedings and reducing the cost of court.

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If you pay attention to the news, you have probably heard about police brutality. There are almost constant reports of police abusing their power and, consequently, injuring those that they are meant to protect. Police should not be required to wear body cameras while on duty! Why should they be monitored to make sure that they are properly doing their job? Why should they be expected maintain the same standards that they enforce on others?

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Body cameras are seen as an invasion of privacy, as they provide state-owned footage. When police cameras are on, they will capture everyday civilian and police behavior that does not necessarily need to be recorded. Because it is not practical to have cameras play constantly, there must be guidelines for when police should turn their cameras on and off. Many current policies encourage the cameras to be turned on only when police are among the public (Baum,

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Every day, police officers put their own life on the line, just by putting on a badge. Many people become angry with police officers because they did something that they did not like, but police officers are not the bad guys. Police body cameras would also catch situations where children need help walking across the road on their way to school, or helping the elderly tote their groceries to their cars. You see, all these incidents would be captured, good and bad, its just that not everyone wants to come to this

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It’s no secret that everyone holds their own opinion regarding the actions of police officers and other positions of authority within these past years, be it positive or negative. From the shootings of innocent and unarmed civilians to disciplinary action being taken against those that haven’t done anything unlawful, there’s rarely a day when the police force of the United States doesn’t find itself involved in some sort of controversy. No matter what side people find themselves supporting in these instances, be it the police or the civilian, it’s true that both sides can benefit from the use of these police body cameras. Police body cameras hold one main purpose and that’s to deteriorate the ever-present risk of unnecessary aggression on

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Although officers claim they aren’t as unprofessional as everyone says, many people beg to differ. A lot of people have evidence on how they were mistreated, and how the officers weren’t at all professional. Others have been killed and seriously injured, but the idea is still up in the air after several years. To protect themselves, and others around them, police officers should be forced to wear body cameras while they’re in a case or are talking to a suspect while on duty. Having to wear body cameras would be a positive way to help the authorities to see the truth better than just having to listen to the voice recorder.

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Opponents of having all police officers wear body cameras cite privacy concerns, especially if the video recordings are made part of the public record. As stated in Source 3 “The Right Body Camera Policy” it states that “the critic’s main objection to the policy is that it will promote dishonest reporting.” For example, Officers that is feared , will tailor their reports to fit the captured images, revealing only what could not be plausibly denied and leaving out other important details. Even when the video footage reveals unambiguous misconduct, officers would be foolish to file dishonest reports. It's important to consider the detrimental consequences of depriving police officers of video that contains information directly pertinent to their fate.

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Due to lack of evidence, it is often hard to charge an officer for disorderly conduct, which causes the public outrage and turns them against the justice system. If officers wore body cameras, there would be more evidence to support any claims made between both the officers and the public who ask for answers. A great example of this occurred earlier this year with the death of Mike Brown, who was an unarmed teenager killed by Darren Wilson. Wilson was indicted because of the lack of evidence that Brown was actually a threat. It was basically the public against an officer.

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Have you ever seen a police officer wearing a body camera? If you did, you are one of a kind, we are still debating if the police should wear them. The video recordings from body cameras provide valuable evidence while raising high concerns of privacy. The recordings cameras provide are valuable when police and civilian witness differ. I believe that police officers should wear body cameras for two important reasons.

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The implementation and usage of body cameras for police officers have caused controversies on whether or not the footage captured from body cameras should be made available to the public. Most controversies are whether or not the public's right to know outweighs people's privacy rights. According to the Freedom of Information Act the public has the right to access information pertaining to the government and community and have the right to know what occurs within their community. Body camera footage is considered to be public record and therefore should be made available to the general public in order for the public to be better informed of their communities. Peoples expectations for privacy have drastically changed due to social media and

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Both law enforcement and civil rights advocates are excited by the potential benefits of body worn cameras to improve community policing and safety. There are many benefits for both citizens and law enforcement officials if body

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Although some people may not like body cams, their benefits are too important to ignore. There has been many citizens that have complained about the use of body cameras. Police Officers have commented that these body cameras invade unwanted personal privacy. Some Police Officers believe that body cameras will not help decrease force by Police Officers because a

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Now there is two possible outcomes, there was police misconduct and abuse of power, or the police officer did everything correctly and by the book. Either way there needs to be something that can protect the public from police misconduct and also protect law enforcement from dealing with false accusations that can tarnish their reputation. That is why body worn cameras need to be mandatory for all police officers to wear because it protects the public and the police officers that are wearing them. A couple positive outcomes police officers wearing body cameras is how they can lower police officers misuse of authority and also lower false complaints against officers as well. These are two

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