The Pros And Cons Of Police Body Cameras

Police Body Cameras, also known as Body Worn Videos, have been central in a heated debate surrounding an aggressive and increasingly militarized police force, that through misconduct and controversy has lost the trust of the American people. These body cameras have the ability to rebuild this trust by providing accountability and training to the officers as well as crucial evidence for the courts. In the summer of 2014 a young man by the name of Michael Brown was shot down while fleeing arrest in Ferguson, Mo. The police officer, Darren Wilson, would not stand trial for his actions due to conflicting testimony and a lack of evidence against him. This case became the perfect example of why these cameras are necessary, the footage obtained from

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. Possibly infringing on the public's expectation of privacy. We expect to be watched by security cameras while out on the street or in a business but not in our homes. With officers routinely entering private residences for domestic disputes or otherwise inconsequential visits the footage should be deleted promptly once deemed not of use. This access allows however allows for the footage to be manipulated if the officers are given the ability to turn off and on the cameras as they like they can easily frame a situation in their favor. Body cameras have the ability to become both an important training tool as well as a potential constitutional