Should Law Enforcement Officers Wear Body Cameras?

If police wore body cameras the people could see what goes on in their day, not just the ugly parts that the media shows. Police officers are just people like everyone else, but they have a job and that job isn’t the most appealing. But not all of them are evil. If they wore body cameras, we could see their interactions with other officers and the public. We associate the police with being pigs and bad people, but it’s

There has been a lot of talk lately in the news about police body cameras. Some people agree that body cameras should be used by all police officers, while others disagree and believe that they shouldn’t be used at all. There are some cons to having body cameras but all of the pros outweigh it. Police body cameras should be used in all towns no matter how small because the people will act less aggressive towards officers, they provide truthful evidence that cannot be altered with, and the videos can be stored so if something were to happen, they could be brought up and checked as sort of like a surveillance device.

There have been various situations in which police officers have been falsely accused. Obviously not all police officers are committing misconduct, so the ones that are not would have nothing to hide while wearing a body camera. The purpose of these body cameras are to find out the the truth of what occurs during a one on one encounter with an officer and a citizen. These body cameras would force officers and citizens to be on their best behaviors because now they know they are being recorded and that tape can and will be used against them.

Body cameras on police officers in this day and age should be required for all departments. Body cameras should be worn to not only protect the officers but also the civilians that come into contact with police officers. It can give valuable information on what happened during an interaction between the public and law enforcement. This can protect the citizens from abuse by the police, as well as give necessary information into officer related shootings. All states should require their branches of law enforcement to require body cameras while on duty.

(Weisburg) As a result, studies have shown, that citizens have developed comfort towards officers equipped with body cameras. (Fullerton Police Department) This new found trust has the ability to change the mindset of a community in a positive manner. (Mims) This alone could help revive a community such as Ferguson, that has been in shambles ever since Michael Brown was killed. Officer Drumond a highly respected officer at Sherwood said “I support body cameras and find it very comforting that everything I do is on camera”. (Weisburg) If body cameras can give officers a sense of comfort it can help improve their work ethic as well as keep them relaxed while on shift. This can lead to trust between officers and the community. Ultimately, body cameras have the ability to restore trust in a community as well as keep both citizens and officers acting within the law.

Police brutality has become a major issue in the United States causing people to believe that officers do not protect and serve. There has been many questions of how we can solve this problem. One of the many questions people ask is “Should all police officers wear body cameras?” By police officers wearing body cameras it can make poor communities become safer and help communities have trust with the police. Also, body cameras can protect police officer when they get into bad confrontation.

In today’s world, body cameras are being worn by more than half of the police officers in the United States. Many people will say that body cameras are invading their privacy and they will cause bigger issues, but others will say that the body cameras are an improvement and will help everyone out in the long run by resolving the issues. Body cameras will prevent incidents of police brutality and improve law enforcement. They should be worn for the police officer’s safety as well as the citizens who are interacting with the police, so that way the footage will show what really happened in a situation.

Police officers should wear body cameras at all times on duty because it creates more evidence. Body cameras document everything from witnesses,victims,and suspects. “Perceived benefits that body-worn cameras offer—capturing a video recording of critical incidents and encounters with the public, strengthening police accountability, and providing a valuable new type of evidence—largely outweigh the potential drawbacks. (Ziv). This supports the argument because body cameras will be able to record any incidents and report them with the public. This quote support my big argument because only the officers and the victims knows what going on in a situation. This quote supports the position because now there will be clear evidence in certain

Disobeying and dishonest police officers are the ones that would have something to worry about because they can lose their jobs and potentially get time in prison for crime they have done that was caught on film. This is a positive as well because it will seek out negative officers. The majority of findings that can happen by requiring police officers to wear body cameras are positives rarely any negatives. It would not only show undeniable evidence but also make more police officers obey the law which has been proven by statics. Kaste states “The people who like body cameras always point to a Study done in Rialto, Calif, in 2012. Researchers found that officers who wore cameras used force less often — incidents dropped by more than 50 percent”(kaste). According to Kaste a study was done on police officers that used body cameras and it was ruled that officers that used body cameras used less force and the amount of incidents that happend dropped by 50 percent. Civilians as well if they know everything is being recorded by them they will think twice before doing anything that could get them into some sort of

These would make it much harder for courts to favor one side since the evidence would be right there. With the use of body cameras, police would not be able to hide behind shady stories from witnesses. Furthermore, a study has been done on how body cameras effect on police. One statistic showed that the use of force by police officers went down by 50% (Ariel) and another survey was done to show that 85% of officers said that body cameras would reduce false claims (Wyllie). There doesn’t seem to be any down sides to body cameras. Many officers seem to want them and the use of force went down. Body cameras would help to make sure there is less bias in the police force and the

There are three main points supporters argue in this debate of why police should be mandated to wear body cameras. First, supporters state that police body cameras can help solve police brutality. The first police department in the United States to implement police body cameras was in Rialto, California, and according to Al Jazeera America, "The department saw an 88 percent decline in complaints against officers and use of force incidents plummeted to 60 percent" (Demetrius and Okwu 2). These supporters think if we were to implement police body cameras for all police departments in the United States, then these effects on police brutality could be attained nationwide. Second, supporters believe that body cameras will punish corrupt police

Body cameras can lastly, justify lethal force made by police. A man got his job saved after shooting a man and having a body camera filming, but first his bulletproof vest had to save him, this man would have lost his job if he did not have a body camera to justify the use of his gun. If someone tries to lethally harm you, you should have the right to retaliate against them, without losing your job. A cop got to keep his job after shooting a black teen as the teen tried to reach for the cops gun. All in all body cameras should be used to keep police safe and be able to keep their jobs.

A body camera are a useful thing, well not for cops because it can give more depth into what cops do in according to the SIRS DATABASE in Ferguson,Missouri in 2014 a black unarmed teen was shot to death by a cop but instead of them indict him they made him where a body cam. All across the community and the country body cams where given to polices officers $263 million in funding went in to this to proved fore these body cam's. The people that voted fore theses body came's say that it will reduce the use of force by police and lessen the number of complaints agent them. People say body cam's will be a good thing because cops cant tamper withe the evidence because the body cam will have it on video so cops cant say that the person the arrested for something they did not do that is-int true. The body cam will have it on video. Body came's will help improve the community and the un-orthodontics ways of cops. Body cam videos will bring a hole new light to thing in the court room because there will be actual proof of lets say a cop beating an unarmed person there body cam video will keep the right people out of jail and leave some cops without a job.

Body cameras are used for police officers to take shots/videos at a scene for the correct information to turn into the person that is trying to see what happened. Body cameras should be required for police officers. Some people think that body cameras should not be required for police officers. Body cameras are very useful to use because it proves valuable investigations into police misconduct.

All police officers should wear body cameras because they would then have good proof for why they pulled someone over or arrested them. It would also be a great way to keep record of how many arrests or stops a police officer makes in a given period of time. Other police or the chief of police could then see how the person under arrest or pulled over acted towards the cop. If the cop got physical with a suspect or just someone he’d pulled over or arrested the body cam would show if he had good reason to do so. Cases like a cop getting physical have a tendency to go to court the body cam could either prevent that or prove if the policeman was out of line or doing what he had to do.