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Argumentative Essay On Body Cameras

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Over the past few years, there have been many tragedies involving police which have caused people to feel unsafe and weary. Body cameras are a great way to combat this issue because they offer both audible and visual evidence of misconduct. This can be used to keep the public and police accountable for their actions while maintaining an evidenced-based argument compared to the usual testimony based argument. In a Washington Post article by Dunn, he said: "Video provides compelling evidence of police misconduct and can be used to train, discipline, fire and even prosecute officers” (2017). Dunn is valid in saying this because the footage when appropriately handled can be used within the courtroom to help the judge, the public, and officers see …show more content…

“First, there's no guarantee that the public will ever see footage from police body cameras, especially in cases where it may be helpful to defendants or civil litigants” (Buttar, 2016). Although this may be true in some cases, laws are being made to ensure that the footage is available for not only police but the public. For example, a police department in Seattle posts their footage to YouTube so everyone can see what their police have recorded (Dunn & Lieberman, 2017). Others believe body cameras should not be worn because of possible mass incarceration issues amongst the public. “Cameras could capture footage used against defendants in criminal trials—either where the footage depicts criminal acts, like jaywalking or selling loose cigarettes, or where it merely supports suspicion of potential crime, justifying subsequent stops and searches that would otherwise be illegal” (Buttar, 2016). Some cops could abuse cameras in such a way; however, the footage collected is currently reviewed only by specific professionals and debates over sending footage directly to specialized agencies for review is still highly considered. Sending the footage to these special facilities leaves little room for tampering by police and will help ensure the authenticity of the footage. Although many may believe those body cameras will cause more harm than help to the community, body cameras are still highly useful and are statistically reported to assist police and the

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