How Do Body Cameras Change The Face Of Law Enforcement

The dispute of police body cameras truly hit the media hard this week. Blasting from the headlines all citizens were aware that Michael Brown was lethally shot in Ferguson, Missouri. This prompted officers to become fortified with body cameras. This technologically progressive world that we live in today has shaped a world of tweeting, posting and uploading. It’s about time that police departments take advantage of the tools accessible to them, especially with the advancement of equipment. The move forward in technology will help to alleviate speculation on any misconduct perpetrated. There now will be hard honest evidence of any crime committed against a police officer.

For years and years, there have been many cases that police officers use unnecessary force on citizens. Citizens have reported the incidents, taken the incidents to court, and as well as people starting protests because of this. Instead of people feeling safe that the police is around people fear them. There has been a solution that involves police officers now having to be required wear body cameras. The use of body cameras on officers will reduce the use of force and will reduce dishonesty on incident reports; however, officers should not wear body cameras as it is an invasion of their privacy.

When police officers wear body cameras, less complaints are filed, use-of-force situations decrease, and training opportunities are gained. In 2012

The social media and the public might want police body cam footage release but sometimes it might be to graphic or controversial. Police body cameras have been a topic since the incident with Michael Brown in august of 2014. Police shot and killed an unarmed individual in ferguson, MO, leading to many people wanting cameras on police. Whether the cameras are a good idea or not this paper will explore the facts and sides of police body cameras. Overall body cameras should be required Because they can save the lives of the innocent, keep innocent people from going to jail, and can help a case as more evidence.

The community will feel more trustful towards the police and the work they do if they have the body cameras that can support their work. The police department in Rialto, California has received 88 percent less complaints since using body cameras than those not using body cameras (Police Body).

In my personal opinion, the usage of body worn cameras in law enforcement have been very beneficial for officers, lawyers, judges, solicitors, and the public as well. I agree, some officers tend to forget to activate and deactivate their body worn cameras before and after they have made contact with the citizens. As you stated in your passage, many law enforcement agencies have implemented a policy to govern their officers when they fail to follow their body worn cameras protocols. These implementation is the most effective way to assure that law enforcement officers are not thoughtless when it comes to activating their body cams before they interact with the public.

Due to recent technological advances, many social justice issues have been brought to light. One issue is police brutality involving minorities. Police brutality is a major problem in our society, but it is a problem that we can fix. In order for any problem to be fixed, the problem must be acknowledged, then whoever has the problem must work for change. In order to fix the problem of police brutality, we must bring light to the issue by utilizing social media, then push for a change is the police force. One significant change the police force could make is the implementation of body cameras. They can offer video evidence in the case of opposing accounts of an incident, they dissuade police brutality, and videos released from police cameras

With so many incidents occurring between law enforcement and civilians, it’s about time we have our officers wear body cameras. Law enforcement wants to use body cameras, many politicians are in favor for them, Civil-rights groups are advocating them, and communities that already have a strong police presence in their neighborhoods are requesting that the police get cameras now. With the uproar of law enforcement and the death of many black American’s, body cameras can be very useful. There is always that missing link when trying to put these horrible moments back together. Far too many times we end up with the suspect dead and only get one side of the story. With the use of body cameras, we can now get more insight on the events that happen (Boyd, 2015).

August 9th, 2014 is a day that will live on in infamy in the United States and the law enforcement community. On this day in Ferguson, Missouri, a member of the Ferguson Police Department, Officer Daren Wilson, shot and killed Michael Brown. From all accounts of the investigation at this time, Michael Brown was unarmed and had been stopped by Officer Wilson due to walking in the middle of the street (jaywalking). What happened next is in dispute and shocked the conscious of America. While investigators are still trying to answer the question as to what caused this tragic event to take place and evidence is being presented to a grand jury; a secondary discussion has emerged. Should all law enforcement agencies be required to purchase body-worn cameras for their officers to wear? Are body-worn cameras a good idea or will this help to create an Orwellian environment? Will body-worn cameras increase transparency for the law enforcement community or will it create a greater divide?

Body cameras in policing are still new, but more and more agencies are beginning to implement this technology into their line of work. At first police officers were very hesitant to wear these body cameras because they were afraid they would infringe themselves and give away their own privacy. Later, as body cameras were beginning to see more use in the work place, officers began to realize that these very own body cameras that they once thought would only cause themselves harm would actual prove to be useful in a variety of situations. Some of these situations can be citizen complaints, to even backing up an officers use of force. Body cameras can be the one sole thing that can give

In todays society, American citizens are unpleased with the law enforcement officers. These officers are here protecting the people of America, and to get the people doing the wrong things off the street so the rest of the people can be safe. In the past few months, there have been shootings of American citizens, and shootings of law enforcement officers. The people of society are only seeing the bad side of police officers, and never understand the whole story when needed to be heard. As the internet continues to expand, the promises it makes is beyond human understanding (Carr 56). The internet and television are the most complex form of technology, and only portray the bad side of cops. “The idea of multimedia is to combine text, sound, and pictures in a single package that you browse on screen” (Gelernter 97). The idea of body cameras put in the uniforms of the law enforcement officers has been talked about, so that everyone can see the exact truth of the situation. The idea of body cameras for the law enforcement officers has it benefits and drawbacks. I think having the body cameras will greatly benefit the law enforcement officers in society today and in the future.

On the evening of February 26, 2012, in Sanford, Florida, a neighborhood watch coordinator, George Zimmerman fatally shot unarmed 17-year-old teenager named Trayvon Martin. Some say Zimmerman acted rightfully in self-defense while others believe he acted wrongfully by racially profiling Martin during the incident. Similarly, on August 9, 2015, an 18-year-old teenager named Michael Brown was fatally shot to death by police officer, Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Missouri. Some witnesses believe that Brown was unarmed during this unfortunate incident and that he was holding his hands up in order to surrender to Wilson. Unfortunately, society may never know what actually happened since witnesses, proof, and evidence were very limited during that time of the events. Incidents like these may never have to happen again if law enforcement wore body cameras during their shifts. Body-worn cameras are a video recorder mainly used by police and law enforcement to record interactions with the public, evidence at crime scenes while still improving officer and citizen accountability. Due to the recent rise in news following innocent people being unjustly shot by law enforcement, the idea of wearing body cameras are starting to look like a great idea. Body worn cameras seem like a great asset to utilize for every police officer out there however there are some faults to it as well like some security, ethical, and social issues.

One reason law enforcement agents should wear body cameras is to hold the officer accountable. Holding the officer accountable, will ensure the officer adheres to policies and procedures during an encounter with victims and suspects. Body-worn cameras are poised to help boost accountability for law enforcement and citizens. And unlike many new police technologies, the cameras share preliminary support from both law enforcement and social justice groups. The cameras may be particularly beneficial for Black and Latino men, who are likelier to shoulder the harms of any police

For the past several years the push for police to wear body cameras has greatly increased. Body cameras are small video and audio recorders that can be worn by police officers to capture all encounters the officers have with citizens. Large cities and counties across the nation have been testing body cameras among several police departments to see if they can actually improve the way police and citizens interact with one another. Over the course of the past several years evidence has shown that the tests seem to be rather successful. Evidence has proved that in many cases the body cameras have made a significant impact on how some police officers deal with certain situations and behave toward citizens. Even the citizens who know they are being recorded have either changed the way they interact with the police or will not make false accusations or false complaints toward officers. In Rialto, California in 2012, the test of body cameras showed a decrease in officers using force and complaints of police brutality (BloombergView). When officers are aware that they are on camera they tend to follow the rules more. The same can be said about citizens, when the officers tell them they are being recorded, they change their behavior and sometimes begin to act more rational. Currently, the relationship between the police and citizens is rough. Citizens have trust issues with many officers, and officers are now scared that they may become targets of police hatred. Hopefully, with the

Although unions and officers are largely against them and the cost for implementing them is very large, especially if it were to be done nation wide, there is still large demand for them by the public and more departments on a county level are starting to require officers to use them. Some of the concerns of issuing body cameras are not only the officers privacy but the civilians around them as well, however studies in the few departments in the states that do have body cameras that the benefits far outweigh the costs as fewer cases of excessive force or unreasonable treatment by officers occurred almost immediately (White 24). From evidence already seen in other countries such as the UK that the introduction of these cameras will help with current problems presented with distrust between officers and civilians. Not only will better evidence on cases become available to better hold officers accountable and challenge their word over those of a non law enforcement, but it will also provide assistance to officers that feel wrongly accused and show civilians. Should body cameras be adopted into all law enforcement a series of laws would also need to be put in with them in order to ensure officers and departments are not tampering with them.