Adopting Policy
Dr. Saye
PP650
Theresa Green
November 28, 2015
Adopting Policy Due to the increase in police violence against suspects and police misconduct allegations, the issue of police body cameras has become a big issue lately. Many believe body cameras will help when officers are interacting with the public and could help resolve any issues that may come up. State Sen. Jamilah Nasheed filed a bill in the Missouri Legislature requiring large police departments across the state to use body cameras after viewing a video of Walter Scott, who is black, being gunned down by Michael Slager, a white South Carolina police office. Incidents like this underscore the importance of policy body cameras, which according to State …show more content…
Working out how the Missouri Sunshine Law will affect the policy is a major concern (Stuckey, 2015). The Missouri Sunshine Law states that “It is the public policy of the state that meetings, records, votes, actions, and deliberations of public governmental bodies be open to the public unless otherwise provided by law.” The term “public record” means any record, whether written or electronically stored, retained by or any public governmental body (https://ago.mo.gov/docs/default-source/publications/missourisunshinelaw.pdf?sfvrsn=4). Body cameras would provide an electronic public record of any interaction taken by police officers that may come into question …show more content…
Will funding be provided through a sales tax increase and if so, by how much? Will police departments be responsible for purchasing the cameras, and if so, how will this affect their budgets? Will the departments have to seek funding from the federal government or other public and private sources?
Will the issuance of body cameras require more training, and if so, will the training require an additional cost and who will provide the training, will it be the manufacturer and if so, is that included in the cost of the cameras? Being able to answer the questions would make it easier to write a police body camera policy because it would identify and answer who, what, how and why for the policy. Once the legislature has the answers, it may be able to adopt a policy that is agreeable to all parties involved. In conclusion, adopting a body camera policy may help deter police violence and misconduct allegations that may occur while interacting with the public. The officers being recorded by the cameras should help with the performance their duties in a professional
Dr. Saye
PP650
Theresa Green
November 28, 2015
Adopting Policy Due to the increase in police violence against suspects and police misconduct allegations, the issue of police body cameras has become a big issue lately. Many believe body cameras will help when officers are interacting with the public and could help resolve any issues that may come up. State Sen. Jamilah Nasheed filed a bill in the Missouri Legislature requiring large police departments across the state to use body cameras after viewing a video of Walter Scott, who is black, being gunned down by Michael Slager, a white South Carolina police office. Incidents like this underscore the importance of policy body cameras, which according to State …show more content…
Working out how the Missouri Sunshine Law will affect the policy is a major concern (Stuckey, 2015). The Missouri Sunshine Law states that “It is the public policy of the state that meetings, records, votes, actions, and deliberations of public governmental bodies be open to the public unless otherwise provided by law.” The term “public record” means any record, whether written or electronically stored, retained by or any public governmental body (https://ago.mo.gov/docs/default-source/publications/missourisunshinelaw.pdf?sfvrsn=4). Body cameras would provide an electronic public record of any interaction taken by police officers that may come into question …show more content…
Will funding be provided through a sales tax increase and if so, by how much? Will police departments be responsible for purchasing the cameras, and if so, how will this affect their budgets? Will the departments have to seek funding from the federal government or other public and private sources?
Will the issuance of body cameras require more training, and if so, will the training require an additional cost and who will provide the training, will it be the manufacturer and if so, is that included in the cost of the cameras? Being able to answer the questions would make it easier to write a police body camera policy because it would identify and answer who, what, how and why for the policy. Once the legislature has the answers, it may be able to adopt a policy that is agreeable to all parties involved. In conclusion, adopting a body camera policy may help deter police violence and misconduct allegations that may occur while interacting with the public. The officers being recorded by the cameras should help with the performance their duties in a professional