Body cameras don’t always record all the events. People tend to behave better when they are on video. Body cameras are a net positive in law enforcement. While body cameras raises privacy concerns, I think every police officers need to wear a body camera to better their job because laws will enforce them, for personal safety, and prove of their job.
I found something tangible we can do to start making a change: Put body cameras on every cop (O’Mara). According to the report, “large majorities of Hispanics, whites and blacks say that whether an incident in which an unarmed African American is harmed or killed is videotaped plays a major role in whether or not the officer is charged with a crime” (O’Mara). …show more content…
Now those rules will be hammered out from scratch by the state’s police training commission, after it receives recommendations from a task force (The promise of body cameras). Reforms are now being proposed to better expose police mistakes and to hold officers more accountable (Body cameras can help police to perfect their work). Complaints about police have declined in these communities. Cops seem to be more calm and courteous (Body cameras can help police to perfect their work). About a third of the nation’s 18,000 police departments are using wearable body cameras to record interactions between officers and citizens. Still other law enforcement agencies are piloting body camera initiatives, and many others are debating their use (O’Mara). This issue brief will review some of the key issues surrounding the use of wearable body cameras by public safety officers, including the primary benefits and challenges of the technology. In addition, the brief will provide an overview of body camera technologies and systems (Vega). Body cameras provide many of the same advantages as in-car cameras, including police accountability and transparency …show more content…
Over the past year, in which civilians have used cameras to capture police shootings gone wrong, the most popular proposal has been to place body cameras on every cop (The Monitor 's Editorial Board). President Obama, for example, promises $75 million for the purchase of 50,000 cameras for law enforcement officers (The Monitor 's Editorial Board). This reform is not without merit. Studies of the few police departments that already use such cameras suggest the mere presence of a recording device has a "civilizing effect," not only on police but on the people they encounter. Complaints about police have declined in these communities. Cops seem to be more calm and courteous. Violent incidents are fewer. Investigations of wrongdoing are made easier (The Monitor 's Editorial Board). Law enforcement agencies around the country, spurred by the fatal shooting of an unarmed man running from a police officer in South Carolina, are looking more closely at having officers on patrol wear cameras (The Washington Post). In the weeds of such issues, it 's critical that law enforcement officials keep sight of the basic promise of using body cameras to record encounters between officers and members of the public. They can be a valuable tool in establishing facts, settling disputes and deterring bad conduct by cops and civilians alike. In that way they also may well save lives (The Washington