Police Body Cameras

We are living in an age of technological growth. The speed and creativity of this growth is unprecedented and can be seen almost everywhere you look. One of the most prevalent changes that technology has created is the way that we work. Furthermore, it hasn’t just helped with the work of people like computer programmers or data analysers; no, it has impacted almost every job in some way. One career that isn’t usually thought to have too much to with technology is policing. But actually, just in the last couple of years major breakthroughs have been made that can make it easier for police officers to keep us safe. Brand new data systems have been developed and officers now have more ways to communicate with each other than ever before. And new …show more content…
The idea of body cameras came from constant reports of police brutality or unjustified shootings. Previously, the authorities only had witnesses to the incidents to find out exactly what had happened. Now with body cameras, supervisors and internal affairs organizations can see exactly what happens in every situation. This is a really good advantage for both civilians and the officers. For example, have a camera on the officer's chest helps keep them accountable because they know that someone can be watching. This helps to keep the civilians safe. On the other hand. If a situation does arise where someone gets hurt but the officer is innocent, the body camera footage can prove it. Another type of technology that the police are just beginning to get into is social media. Over the past few years many crimespotting organizations have been set up over social media. The information gathered from these systems can vary from anonymous tips to reported crimes. Tombul Fatih and Cakar Bekir state in a journal, that during the 2011 Vancouver Stanley Cup riots, “the Vancouver police obtained and benefited from thousands of pieces of digital evidence related to the events.” (Fatih and Bekir, 2015) And this wasn’t the only time,it goes on to say that “the Boston Police Department also used social media following the bombings at the 2013 Boston Marathon.” (Fatih and Bekir, 2015) Accredited author and journalist Rock Lavine says that the myth that the “police are out to get everyone” (Lavine, 2011) has only grown so strong because there hasn’t been a connection between the police and their civilians. Now, with the presence of social media and crime tips systems, normal people can interact with the police and even help with the detective work! This not only provides ways for people to help in their own community, but can also make police officers