Michael Brown: Camera Authorization And Maintenance Act

The death of Michael Brown brought the city of Ferguson, Missouri national attention. In response to his death, multiple bills were proposed that would affect policing in the United States. One proposal is the Camera Authorization and Maintenance Act. This bill won’t make it past the Conservative-controlled Congress, however, if it were to make it to the President, he would support the bill. Another proposal is the Fair Justice Act. Congress, along with the President, seeing as it has limited downside to the public, will pass this bill.
The Camera Authorization and Maintenance Act, or the CAM Act of 2014, states that any state or unit of government that doesn’t require law enforcement officers to use body-worn cameras will not receive any grants from the Attorney General the following fiscal year. This highly incentivizes the use of body-worn cameras by policemen. This bill would we a major solution to the principal-agent problem, as now the principal (the government) will be able to watch the agents (the policemen) through these cameras. The main issue that was brought to attention, especially in Ferguson, is police brutality. In a summary of the Department of Justice report on Ferguson, Leon Wolf states “the FPD habitually uses excessive force in blatant …show more content…
The Camera Authorization and Maintenance Act would effectively reduce police brutality, but it would divide the Republican party between the more conservative republicans and the libertarians in the Republican party, causing the bill to not even be brought to the floor by the Majority Leader. The President, however, would pass the bill as a sign of strength. The Fair Justice Act, however, would be passed by Congress, as it would solve an issue that both Democrats and Republics would be enraged by. The President would also approve of this proposal again as a sign of strength and protection of American