...English Comp. 101 Body Cameras as a Preventive Measure Senseless violence has filled every community, most societies, and all boundaries. At any given moment physical violence can strike out against any given person. Even police officers-who by law are commission to protect and serve-are not safe from violent acts upon their person, or from engaging in acts of violence against the very own civilian they are sworn to serve. However, in both circumstances the lines between justice and corruption, or self-defense and aggression, can be blurred beyond visibility. Often, training can take a backseat to instinct, and decisions made as a result should be subject to review by higher authorities, that the truth and justice may be served. In my opinion, police officers should be required to wear body audio and visual recorders while serving active duty within a community, in order to protect themselves and members of the community by providing an honest and accurate account of confrontation, altercations, and disputes. First of all, with all the crime and hate against police officers, body cameras are a good way to prove their innocence when they are doing their job the proper way. If they get into an altercation with someone and need to use excessive force and the public is outraged, I believe the body cameras will show what actually happened. I do not condone deadly force at all, but if the police officer is in danger and the suspect is trying to hurt or even kill him and the officer...
Words: 753 - Pages: 4
...Police should wear body cameras at all times when they are present on the job. If a policeman is wearing a camera the person being approached will feel safer. Police will act in a better manner when the cameras are recording and attached to their uniforms. I agree that an officer should have the camera mounted on his uniform because we can see everything that happens.Police should wear body cameras because it reduces the force they will use, the camera provides efficient evidence in criminal prosecutions, and helps chiefs recognize a officers behavior. First of all , police should wear body cameras because the officer is less likely to use force and the interaction is changed between the police and a civilian because both are recorded. The University of Cambridge studies found that the use of force dropped by fifty percent when cameras are recording. Cops when encountering a civilian acts civilized and does not abuse his power because he knows everything is being recorded and he can not lie. In a previous situation the officer , George Zimmerman encountered a teenager , Trayvon Martin and killed him. There was not a camera on the police and there were no witnesses , so the policeman concluded a story. That is why there should be a camera on any officer that is on duty so he can not commit murder and deceive his way out of it. Police will not be Taylor 2 able to get off as easily as before and they...
Words: 1029 - Pages: 5
...Body Cameras on Police The government needs to definitely make it a requirement to wear body cameras, because it is being considered as a way of altering the course of events similar too Eric Garner, Mike Brown etcetera, and because a camera provides unbiased truth in interactions between police and citizens. But once you really just think about all these situations that have happened no fair justice was being served, even with the Eric Garner situation it was fully recorded and there was no justice. A camera is like proof for a situation as to if the police were in the wrong in the situation and the defendant were too be dead, camera’s don’t lie. Body Cameras can definitely make or break a situation, police officers are highly trained and they could be pretty good at covering up there wrong with the camera clearly showing what happened. Maybe wearing body cameras would cut down on the violence going on because now officers are being fully watched as to what they’re doing and how there handling it. Body cameras are a great idea; there should be cameras in different angles so that whoever is watching the recorded tape could see in different angles of what happened and not just the specific part being recorded. Some feel like police officers can easily turn the cameras off and precincts can delete or edit footage in the police officers favor. Cameras are as good or as useless if people don't trust the system to preserve...
Words: 765 - Pages: 4
...In America body cameras greatly decrease the issues of racial discrimination. Many officers are required to wear body cameras. This helps because it will show what happens and it will also help by always telling the truth. From March 2014 to February 2015 resistance incidences dropped 53% among the population of officers with cameras versus without. ( ) this shows that if Europe were to get body cameras for their police officers it would reduce the number of incidents. Also in America with body cameras they would have much more evidence that helps during trials. Using this tactic reduces the chances of attacks when they know they are being recorded. Not only does this benefit the citizens but the officers. On June 19 a woman was pulled over for speeding by an officer. The officer that pulled her over was wearing a body camera. She is seen by the video trying to bribe the officer despite the fact that she denies doing so after getting arrested. Without that video it would've taken longer to prosecute and figure out what actually happened. ( ) Even though the body camera will come at a cost, it potentially saves the lives and time of both citizens and law-enforcement. This promotes efficient working time. During an experiment, police having a body camera and having it known to citizens helped calm down situations. It also helped to collect accurate evidence. Body cameras for police officers in Europe not only lowers the incidents...
Words: 1434 - Pages: 6
...and a Camera Author: Johnson, Kirk ProQuest document link Abstract: Liability-conscious city attorneys say the cameras could help in lawsuits; rights groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union, say police accountability will be bolstered by another layer of public documentation; and the Justice Department, surveying 63 police departments that were using body cameras and many others that were not, concluded in a report this month that the technology had the potential to "promote the perceived legitimacy and sense of procedural justice" in interactions between the public and law enforcement. Links: Linking Service Full text: PULLMAN, Wash. -- Amateur videos of police officers doing their jobs have become part of the fabric of urban democracy, with embarrassing or violent images spreading via social media in minutes. But more police agencies, especially after the unrest following an unarmed teenager's shooting in Ferguson, Mo., are recording events with small body-mounted cameras. In just the last few weeks, law enforcement agencies in at least a dozen cities, including Ferguson; Flagstaff, Ariz.; Minneapolis; Norfolk, Va.; and Washington, have said they are equipping officers with video cameras. Miami Beach approved the purchase of $3 million worth of cameras for police officers, parking enforcement workers, and building and fire inspectors. The New York Police Department, the nation's largest urban force, has studied how Los Angeles is incorporating body cameras and...
Words: 1715 - Pages: 7
...The visual is an advertisement on body cameras which the company designs for multiple law enforcement agencies. This visual is talking about ethos, pathos, and logos, as well as the argument being made and the audience of the image. This image is arguing that body cameras should be required as part of the police officers uniform because of police brutality and all the racial controversy with African Americans being mistreated. The image being portrayed is a police officer in an alley which is dark and looks ghetto. The alley is being blocked with a wired fence and a wolf is shown coming from behind. In this image a police car is also shown. The police officer in the image has a body camera as part of the uniform. He’s advertising the product and proving an example as to body cameras being enforced because of police brutality and...
Words: 657 - Pages: 3
...Cop cameras are slowly changing the ways of policing. The cameras are used to oversee a police officer's shift. The camera records all encounters of cops and civilians. Many people have expressed concerns over the use of the cameras because of personal privacy invasion. Police body cameras may go against the Fourth Amendment to a certain extent their benefits far outweigh these concerns. Police body cameras have been the talk of officers for many years. Police cams have been around since at least the 1960’s (Criminol). Cop cams were invented to prevent unlawful cops. They were also made to provide more accurate evidence of what happens with officers on the job. A long time ago officers first tried to use dash cams that were mounted inside the car. This posed issues of not recording quality videos. Another issue was that the camera did not getting the entire encounter of the officer and civilian. Eventually dash cams became less popular, since body cameras were invented. One issue is that, “Body cams will often capture people at their worst-drunk, abusive, profane, and at their most personal- during domestic disputes, mental health crises, medical emergencies, and etc” (Rutledge). With technology progressing the...
Words: 1671 - Pages: 7
...excessive force there has been a national outcry for law enforcement accountability, as well as, improved transparency. The possibility that some of these acts have been racially motivated, involved profiling or geographic discrimination have only fueled the problem and further soured police and public relations. The integration of police body cameras by many departments has been employed to repair poor public image and increase transparency, (Koh 2017). However, the use of police body cameras is a singular tool that needs to be utilized alongside other critical changes. These changes are necessary to repair the damage that has been done and keep it from escalating...
Words: 1839 - Pages: 8
... As time has developed, the issues of old have passed, but now, new ones have arose. Currently, sitting in 2015, the United States is again being subjected to another social issue; that is police brutality and the use of body cameras as a means of holding all parties involved accountable for their actions. It is simply irresponsible not to implement this new means of technology and I believe that it’s use is a key factor in solving the social issue of police brutality, and the untrust and stigmas that stem from this abuse of power. Names like Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, and Eric Garner have dominated headlines of many major news outlets for the past two years. The common factor between the three being the excessive use of force upon unarmed civilians. In the cases of Martin and Brown, both men were fatally shot, both were unarmed, and both had two conflicting sides of the story detailing the events leading up to and after their respective shootings. In each instance, many in the public were led to believe that racial stigmas were the determining reasons for the pulling of the trigger, and as a result mass protests and riots have occurred in towns such as but not limited to, Ferguson, Missouri and New York City. This is where body...
Words: 1013 - Pages: 5
...America is the implementation of body-worn cameras (BWCs). These are small cameras carried on the torso of police officers that records the actions of the officer and those acting in their presence. These are then used to remove doubt regarding the proceedings of any encounter with another person. Numerous studies have been conducted to...
Words: 1331 - Pages: 6
...the use of body cameras on our officers, something that stands to benefit both officers and the community. Body cameras would not only reduce police misconduct, but they would make citizens more comfortable and can be used as first person evidence in court. Officers with body cameras will have to think twice before their actions are taken since they are being recorded all the time. Doing this would reduce the amount of misconduct and make our community safer. As ProCon.org states, “Police body cameras would improve police accountability and lower reports of police misconduct”(Britannica). As this quote explains that police will have to take...
Words: 483 - Pages: 2
...Police Officers Wear Body Cameras: Pro or Con? Should police officers wear cameras while on duty to document their activities? The body camera is intended to provide an accurate, objective view of every event with a civilian. In an ideal situation, the camera would provide evidence of or discourage police misconduct while protecting officers against unfounded complaints of brutality or corruption. When unnamed black teenager Michael Brown was fatally shot by police, there was no body camera footage available. His death was followed by weeks of riots in the streets of Ferguson, Missouri and started the national debate about police conduct particularly when it involved Africa-Americans. While some witnesses to the events that evening support the officers account of self-defense, others argue that Michael...
Words: 1167 - Pages: 5
...police body cameras. There are a few reasons why this would be useful. One obvious benefit is that use of force will decrease. Another is that people will be less likely to complain about police actions, which means less money spent on following up with those complaints. One of the potentially most useful benefits is that the cameras will give a clearer understanding in any case, making it unnecessary to speculate on a certain matter. Of course, there are some complications, since this is no clear-cut matter, with many viewpoints. Some assert that with body cameras, people who may not want to be on camera might end up there. Others say that according to recent events, police body cameras aren’t worth the hassle and their cost. Analyzing these points can lead us to an objective conclusion as to whether they really are worth their cost. Police body cameras can be used in order to decrease cops’ use of force. As the article “Should cops wear cameras?” by Brandon Griggs points...
Words: 602 - Pages: 3
...created animosity between the two groups, causing a lack of trust in the legitimacy of police work. The case and trial surrounding the death of Michael Brown at the hands of a Missouri police officer was one of the more recent controversial stories that help spark a policing reform by President Barrack Obama. This reform recommended greater usage of body worn cameras by funding $75 million towards equipping law enforcement with body worn cameras while implementing procedures to improve evidence collection and police...
Words: 638 - Pages: 3
...restore faith in our police officers. This strain is causing mistrust for the good police officers that are trying to protect our country. I believe widespread use of police body cameras would help our country start trusting our law enforcement again, and decrease violence against citizens and police alike. Tension is rising at an alarming rate, and something must be done to restore faith in our police officers. Having police wear tiny pocket cameras on duty would add a sense of transparency with law enforcement and their interactions with the public. There is a lot of guessing at what happened in some instances, most notably in last years cases of Mike Brown and Eric Garner which a lot of people believe the police officers could have handled differently. Having body cameras could solve situations like that, as it will give more insight as to what happened. It will also allow for us to stop relying on cellphone recordings in cases,...
Words: 727 - Pages: 3
