...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...
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...the integrity of police officers has been called into question, raising the issue of whether or not police should wear body cameras. With increasingly widespread reports of such incidents, it is clear that body cameras do need to be implemented into police forces in order to restore public confidence in police officers. On the 17th of July 2014, Eric Garner was approached by NYPD police officers, on the suspicion of selling cigarettes without tax stamps. Garner responded by saying that he would not be harassed and that he...
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...Though body cameras are not an entirely new technology, the debate of whether or not they should be worn by law enforcement has recently come to light due to recent events, such as the death of Michael Brown, and has continued to become a worldwide issue. If officers were to wear body cameras not only would it increase safety for officers and civilians alike, but begin to rebuild the trust among officers and the public. Body cameras show a first hand account of events, and can be used as factual evidence in the case of a trial (Issues & Controversies). With video evidence, both the civilian and official’s views can be clearly viewed and analysed to come to an accurate, as well as mutual, conclusion. These joint discussions will begin to reconstruct...
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...In the field of Criminal Justice, there are many topics of controversy such as Police using body cameras. This topic is becoming a bigger issue around the country due to false accusations on people and police. There are pros and cons to every controversial issue. Four cons related to Police body cameras are the following: The cameras are expensive. There is a privacy issue for both police and civilians. There may be issues with the camera. The police don’t want them. On the positive side, there are pros as well. Four pros of police using body cameras are the following: Helps provide valuable evidence in obtaining accurate victim and witness statements. Protects police officers from false accusations. The use of cameras while on duty provides hard video evidence of...
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...This confrontation ended in the suspect being shot and killed. Officer Muniz was proven innocent because the footage from the body camera showed he didn’t do anything wrong. But in some cases, privacy is an issue in the release of footage. Because the trust in police officers is becoming non-existent, police body cameras are a rising solution that may have pros and cons. The attention of police body cameras has increased since the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri in August of 2014. Darren Wilson, a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, was found not guilty in the death of 18-year-old Michael Brown and Michael's family is begging for...
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...Police Body Cameras Should police officers wear body cameras? The conflict in portland centers on how and when officers have access to video from body cameras. Videos of police shootings across the country have become critical. However police officers across the nation are beginning to push back on body cameras. Police officers should have to wear police body cameras. Some police stations are still debating on wether or not they should use police body cameras. State laws vary about what the public can see. Existing recordings are recovered under these laws, such as videos from cameras mount on patrol cars. “Body cameras produce more footage than dashboard cameras” (Kaleem). Footage that can show officers inside peoples homes. Body cameras have become an easy political answer to the problem of trust in police. Any policy that hides, shields, or opens up body-camera footage is probably wrong. Police body cameras created an issue on making a new contract between the city and the public union. Portlands labor agreement with...
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...media attention these days. This attention can be attributed to recent years of high profile events such as protests, uses of force, and misconduct. The public demands law enforcement professionals to adhere to certain standards and be accountable for their actions. As a result of changing times, law enforcement identified a need to record their interactions with the public on a daily basis in order to justify their actions to critics. This need could be fulfilled by having officers wear body worn cameras to document their interactions with the public. Law enforcement agencies must weigh the costs, benefits, and cons of acquiring body worn cameras for their officers. There are...
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...Over the past years, police departments across the United States began implementing a body-worn camera program to further maintain transparency within their communities. However, as the body-worn cameras were first introduced to the departments, it was followed with numerous concerns by officers and civilians. Since being introduced, the body-worn camera program policy continues to evolve and change in policy followed by input by the Police Commission, Mayor, American Civil Liberties Unions and civilians. As police departments are approving the body-warn cameras, there has been a numerous amount of benefits since the implementation of the program. The Arizona State university conducted a study on the Mesa (Arizona) Police department which...
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...With new "body cam" technology such as GoPro becoming more prominent in today's society, debate has arisen over whether police officers should be required to wear body cameras or not, so that every action they take while on duty can be recorded. Especially in light of current events many feel that police should be required to wear body cameras to prevent injustices. Like any problem there are pros and cons. And I believe that cons need to be addressed before moving on to the pros. Some of the cons against body cameras are that there is a huge cost for buy each camera as well as budget issues for each department. Another example is that with the limited vision it may not be precise enough to get entire circumstance in which case would lead to...
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...Specifications 3 4.0 Pros and cons 7 4.1 Pros / Advantages 7 4.2 Cons / Disadvantages 8 5.0 DSLR’s Comparison Chart 10 6.0 Other relevant Equipment 11 7.0 List of things to include in a trip, indoor-event 15 8.0 Cost of the above items and justifications 17 REFERENCES 18 1.0 BRAND AND MODEL BRAND : PENTAX MODEL : K-30 The Pentax K-30 is a 16.3-megapixel digital single-lens reflex camera, announced on 21 May 2012. At its introduction, it was in the middle of Pentax's DSLR range—above the now-discontinued entry-level K-r, and below the semi-pro K-5 and successor K-5 II. As a mid-range body, it has a polycarbonate chassis, but unlike most DSLRs of that class, is fully weather sealed. It can shoot continuously at up to 6 frames per second with a maximum shutter speed of 1/6000th of a second. It can capture video at 1080p at either 30, 25, or 24 fps. Like all current and recent Pentax DSLRs it features in-body shake reduction, removing the need for each lens to have image stabilisation. The Pentax K mount allows use of legacy lenses dating back to the 1970s, or even earlier with an M42-mount adapter, for which the K-mount is fully compatible. The autofocus system (SAFOX IXi+) is an advance over the K-5 and features 11 AF points, 9 of which are cross-type (i.e. sensitive to vertical as well as horizontal edges). For maximum flexibility, the camera can either use the proprietary...
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...ENG 112 30 November 2015 Body Cameras Providing Accountability Thesis Statement: Yes, body cameras should be worn by police officers because they provide accurate accounts of what happens at crime scenes, help civilians trust police officers, and give Americans an idea of what it is like to be behind the gun to more appreciate officers. I. Introduction II. Body cameras provide accurate account III. Body cameras help civilians trust officers IV. Body cameras gives an idea of what it is like behind the gun V. Refutation VI. Conclusion Body Cameras Providing Accountability The shooting of Trayvon Martin has elevated a necessity around the country for police officers to be equipped with body cameras. Yes, it is necessary for police officers to wear these cameras for accountability for oneself and a potential victim. Body cameras can rule out possible suspicions of wrongful deaths or mistreatments, such as racism. Police officers should want to protect themselves and their jobs with this device that records what is actually happening and being said at the crime scene. Yes, body cameras should be worn by police officers because they provide accurate accounts of what happens at crime scenes, helps civilians trust police officers, and gives Americans an idea of what it is like to be behind the gun to more appreciate officers. Body cameras provide an accurate account of what happens at crime scenes. The use of body cameras is a great way to get first...
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...During the Speech Forum, there were two speakers who gave the reasons along with facts and explanations on the policy of why or why not law enforcement should wear body cameras. In the Pro's speech, she believe that law enforcement should wear the body camera because it would help in aiding in eyewitness testimony and because it eliminate police brutality while in the Con's speech he believe that law enforcement should not wear the body camera because they are counter productive and an invasion of privacy. Each gave their own reason behind their claims during the Speech Forum. In the Pro speaker's speech, her first claim of aiding in eyewitness testimony is a claim of fact, while her claim that it would stop police brutality was a claim...
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...Con Side of Debate Summary As discussed on the pro side of my team’s debate about police officers wearing a body camera at all times, as we find ourselves going back in time with the racial tensions growing ever higher in America. My team and I have debated the arming of police officers with body camera’s, although there were many positive points to this action there are just as many negative points that could draw concern and force future studies before deciding this is for sure the way ahead for our police officers in today’s environment. With all the concerns one of the biggest that we all tended to agree on is the human factor, when the police are armed with a body camera someone would have to turn it on and turn it off so again if for some reason the officer camera wasn’t working then the argument would be made that the camera was deliberately turned off to hide something. One course of action to counter this was suggested that it would be like a time clock when the officer came on duty someone would key the camera on and then it wouldn’t be turned off until the end of the shift. Another concern that would have to be figured out was how here in America it seems we all come up with and have great idea’s but as soon as we are told that our taxes are going up to pay for this then everyone tends to back away from the idea. As we stop and think about most of the major crimes in America it seems most occur in the darkness of the night, so one of the biggest hurdles I think...
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...Brentyn Trujillo Period 3 11/3/2015 Police should wear body cameras at all times while on duty. Police officers should be forced to wear body cameras while on their patrol duty. Equipping police with body cameras may be an effective way to advance the behavior of officers and the community with which they interact, a new study finds. Researchers at the Campus of South Florida released their report on a yearlong body-worn camera pilot program at the Orlando Police Department, in which they randomly selected 46 officers to wear the plans and compared them against 43 officers who did not. In the 12 months from March 2014 through February 2015, use-of-force events also known as "response to resistance" events fell 53 percent amongst officers with...
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...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,...
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