Police Body Cameras Research Paper

Since police body cameras have been introduced, 75% less accidents have occurred with officers that wore a camera in a California police trail (Koh). Throughout the years, police brutality has been a big topic that has taken over the news. Whether or not police should wear body cameras is a question that has many sides and has taken the public into an argument that people don’t know which side to believe. Even though some argue that policemen having cameras invades privacy, cameras should be used by policemen because they help gather information and makes everyone behave better. Beginning in 2008, body cameras have slowly started to be integrated into the police force because they are thought to help gather evidence for the case. On the scene
it could become hard to gather all the information, “Video evidence could also be useful in prosecuting certain kinds of crimes in documenting injuries suffered by victims of domestic abuse…”(Koh). If something were to happen on the scene the victim might be to shoken up to remeber what could have possibly happened, providing a clear video can help trigger back memories and tie the case together. Evidence is an essential part in pulling a case together, “The cameras provide objective evidence for use in criminal proceedings, including those involving students…”(Evie). Cameras are especially important in student cases because in most cases, they won’t want to tell the truth if they know it's going to hurt them. Inside of these videos a lot of evidence is shown, “Such videos can help bolster- or contradict- testimony from officers, victims, or witnesses.” (Alexander). These videos can play a big role in a judge's decision on whether or not someone is innocent or not and play a big role in gathering evidence that could turn a simple case around. Alongside evidence, body cameras on police lead to people's behavior improving if they know that they are being recorded. Many people think, “...body cameras have a civilizing effect on behavior on both sides of the camera.” (Koh). Not only does it change the communities actions, but it also has a strong toll on the policemen wearing it. It goes either way, “ Eventually, whether officers realized it or not, body cameras made them more aware of their actions and those they interacted with.” (Majchrowicz). Not to mention that videos of police accused of brutality has been stealing the new headlines, so what would change if police could prove their point. This subject would just come more to life, “...the existence of cell phone video and social media postings has substantially reduced police brutality over the long run.” (Koh). By officers getting the chance to prove what truly happened with video proof. These body cameras will be a good step towards making all of the public, including the people wearing the cameras, behave better if they know that anything that is videoed could be held against them. People on the other side of the argument, think that police having body cameras invades privacy and only has the point of view through the policemen's eyes.
Some people believe that these cameras will cause privacy issues, “...they value their freedom from close supervision and are wary of big brother.”(Scheindlin). Many citizens on the other side of the argument think that it goes against certain laws and doesn’t give the full story. Along with privacy errors, some people also think that it doesn’t include every piece of evidence, “...they can only record events from the officer's point of view. There is no guarantee that all pertinent details will be captured on video.” (Koh). By showing the story through the officer’s eyes people think the other side of the story will not be shown. There is always two sides to an argument, but there is also always a stronger side.
Although cameras are seen in a bad light by promoting privacy concerns, body cameras help police by gathering information about the case, and keeping them from having false accusations. Body cameras help judges, policemen, and juries by showing what really happened and keeping people from being blamed about something they never did. Alongside that, they also help by gathering information and evidence about the case, so when victims are shaken up, policemen will be able to catch what happened on film. In the long run, safety is far more important than a
video.