Should Police Officers Be Allowed To Wear Body Cameras?

Since the accusation of police brutality is on the rise, there’s a question of whether police officers should or shouldn’t wear body cameras with their uniform. There can be many issues with wearing body cameras such as, there being an invasion of privacy and the expenses that come along with them. There can be many technical issues involved with the equipment. The cameras aren’t able to record 24/7 because of the lack of storage and battery life. This can cause issues with recordings of certain situations. Therefore, body cameras shouldn’t be allowed to be worn on a police officer’s uniform.
Body cameras can be an invasion of privacy not only to the public but to the officers wearing them as well. When the body cameras are on, they can capture the everyday life of civilians. The cameras also record everything the police officer is doing and sometimes they record unnecessary information that shouldn’t be recorded. Some civilians don’t want to be recorded while a police officer is speaking with them. In some cases, the recordings can be shown in court and not all parties or witnesses involved in the videos want them to be shown publically.
However, not only is the device itself expensive but the cost of the maintenance that may be required for the camera is as well. The cost of storing and maintaining the video footage that’s recorded is another factor too. In an article I read called, “Police Body Cameras: Do They Reduce Complaints of Officer Misconduct,” stated that the body cameras can range from four hundred to seven hundred dollars each. However, it can cost up to twelve thousand dollars per unit when the additional costs I mentioned previously are added to it. The article also stated that it can be costly when retrieving footage from the cameras when there’s a subpoena out for it or an