Should Police Officers Wear Body Cameras Essay

Farouk Olowu

Question: should officers wear body cameras?

From the time of Rodney King to Trayvon Martin police brutality is one of the only social issue that has stayed stagnant in over 50 years. As advancements in technology are rapidly improving, laws that hold police accountable need to progress at a similar speed. Recently, as Americans, we have begun to notice that African Americans unequally suffer at the hands of police compared to any other race. One of the reasons the trend of police brutally continues is because by law, a cop's words are worth more than the victims and a lot of these cases turn into hearsay. Body cameras are one of the ways to get unbiased facts about a situation involving police officers. Implementing Body cameras are a step towards the right

Web. November 1, 2017 The Cornell Daily Sun article talks about how the police department led the push for the use of body cameras at Cornell University. The officers believe that implementing body cameras will increase student trust and provide an objective record of incidences. The cameras not only keep officers accountable, but also keeps individuals in line because people tend to be more rational and calm when they are aware that they are being watched. Deputy Chief David Honan reassured the public that the department will review any issues pertaining to the service they provide. This is relevant to my topic because it shows that some officers believe that body cameras are a good first step to restoring the community's faith in the police. The cameras would show events as it happened and would be evidence of transparency. As time goes on, the notion that all cops are bad will eventually be dispelled. If police officers on a campus can see the benefits of body cameras, why can’t police departments in some of the biggest cities do the same?

Miller, Michael E. "A body cam caught a Cleveland cop acting heroically. So why are