Body Cameras Essay

729 Words2 Pages

The use of body cameras in law enforcement is an affective and useful addition to everyday equipment . Body cameras provide hard evidence, benefit officers and citezens, increase transparency and accountablity of officers, and improve overall behavior for both parties. Body cameras are wearable cameras used by law enforcement to record interactions that they make while on duty. Departments have been using body cameras for a while, but due to recent incedents more departments are putting them to use.

The use of body cameras has greatly improved the collection of evidence, whether it be used in court to back up an officer or the public. Overall body cameras help paint a picture of what really happened, this protects against any false accusations, …show more content…

Cameras ensure that law enforcement officers act in a manner befitting their situation. This prevents officers from acting incorrectly in a given situation, which protects the public from any misconduct by the police. A study conducted by the University of South Florida showed a significant reduction in the number of civilian injuries by officers wearing the cameras, and the injuries to officers themselves. (Huffington Post) This shows how the body cameras were able to protect both citizens and officers from injury. Body cameras make finding truly bad officers easier due to solid evidence, reducing tenions and making the jobs of good officers easier. As a result, the job of policing becomes less dangerous, both from the perspective of anti-police violence and legal liabiility. This causes officers to be more judicious about use of force.Transparency is essential for trust between law enforcement and the public. Body cameras help increase transparency and accountablity of officers. The cameras help reduce police use of force and complaints against officers. This enhamces police legitamacy and transparency. The cameras give insight to what officers do everyday, thus creating a window between departments and its citizens. Body cameras provide an additional eye witness to situations they encounter. This omproves officer accountability, as the cameras make sure officers are policing fairly and

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