The Importance Of Body Cameras

April 2007, a study of the Chicago Police Department found that out that over 10,000 police abuse complaints were filed between the years 2002 to 2003. Only 19 of those complaints resulted in disciplinary action. These complaints, mainly false, can damage a police officer’s reputation, even though it may have been false. Time is taken away from more serious and stressful matters, to comb though complaints, which are usually false. Police brutality is real and shouldn’t go unlooked, but there is a better way to solve these problems. Recently this problem has been seen today in cases that have gone more public and have harmed many officers in the line of duty from false views and statements. That is why it is time for police officers and citizens

However, the use of body cameras are not new. For many year different departments in California, other states in the US, and the UK have been using body cameras for years. The LAPD department is a major police force that has set up the example of the importance of body cameras. Policies have been made and followed though to make sure the cameras are doing more help then harm. The police department has shown many positive results involving false complaints becoming diminished and gathering evidence that can be used in multiple situations. The police chief of the LAPD, Charlie Beck, stated that the addition of an on-body cameras will be a helpful investigative and accountability tool. Beck continues on saying that the body camera are also a less expensive option than the in-car video that most police departments used today. An example of video evidence being used in an investigation is in 2013, a police officer from California videotaped an encounter he had with a man being accused of abusing his stepson. The officer right after the encounter submitted the video footage, because the evidence he gathered about the man’s demeanor during the visit showed some evidence that this man had the means to abuse his stepson. This is just one example that footage captured on the PBC’s can be used. By adding these cameras

These cameras offer protection towards police officers and citizens when encounters between the two are recorded. However, there is a lot of debates regarding the issue of policing the police. A sustainable issue that is seen is that cameras will offer more evidence to protect both side. However, would “babysitting” the police effect their work? The cameras are simple and easy to operate states many of the LAPD police officers, and they continued on stating how the positives that come from using the cameras over shadow the cons that can come from using them. Mayor of California, Eric Garcetti, shares his view on how many people will be expecting these cameras to show how bad the officers are or how good they are. “These cameras are meant to protect and that is exactly what they will do”, stated Garcetti.Protection, evidence, training, and saving resources are just a few of the positives that come from the use of these cameras. These cons can be diminished with having the right laws and regulation on the use of the cameras content and evidence gathered, such as the policies the LAPD department are using now. PBC’s are here to help and it time to help states around the US to use this