The Pros And Cons Of Body Cameras

2096 Words9 Pages
Due to recent advancements in video technology there is now the ability for officers to wear what is referred to as body worn cameras. Body worn cameras are being implemented throughout the United States along with several other countries. The purpose of this paper is to relay information on what exactly these cameras can do and how they are implemented. The main focus is to assess the pros and cons of body worn cameras and to deliberate on the idea of setting a mandate requiring all law enforcement to use them. The history of body cameras being implemented in policing first started with British police in 2005. They were first used in a campaign by Devon and Cornwall police that attempted to counteract domestic violence issues. The growing issue of domestic violence coupled with spouses that were unwilling to press charges created a problem for police officers that oftentimes resulted in continuing abuse. Ushering in the idea to take recording evidence of abuse in order for there to be enough to make the charges stick officers originally used hand held cameras. These…show more content…
Both citizens and agencies alike are assessing the pros and cons involving the use of body worn cameras implementation for officers. When it comes to pros the first issue commonly discussed has to do with officer accountability. The very nature of body worn cameras is to show the raw details of an event. The cameras good or bad show the officers role and the offender’s role. The video also serves as a tool for evidence and thus eliminates any inaccuracies in an officer or offenders statement. When an offender is told that the officer is wearing a body camera this could possibly result in a decrease of escalation. The device itself can act as a third party that only records what actually occurred. This presence decreases the temptation for either party to do something drastic or thinking they can get away with

More about The Pros And Cons Of Body Cameras

Open Document