Why Are Body Cameras Important

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This year alone 385 people have been shot and killed by a police officer. Police without body cameras are very unaccountable, can not be completely trusted, and being human, are capable of errors. Half of the time the witnesses do not know what they are saying, and they change their story or get it wrong. Body cameras are video recordings that are usually used by law enforcement to record their interactions with the public or gather video evidence at crime scenes. Only 25% of the 17,000 police agencies use body cameras (stanley). Police body cameras greatly reduce police brutality. Police should wear body cameras for their safety, for the safety of everyone else, and for everyone’s accountability. Without body cameras, the public can not truly know if what the police officer is saying is true; that's where the body camera comes into play. A body camera can greatly increase the accountability of the officer and the citizen involved. “Body-worn cameras can greatly enhance transparency, promoting accountability, and advancing public safety for law enforcement officers and the communities they serve” (Hoove). When body cameras are worn fewer incidents occur. “Studies have shown that the officers wearing the cameras had 87.5 percent fewer incidents of use of force and 59 percent fewer…show more content…
The body camera shows solid evidence that is useful in court. Body cameras can deter inappropriate behavior by both the public and the police and can clear a citizen or a cop who has been falsely accused of wrongdoing (Knickerbocker). The Obama administration has held up the outfitting of police officers with body cameras as a vital tool in not only improving accountability after the fact, but also in deterring police misconduct. “At least one study found that everyone behaves better when officers are equipped with cameras”
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