Body Cameras Importance For Police Officers

Introduction

In the world of modernism and advanced technology, it is necessary for everyone to get the maximum possible benefit from it. Due to the advancement of the safety and protection of the cities, street cameras are essential and to keep track of the activities happening around and in accordance with the police staff, it is necessary to equip the staff with the required devices, which would be helpful in elaborations of the crime scene details. In the United States, the use of body cameras is essential for police officers so that the police officers, as well as the criminal’s behaviour, can be understood without any ambiguity. That’s why it can be commonly observed that the use of body cameras is necessary for police officers for their security and protection from legal action against any additional claims. The main aim of the paper is to discuss the importance of body cameras for police officers.

Discussion

The world is highly engaged with technology, and the use of cameras is everywhere. While walking on the street, on every turn, and on every crossing, there would be seen highly advanced CCTV and other monitoring cameras connected to the live control room departments. This helps to track back every movement and action that is expected to be suspicious. Due to the growth of the cities, crime issues, accidents, and uncertain activities were raised to quite high limits, which resulted in the requirement of body cameras for police officers. Currently, all over the United States and many different parts of the world, the use of body cameras is made essential and part of the uniform for police officers (Ariel et al., 509-535). They are helpful for the police officers as well as for everyone else to explain the situation after the scene.

The body cameras are expected to be portable and compact, and a police officer is required to wear the camera throughout the shift. They are so small in size and typically equal to the size of the card’s deck. They could be mounted on sunglasses, lapels, uniform collars, helmets, and belts. Some cameras have microphones installed in them, which results in catching the real-time situation of the scene (Harris, 357). These cameras are supposed to show off the person who is supposed to be suspected of having attempted something which is legally concerning.

Legislature

There are many arguments in favour of keeping the security cameras in uniform. One of the most important uses of camera recording is to win the court against the individual who made any violation of the laws, and there is no way to prove it. There are many cases in which the citizens do not trust the police officers and the law enforcement authorities. Because of the terrible history of the unnecessary actions of some disgruntled police officers, the need for cameras is a necessity. It reminds a police officer that he is also being observed, and a citizen can file a case against him for his violent activities.

Social Activists

There are some rumours in the United States police are considered to be racist and kill Mexicans and African-Americans for unnecessary reasons or sometimes for no reason (Smykla et al., 424-443). This concept is almost confirmed to be completely wrong, but without a body camera, the policeman is unable to prove it. For this purpose, the police officers should be with the cameras. It allows them to explain their part for the clarification of the scene but also protects them from any unnecessary legal actions (Jennings et al., 549-556). The social analysts explained that because of the body cameras, an outnumbered unanswered question would be resolved. The camera will speak in the courts to demonstrate whether an incident happened in the situation or not, and if something happened, then who would be favoured for it and who would be guilty?

Law Enforcement Agencies

The use of cameras helps the citizens to calm down in front of the police officers, and it mostly lets them not create any violence at all. This helps the citizens to become safe from the use of weapons. Transparency and accountability are highly increased. Protection is granted to both sides of the lens. There are some cases in which the citizens have been accused of unnecessary arrest or the use of weapons at the scene. In the recent decade, there have been almost uncountable cases of deaths from police guns, and the reasons didn’t justify the deaths, which caused the rejoin of the police officer as a regular staff person.

Individual Police Officers

There are concerns about privacy. The policemen are supposed to wear body cameras, but because of privacy, many police officers are unable to get used to them. The invasion of privacy is considered an issue, but proper discussion also resolves this issue. The policeman has to wear the body cameras only during his shift, so when he is working during his working hours, the job must be concentrated rather than private. It is helpful for police officers to wear body cameras, so many arguments say that police officers should not be able to face any disobedience and violent activities in front of them.

Overview

A study evaluated that the use of body cameras has highly affected the interactions between civilians and policemen. The interaction became highly promising and satisfactory. In Orlando, during the last year, the force incidents dropped by 53%, and the other trials showed some similar encouragements. This helps in understanding the importance of the body cameras on the police officers and their monitoring.

The benefits of the camera include complete transparency, which consists of the ability of everyone to review the details of the interaction among the officers as well as the citizens (Ariel et al., 509-535). The training and counselling of the officers and the citizens would be performed unambiguously while knowing the situation by reviewing through camera captures, and they could also be evaluated. These body cameras are also helpful in giving valuable public relations benefits to the police department. The video and the audio devices are required as evidence to record the victim’s and the witness’s statements at the same time. In the end, this video, as well as the audio clips, will be necessary for reviewing the case altogether.

Law enforcement agencies all over the world appreciate the use of body cameras by law enforcement agents or, in other words, police officers. There sometimes come situations when people give ambiguous statements, which makes the case highly disturbing and time-consuming. The recorded information helps clarify the case entirely. Body cameras are one of the best tools for solving a large number of problems. There are some misunderstandings that damage the relationship between civilians and police officers. Many people complain about the police officers’ horrors of violence in the communities (Harris, 357). This violence has caused great damage to police departments and other government institutes. Social advocates have confirmed that security cameras could be considered the most vital tool for improving community relationships with police officers. This practice could also be helpful in saving some lives. These are minor details which were required to solve some simple cases. The body camera use gives proof and evidence about the detail (Jennings et al., 549-556). It helps the police officers as well as the civilians in all ways. There would be improvements in the technology, which will help with body camera advancements as well.

Conclusion

In a nutshell, the importance of body cameras is understood and adequately discussed in the paper. The police officers need them for their entire shift. They helped to make the nation proud. Among some other problems, police officers’ security cameras are always required for the safety of everyone, including the police officer and the person accused of violent activity. The transparency of the scene increases. In many conditions, when police officers are required to act against violent actions inside the homes or building premises, these cameras are the only proof which could help the police officers protect themselves from violence as well as activities which include legal actions against them. United States, Canada, Australia, and many parts of Europe have implemented a system of recording police officers’ movements and, according to them, the activities that happened in the area of the incident. If the body cameras are adequately and adequately used, then it is probable that at least in front of a police officer or a CCTV, crime and violence will be eliminated from the cities.

Works Cited

Jennings, Wesley G., Lorie A. Fridell, and Mathew D. Lynch. “Cops and cameras: Officer perceptions of the use of body-worn cameras in law enforcement.” Journal of Criminal Justice42.6 (2014): 549-556.

Ariel, Barak, William A. Farrar, and Alex Sutherland. “The effect of police body-worn cameras on use of force and citizens’ complaints against the police: A randomized controlled trial.” Journal of Quantitative Criminology 31.3 (2015): 509-535.

Harris, David A. “Picture this: Body-worn video devices (heads cams) as tools for ensuring fourth amendment compliance by police.” Tex. Tech L. Rev. 43 (2010): 357.

Smykla, John Ortiz, et al. “Police body-worn cameras: Perceptions of law enforcement leadership.” American journal of criminal justice 41.3 (2016): 424-443.