The Benefits of Wearing Body Cameras for Police

Approximately 95% of America’s police departments are implementing body cameras (White). Students from the Long Valley Middle School are researching important American issues and choosing one that needs change. First of all, Body Worn Cameras contribute to less police force and also it only costs $79 per officer for a department with 200 cameras (White). Body Cameras also had surprising numbers about the decrease in police force. Use of force has declined by 37% when body cameras were activated (White). Unfortunately though, when they were purposely not activated or the officer forgot to activate them use of force went up 71% (White). Also, criminals are more likely to have a guilty plea when there is body camera footage present. Although body cameras will not always capture what happens during a police intervention, police officers should be required to wear cameras because they would be helpful in the prosecution of criminals, body cameras can lead to reductions in police brutality and it allows officers to better express concerns of what happens in the line of duty. Body cameras are helpful in the prosecution of criminals.

Body Worn Cameras have led to quicker resolutions of cases. Use of force has declined by 37% percent (White). Use of force increased by 71% when they were not activated. Seventy to eighty percent of criminals are more likely to have a guilty plea when body cameras have been activated (White). A cursory review of footage by a sergeant can resolve a residents complaint even before its filed (White). Body Worn Cameras have led to enhanced criminal justice (White 8). They can also hold the police accountable for their appropriate and inappropriate actions (White). As stated by Public Management “When officers did not follow policy on activation and resident notification, use of force actually increased by 71 percent. Furthermore, According to Body Cameras Increase Police Transparency and Accountability “The study found that there was a 60 percent reduction in officer use of force incidents following camera deployment (Tsin Yen). Also, “The number of complaints lodged against officers dropped from 0. 7 complaints per 1000 contacts to 0. 07 per 1000 contacts” (Sommers). In conclusion, Body Worn Cameras are helpful in the prosecution of criminals because we have more evidence to work with. Body cameras also reduce police brutality. The use of force increases by 71% when body cameras are not activated (White). Wearing body cameras can hold each police officer accountable for their actions (Sommers). Furthermore, Playing body cameras can improve the public's view by showing the human side of things. Use of force drops 50% and police and their respondents are more likely not to use violence.

As reported by public management dated March 1, 2017, “When officers did not follow policy on activation and resident notification, use of force actually increased by 71 percent (White). Also, as stated in the Yale Law Journal Dated March 1, 2016 “To those who feel that police officers too often get away with murder, body cameras promise to collect the evidence needed to hold police officers accountable”(Sommers). According to Newsmax “Playing body cameras continuously could also improve the public’s view of policing by showing the human side” (Baum). In summation, body cameras will reduce police brutality because when police officers know the camera is on, the use of force drops. Body cameras allow police officers to better express their concerns in the line of duty. Approximately 69 major law enforcement agencies are already using a video storage program made by Taser (Ariel). It contains tools to analyze videos. Officers spend $15, 000 a month on storage and analysis. Concerns can be alleviated by Body Worn Camera implementation (White). As the journal of law and criminology reads, “TASER Inc. provided Denver Police officers with BWCs (Ariel).

Furthermore, According to public management, research also demonstrates that line policemen's concerns about the technology can be alleviated by a BWC planning and implementation process that is inclusive of line officers, brings a voice to the issues, and allows the opportunity to express their concerns. In other words, more law enforcement agencies will start implementing body cameras because their concerns were recognized and brought to the table. As stated by the Journal of Law and Criminology, “These body-mounted cameras capture evidence from the officer’s perspective; they were affixed to the collar, so were visible to those people who came into contact with the police” (Ariel). This means that it shows the perspective of the policemen and allows them to express their concerns. One last excerpt is “In December 2014, President Obama announced the Body Worn Camera Partnership Program, a new initiative to purchase fifty thousand body cameras for use by police officers across the country. ” (Sommers). This means that there will be more body cameras available for police officers use. In conclusion, this is how body cameras help with expressing police officers’ concerns because cameras can document what happened using video. Some sources show that body worn cameras are not a good idea and do not benefit the police. For example, a police officer may forget or purposely forget to activate his body camera, leaving what happened on the scene unknown. According to public management “Critical incidents involving the police can begin in an instant and are extremely fluid. As a consequence, the police officer may activate the camera but not until after his or her safety, or the safety of a resident, is no longer threatened”(White). In other words, body camera footage may not always be accurate because of forgetfulness or other reasons.

As stated by public management “Moreover, the camera may be activated but it may not actually provide evidence about what happened, The view from the camera may be obstructed by the police officers “shooting platform” (i. e. , a shooting stance with outstretched arms often will block a chest-mounted Body Worn Camera)” (White). Although, body cameras may not be 100% effective, there is reasonable evidence to prove that they do help in the line of duty. According to public management, “Ariel and colleagues 2016 examined data from nearly a dozen different police departments in the UK and the United States, and they tied patterns in use of force to officer decisions on BWC activation. When officers followed policy—they activated the BWC at the start of resident encounters and advised residents of the BWC—use of force declined by 37 percent” (White). The breakdown of the effect of BWCs on complaint types is novel, as the number of complaints post-treatment was too small in the Rialto Experiment for meaningful analyses by complaint type. Approximately, 16, 774 unique arrests associated with incidents generated by citizen calls for service (Ariel). Some organizations that oppose government surveillance see body cameras as a good idea. For example “Even the American Civil Liberties Union, normally an opponent of increased government surveillance, sees body cameras as a “win-win”(Sommers). In the end, although there are some reasons why body cameras may not always be effective there is more substantial evidence on why body worn cameras would be effective in the world of crime.

There is reasonable evidence to believe that body cameras will be helpful in the prosecution of criminals, can lead to reductions in police brutality and it allows officers to better express concerns of what happens in the line of duty. Body Cameras Worn Cameras have brought down the use of force by 37% (White). Use of force increased by 71% when they were not activated. Seventy to eighty percent of criminals are more likely to have a guilty plea when body cameras have been activated (White). Playing body camera footage can improve the public’s view by showing the human side of things. Police and respondents are more likely not to use violence when Body Cameras are activated. It would be greatly appreciated if you could take this into consideration and try to implement body cameras in most of the police stations in New Jersey.

It is greatly appreciated that this matter will be looked into. It would mean a lot if this letter was replied to. Just remember to keep in mind that a lot of America’s police departments think body cameras are beneficial and are implementing them into their departments. Hopefully, one day all police departments will be require officers to wear body cameras!