Police Body Cameras are they Worth it

Imagine this there are a young group of kids who get pulled over for no reason. Two police officers get out of the car and walk over to their car and forcefully make them all get out of the car hastily . They harass them and arrest the four teenagers without a good reason and not reading them their rights. A couple days go by and they are now in court. The two police officers claim the driver did an illegal U-Turn.

They then claim that when the youth were pulled ver the smell of marijuana was coming out of the car and that was officers reason they got pulled over and arrested. During the trial the jury was not in the teenagers favor at all… Until the teenagers lawyer pulls up the video on the police body cameras.

Fortunately, body cameras saved the day for the accused teens. The cameras showed neither the driver nor the friends in the where in the wrong, but the police officers were . The teenagers got their justice and the police officers were fired and put in jail for lying under oath. The goal of the police wearing the police body cameras is to provide an accurate record of police engagement in situations on both sides. Without being able to tamper with evidence and proof of the full situations, truth prevails. The cameras will be able to capture things the way someone with a smart phone captures a video. Police officers being required to wear body cameras is a good supposition because it gives everyone an equal opportunity when or if both sides are put on trial. Cameras increase police accountability and gives a clear picture of what truly happens in situations. Only one person is in charge of downloading all the data off the the cameras.

Police Body Cameras allows everyone to have an equal opportunity when or if both sides are tried. “Five police officers swore under oath that they pulled a suspect over after he failed to use a turn signal.[…]The video showed that immediately after being stopped, the suspect was removed from his car, frisked and handcuffed. The search of the car occurred after the arrest” (Quarterly). This situation is demonstrating that the use of body of body cameras was useful for a man who was arrested for no apparent reason, but since there was five police officers against one the jury would have put away an innocent man. The cameras that was mounted on the police showed they did not follow protocol of an arrest. The normal protocol of an arrest is the person who is under arrest is to be read their Miranda rights which begins with “you have the right to remain silent…”; it also states that if they are not read their rights they cannot use what the person says against them in trail. They arrested a man who did not do anything wrong and the body cameras were able to help the man who had gotten arrested and give him justice for the wrongdoing of the five police officers.

Another essential point is the Body Cameras will increase police accountability.”Officers wearing body cameras will be less aggressive and more respectful when they interact with members of the community”(Police Body Cameras). This persuades the people that having body cameras will encourage the police to not overreact in a situation where it is unnecessary. By having the cameras on the police officers they are not able to turn it off at all so which means all actions are monteried at all times. So every phone call, conversations, and every situations is recorded. No one is able to tamper with the footage. In which will allow all tensions to be eased between the community and the police. They make both side be accountable for their action with encounters with the police. These cameras can save another innocent man’s life and decease the death by cop rates; also easing the tensions will allow everyone to feel like the police are on their side for once. The feeling as if the police are protecting them and not out to get them will create unity between the community. Furthermore requiring the police to have the body cameras will create peace and serenity in all and for all.

Lastly, the cameras give a clear picture to a situation that is unclear. “It can record high-quality video even in low lighting conditions such as at night or a dark vehicle interior, and also provides an interface for the officer’s two-way radio” (Poetic). This suggests the idea of having the cameras will be able to capture footage of a situations that could would have been unclear by an officer explaining the situation to the sheriff. In addition the camera can capture audio of the situation. Also having footage and audio captured will allow a jury to make a fair decision for both sides. It will allow everyone to have equal justice. In all having police body cameras will overall improve the average case accuracy and allow the right ones to get justice.

Furthermore, only one person is in charge of downloading all the data off the the cameras. “If the storage system does not have automatic downloading capability, the officer’s supervisor should take immediate physical custody of the camera and be responsible for downloading the data in the case of an incident involving the use of force by an officer, an officer-involved shooting, or other serious incident” ( Poetic). By having one designated person to transfer all data from the cameras to the computer it keeps things from getting too complex. This allows for no evidence to get lost. If that position is not filled then the highest office supervisor would be in charge of the the data. In the event that the camera contains information that includes a shooting, death, and other serious situations; the evidence would go to the highest authority as soon as possible. For the purpose of this so the correct protocol can take place.

Some are opposed to the supposition idea because it is very expensive to put a camera on each officer.” The cameras offered by Tuttle’s company range in price from $399-$599 per unit” (Police Prospective). Enforcing the police to all wear body cameras will all add up the cost. The cameras would be brought with taxpayer money. For example New York Police Department has over 4,500 authorized Police officers and every officer would have a camera. Each camera cost and estimate of $450 per camera when you add up the price it costs over $ 2,025,000 just to provide all the officers in NYPD. Also the cameras do not hold a lot of storage because of how small they are. Which means that they would have to replace them often. Not to mention but if they get lost, stolen or broken then it also adds on a cost. Most police departments are already in a tight budget; this means taxes would be raised so they can afford them.

In conclusion, police having body cameras will improve everything in all. There are many situations where they are proven to be useful. They allow everyone to get a fair chance and trail, they will increase the accountability of police actions, and the cameras will give a clear picture to a unclear situation. Furthermore every police station should invest in police body cameras. There are a lot of great reasons for the use of Police Body Cameras, and i hope the information i have provided showed that use of the cameras is helpful for the community and for the police. If you want to learn more about the policy of body cameras go to https://cops.usdoj.gov . Another thing i want you to do is ask yourself this question; are the police body cameras worth it? What if you were in a situation and the cameras will be a good piece of evidence for your case?

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