Body Worn Cameras

Police should be required to have a body worn camera because the camera decreases complaints from the public and increases public trust about police officer behavior. Police now are trying to gain the public’s trust because of the recent shootings and police misconducts that have been debated on over the news and social media. These cameras will show the police behavior whether it be good or bad, becoming more transparent on the way they act and the department’s overall reputation. Attorney General Loretta Lynch addressed the issue and stated, "Body-worn cameras hold tremendous promise for enhancing transparency, promoting accountability, and advancing public safety for law enforcement officers and the communities they serve," (Knickerbocker).
Multiple studies have shown that when body worn cameras are in use, police are less likely to behave with the use of force, especially high level uses of force. A report that was released from San Diego, California stated, “High-level use of force -- such as physical takedowns or employing Tasers, chemical agents or weapons -- was down 16.4%,” (Wood). This data was comparing the drops in police misconduct from 2013 to after the installation of body cameras in 2016. The same report from California also affirmed, “Of 520,000 incidents that San Diego officers responded to in 2016, just over 4,600 -- less than 1% -- involved the use of force. After the body cameras were installed,” (Wood). With police members knowing that their actions are being recorded and could be reviewed, they act with less force. Data taken from the Rialto Study in California stated, "[s]hifts without cameras experienced twice as many incidents of use of force as shifts with cameras," and "the rate of use of force incidents per 1,000 contacts was reduced by 2.5 times,” (Garrick). The Rialto study randomly selected fifty-four officers to use a body worn camera, those officers encountered less situations where the use of force was needed. Body cameras need to become part of the police uniform because they reduce the use of force, especially the high
According to the Long Beach Police Department, “There's no clear national or state standard for when and how police departments should make body camera video public” (Dobruck). Because there is no national standard about releasing the videos to the public, it is up to the individual police department on when to release the videos as well as how to do so. This could potentially create privacy problems if a department made a video public without consent from all of the people who are in it. “There are times when the department might voluntarily release video, for instance if investigators needed the public's help identifying someone in the footage,” (Dobruck). This could create problems because they are releasing a patron's face without their permission. Many patrons or bystanders do want to be associated with that crime, and do not want their faces shown, so if they are released, it could cause privacy issues.Though this argument may seem accurate, it does not fully explain that body cameras are a relatively new piece of technology and states are starting to develop their own laws about making the videos public. “North Carolina's governor signed a law that excludes police body cam and dash cam recordings from that state's open records laws,” (National Public Radio). More and more states are working to improve the