Police Body-Worn Cameras - Free Essay Example

The police-worn cameras are useful in the improvement of police behavior. Recordings from the bystanders show that there have been many incidences of unjustifiable harm and killings of the civilians by the police which has led to the current crisis of confidence in the police department. The use of force and in most circumstance, deadly force by the police force among the young needs addressing because dire consequences are resulting from the wrong use of power where individuals have died while their killers cannot be prosecuted. The recordings raise many questions on any other additional abuses that the camera missed to capture and this brings in the need for police body-worn cameras. The current lack of trust of the communities to the police department makes it difficult for them to go about their job because the individuals are not willing to take the word from officers that force was necessary for a violent incident.

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Police body-worn cameras are valid and supported by the public to record the interactions of the police and civilians. The importance of this technology of BWCs is that it will facilitate reforms in culture, increase the accountability of officers and also reduce the abuses of power as seen from the police. The work of the police is to help people feel safe, but the role as perceived by the communities is that the police have led into more fear from people. The police have resulted in the use of excessive force which is prevalent in circumstances where the notes provided in a particular incident are not in line with the evidence that cameras present. Making body-worn cameras compulsory for all the front-line officers will be useful in changing the abusive behaviors of police because they will know that it is wrong to do that and they are being watched.

As an advocate for the body-worn cameras, it is true that the cameras will have a civilizing effect on all the parties: the officers and the civilians as well because they will behave better when they are aware that the behavior they portray is being recorded and may be used in other occasions to prosecute them. One significant positive effect is that it will reduce the number of violent interactions between the two parties. In the event where there was the use of force by the officers, the video footage will show factual evidence about the actual occurrences. In that way, the abusive officers get disciplined by either being fired from their duties, getting convicted for the crime and also preventing them from the abusive use of force.

There is also a need to test the effect of these tools on the public because they body-worn cameras also have their adverse effects. It is essential to determine whether the individuals feel safer and have trust for the police which is a good thing regardless of the actual use of force. However, the point is that the inclusion of BWCs is essential in instilling good behavior and avoiding the abusive practices of officers. Individuals portray good actions when they know they are being recorded. The use of BWCs should be mandatory and made a policy whose main aim is to reduce the use of force among officers. The arguments about the body-worn cameras are varied, but it is generally good to have them included in the tools of police.