Police Body Cameras Essay

As the new technology emerges, the police body worn cameras have also become a unique way in the police department. While surveillance systems and Cameras have existed for a while, the body cameras have become famous because many high profile cases have used this technology first hand. From a public perspective, body-worn cameras make the police department to be transparent and accountable (Ariel, 2016). As agencies continue using the cameras, the police are keener of their interactions and actions with the citizens to avoid crossing the line while apprehending the suspects. The essay will elaborate on how several studies show how the police have improved their behaviors and professionalism because of the use of body-worn cameras.

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According to Barak Ariel (2016), the body-worn cameras are gadgets that have spread all over the world under the assumption that the police will improve their accountability, their eyes in the public, legitimacy, conduct, and results. Moreover, the suspect's demeanor when the police are engaging because of the use of the cameras. Both suspects and officers, in this case, are controlled by the general mechanism thus underpinning their behavioral changes either in the self-awareness theory or the deterrence theory (Ariel, 2016). However, the author also claims that while the efficacy of the Body-worn cameras remains anecdotal, the rigors study also show that the interaction between the police and the public remain unknown.

By conducting a study to reveal the effective magnitudes of the body-worn cameras, the results show that the gadgets have more advantages than the disadvantages. It is a fact therefore that the body-worn cameras are more beneficial when it comes to the degree of the necessity of arrest in policing because there is tangible evidence that can be used while making a lawful arrest (Ariel, 2016). It is also fascinating that the police have become cautious when it comes to arresting suspects because of the presence of the gadget unless the suspect is caught red-handed committing crime.

The same perspective is also seen by through research conducted by Police Executive Research Forum and discovered that many times, the careers of the police officers when they arrest a suspect usually change their behavior as compared to when they go to the courtroom. Most defendants are innocent while in court, the body-worn cameras give the evidence of their resistance through fights during the arrest (PERF, 2014). Therefore, with these gadgets, the defendant would have been recorded to show the difference in their behavior. Therefore, the use of the body-worn cameras captures a person's real action and character thus becoming beneficial during prosecution. The study which is done together with the University of Arizona stated that the police who never had the gadgets had more citizen complains (PERF, 2014). Moreover, the results from the research also showed that the body-worn cameras reduced claims by 75% and became more efficient in crime reduction.

Conclusion

Both studies have shown that the body-worn cameras reduced both citizen complaints and the rate of bad behavior from both the suspects and the officers. This is because they are both aware that they are being recorded. The study conducted by PERF (2014) also encouraged the officer to let the citizens know that they are marked. The video footage from the cameras based on Ariel's (2016) showed that it could be used as evidence while in court in case the suspect changes their side of the story.

References

Ariel, B. (2016). Police Body Cameras in Large Police Departments. Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology, 106(4), 729-768. Retrieved from https://search-proquest-com.portal.lib.fit.edu/docview/1902638002?accountid=27313

Police Executive Research Forum. (2014). Implementing a Body-Worn Camera Program. Retrieved from http://www.justice.gov/iso/opa/resources/472014912134715246869.pdf