CMRJ308

150WORDS AGREEDED OR DISAGREE

When it comes to performing duties as a law enforcement officer there will always be two sides of the story; what the law enforcement officers said and what the suspect said happened. Over the last few years body cameras have become increasingly popular and required by many local, state, and federal agencies. These body cameras that law enforcement officers are wearing not only protects them, but protects the civilian population as well from unethical acts permitted by law enforcement. The video footage captured during any altercations or other incidents can be used during any official investigation purposes. Before body cameras became popular, there were video cameras within the law enforcement patrol vehicles that proved to be a beneficial tool for protecting everyone involved. The suspect’s demeanor during police to public engagements is hypothesized to change as a result of the video recording of the encounter; the officers and suspects theoretical mechanism that underpins these behavioral changes is deterrence theory, self-awareness theory, or both (Ariel, 2016). Individuals on both sides of the law may act differently if they know they are being recorded. Having body cameras will also help to lower the overall criminal complaints towards law enforcement officers in turn reducing the number of law enforcement officers having to go to trial because the incident could have been handled at a lower level with the video evidence provided by the body cameras. Deterrence and self-awareness work equally on suspects who would otherwise decide to commit crime and on police officers who might otherwise break the rules of conduct (Ariel, 2016). At the end of the day, the body camera is just another level of protection used by law enforcement officers. Although the idea of law enforcement officers utilizing body cameras seems to be a great idea; not all states are on board with it. They look at it as a possible surveillance issue and may be over stepping certain boundaries. Body worn cameras collect video data and as a result, civil liberties groups and scholars have raised questions about increased government surveillance (Joh, 2016). The idea is fairly new and there are a lot of other concerns associated with body cameras. Many people have issues with how the video is collected, stored, started recording, and stopped recording. The law enforcement officers have control on when to start and stop which leaves many people to believe that it isn’t 100 percent effective. Another important factor at hand is the video collected could/has been utilized by law enforcement leaderships as lessons learned and training purposes to better prepare its officers.

References

Ariel, B. (2016). Police body cameras in large police departments.

Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, 106 (4), 729. Retrieved from https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy2.apus.edu/docview/1902638002?accountid=8289

Joh, E. E. (2016). Beyond surveillance: Data control and body cameras.

Surveillance & Society, 14 (1), 133-137. Retrieved from https://search-proquest-

com.ezproxy1.apus.edu/docview/1802200640?accountid=8289