ENG 122 PAPER

Police body cameras

Police conduct has been a federal concern in recent year due to increased reports and complaints of unprofessional behavior by the law enforcers. Consequently, this has forced administration bodies to seek remedies to the burgeoning conundrum. The need for a workable solution led to the suggestion of a new tool designed to record police activities during working hours. The tool, a police body camera, aims to tape and record all activities undertaken by an officer including all sorts of interactions with civilians and colleagues. The proposed solution has also received its fair share of criticism from skeptics who claim the move is a violation of officer rights and risks exposing personal lives of citizens and families engaging with the officer while on duty. The use of body cameras by the policemen will serve to create better relations between the American public and the police force as it will reduce the chances of misconduct, enhance the push for more great community engagement and will ensure the evaluation of the police officers that allegedly use excessive force.

The use of cameras will improve police and citizen interaction. This will help ease down citizen frustration toward police frisking which makes a majority feel violated. According to Smith (2015), the knowledge of a camera will help increase citizen confidence in the system as they will be sure the officers must conduct themselves professionally. Consequently, the cameras will improve the relations between the police and the public since there will be reduced unnecessary stops for frisking.

The cameras will offer additional evidence in crime scenes and police investigations. The cameras planted on the officers will help provide evidence in times of investigation. This will assist in resolving the issue of insufficient crime scene evidence. Also, a camera is usually important for suspect determination and investigation. The cameras can be used to prosecute offenders as well as officers who act out of their professional lines (Smith, 2015). Moreover, the camera is designed to monitor police activities and offer necessary information in case a dispute involving an officer is reported

The cameras will improve responses between officers and citizens. Both officers and citizens will have to be accountable for their actions since they will understand that the camera is recording each part of the interaction. For officers, this will help increase professionalism and reduce instances of aggressive handling of citizens and invading personal privacy through vigorous frisking (Scalise, 2013). Also, the video recordings will discourage citizens from improper conduct during police stops. Citizens will have to improve their conduct to avoid prosecution upon retrieving the police video.

The police body cameras will compromise officers` privacy and risk revealing classified police information during proceedings. Skeptics argue that the policy is not police friendly as it will provide too much information including classified information about police incidences. Revealing top security information to the public may risk state and national security or give leads on advanced investigations during a review. Some officers claim that the use of police cameras is an indication of reduced faith in the police and is a demotivating and embarrassing policy to police officers who dedicate their lives to protecting citizens (Scalise, 2013). However, others also argue that police officers require no personal relations at work and should therefore not complain about reduced privacy. Also, the videos will be used in investigations and would not be revealed to the public, but only the senior chiefs and necessary content provided for the case.

The police body camera appears as an appropriate solution to increased cases of both police and citizen misconducts. This is because the videos will act as a source of additional evidence to prosecute offenders who disrupt the execution of the law. Police officers will have to conduct themselves professionally at all times due to the knowledge of constant surveillance; this will help increase professionalism and police performance. Similarly, the cameras will also help improve offenders` conducts as they will have to regulate their behaviors to avoid incurring additional charges and risk longer sentences or retrospective punishments.

References

Smith, C. (2015). Criminal Justice in America. Boston: Cencage Learning.

Scalise, F. (2013). Police Body Cameras. New York: John Wiley and Sons.