Should police officers were tiny video cameras? I think they should because you will be able to go back to the footage in case you need something to be proven. Also to see how the problem started at first. Police officer wearing tiny video cameras benefits the citizen and officers because everything is being recorded the moment you interact with them. So when people see that your being recorded by a police officer you will know to not act crazy with them, nor will the officer act to be “tough”. Police body cameras can encourage people to behave better and not act crazy. Also help a decrease in violence, use of force incidents, and attacks on officers on duty
The pros and the cons of police officers wearing body cameras.The pros police body cameras can provide audio and visual evidence that can be looked at by the higher ups and can confirm what happened in any kind of situation. For example according to The New York Times “Police Officer Who Fatally Shot 15-Year-Old Texas Boy Is Fired in Texas” the police officer was fired and charged with murder after body camera footage was looked at and saw that everyhting the officer said in his stament contradicted his initial statement in the shooting of an unarmed youth. Another example is in Baltimore, a police officer got suspended and two of his colleagues were placed on leave after being caught.
Due to the fact they were wearing body cameras and saw that they planted fake evidence at a crime scene. Also the videos recorded from police body cameras could be helpful for new officers and used to train new and existing officers in how to perform in certain situations that they may encounter with public. Wearing body cameras can be useful for certain situations , like when they are doing the sobriety test, they won’t have to take notes down while they are trying to watch the suspect. According to the book Introduction to Policing “it’s hard to write notes about a field sobriety test when you have to watch someone attempt the test and count the number of steps he or she is taking. In the past officer had to juggle a flashlight and a clipboard while never taking their eyes off he suspected drunk driver”.
The cons of not wearing body cameras, officers that don’t wear body cameras decrease their safety, which can really affect their mental health. Some people may respond in a bad way or even violently just because they are being recorded by a police officer. People that usually respond in a negative way are usually on drinking, using drugs or suffer from mental health problems. When a police officer is wearing body cameras, they are invading the privacy of citizens, exposing victims and witnesses that were present in a crime. Officers that are recording encounter people, which can lead to a person privacy being exposed, like medical conditions, victims of crimes such as domestic violence or even rape, people who witness something are put in fear becasue the criminals might want to get revenege
