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Essay / Analysis of the arguments on whether police officers should wear body cameras
Table of ContentsSummaryIntroductionReferencesSummaryThe essay discusses the situation in which police officers are allowed to wear body cameras, my reasons being that it increases safety of the public and helps train future police officers and slow down police brutality. Using reliable websites, such as .org, .edu, .gov, and the South Texas College Library for the academic journal Body Cameras for Police Officers on Patrol, to research the essay. The biggest problem in writing this essay was trying to find the appropriate information to use to convince people of the understanding of the problem. The easiest part was explaining the reasons once I had obtained the necessary sources and putting in more details. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essayIntroductionIntroduction: Over the past few years, there have been problems with police officers and their actions, making body cameras a top priority for the police. to carry. There have been incidents where police have used unnecessary force against people, more so against people of color. Thesis Statement: Police officers should wear body cameras because it increases their safety, trains their future officers, and slows or stops police brutality. Background: The body cameras that police officers wear on their uniforms are small devices that record video interactions between police officers. the public and the officers. The camera consists of consumer controls that include push to file, touch screen controls, video and audio streaming, and in-frame playback. Once the officer completes their shift, the evidence captured video is uploaded via a web-based digital media platform where the evidence can be managed. Topic sentence: Having body cameras can increase the safety of police officers and people. Comment: With body cameras, they can prove whether the police officers or the person are innocent or guilty. Because no one can edit the camera footage, it can be used as evidence to determine whether the person did something wrong or right. Evidence and Citations: There are reportedly incidents where police officers falsely accuse innocent people. For example, on July 17, 2014, Eric Garner was accused of selling cigarettes without a tax stamp and was subsequently choked to death by New York police (Tsin Yen, 2017). The incident was filmed by a bystander and the officer who choked Garner, Daniel Pantaleo, was fired but would face no federal charges. In addition to their safety through body cameras, people behave differently when they are on camera since they are being monitored. If there is any wrong movement on the part of the individual or the police officer, the camera will capture it and will be used as evidence in court. Officers would be more polite and generous to the people they interact with while on the job. Topic sentence: Body cameras will help train future police officers for the worst. Evidence and Citation: Nowadays, body camera videos of police officers have been released on social media like YouTube. Thousands of people have watched these kinds of videos online, allowing them to see the situation a police officer would face during that time with a person. Based on the experiences of police officers, the cameras capture these moments that lead future police officers to study and better preparein case they face a similar situation from the videos. Comment: It will show the different types of people future officers will encounter, positive and negative citizens. Future officers will witness traffic stops, shootings, drunk driving, etc., and will investigate these situations to prevent them from escalating. Evidence and Citations: Researchers have been interested in studying body cameras for the past 5 years and as of November 2015, there have been 30 or more additional studies on officer body cameras. Behaviors measured by complaints and their use of force. Most people who have been killed because of police brutality are people of color. One of the most popular cases of police brutality is Michael Brown and Rodney King, both African-American. Comment: Innocent lives have been killed by the police and are causing a riot among the public on how they are being killed because of their appearance. Topic Sentence: The use of body cameras can help slow or stop police brutality, making the community feel safer. Comment: Since body cameras capture police's every move, police must be careful about their actions, thereby slowing police brutality. Evidence and Citation: CNA conducted an experiment with 400 Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department officers and found that “officers equipped with body cameras generated fewer use of force reports and citizen complaints than officers without body cameras” (Chapman 2018). Topic Sentence: On the other hand, there are people who think that body cameras are not a good idea for police officers. Evidence and Citations: Some people believe that body cameras invade citizens' privacy and fear how the footage captured by body cameras is used. When police introduce their body cameras to the community, people would feel uncomfortable about their faces being exposed. While having their face exposed, their private conversation is also open. Comment: Considering that they pose privacy concerns, body cameras violate the Fourth Amendment, the right to privacy. Body cameras show privacy concerns for those being recorded because the video may fall under open records laws that would be required for the footage to be released upon request. Topic Sentence: What this argument fails to take into account is that there are laws that are in place to help protect these privacy issues. Evidence and Citation: There is a law that states that if a recording takes place in a private area, that recording cannot be released without the written consent of the individual. Since body cameras are only used for professional purposes and not filming in someone's home, privacy concerns should not be an issue. Another mention is that body cameras have facial recognition that can help track down suspects faster and identify people they will encounter. Comment: Although public concerns about their privacy constitute a serious argument against body cameras, body cameras are necessary to make the world a better place. Topic Sentence: The main argument that most people oppose body cameras is that body cameras are too expensive for police. departments to obtain. As more police officers begin using body cameras.