Hunt 1

Tyler Hunt
Mrs. DeBock
English 4 H
14 April 2016

Service Final Draft

Police officers should wear body cameras to protect themselves from unwarranted
accusations and to protect the liberties of the public in altercations with law enforcement. Since
the distribution of body cameras across the country, the number of police brutality accusations
has decreased incredibly. The number of altercations between law enforcement officers and
citizens has also dropped. Body cameras on police officers gives an independent and non-biased
view on any situation that happens involving the officer.. When police officers are on duty they
have a constant reminder to stick to guidelines, because wearing a body camera while on duty is
like having a supervisor with you at all times following and watching your every movement.
Now that there is something keeping officers in check, the number of incidents involving a fight
between officers and citizens is on the steady decline. Police officers are not so quick to use
force when their actions are being recorded, and citizens are not so quick to cry wolf on the
officers about excessive use of force.
The use of recorders in police work is not new, Recordings are thought to provide
accurate and unbiased information when there is more than one account of what happened in a
situation. One incident where cameras helped in a dispute was the beating of Rodney King in
March 1991 (Tsin Yen, Body Cameras Increase Police Transparency and Accountability 1).
King was severely beaten by several officers from the L.A. police department. The beating was
recorded from a nearby neighbor from his balcony window. The video was sent to the local news
station, and four police officer were tried and acquitted of assault. Without the use of some type

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of recorder, no justice would have been dealt with what happened to Rodney King. Another
situation in which footage helped clear up a case was the fatal shooting of Michael Brown in
Ferguson, Missouri. The grand jury reviewed footage and decided not to charge the officer with
the shooting of Brown. Police officers in Ferguson started wearing body cameras when dealing
with protests following Browns death. (Tsin Yoh, Body Cameras For Police Officers On
Patrol). Citizens are quick to cry wolf on police officers about brutality or excessive use of
force. Body cameras will help jury members and officials decide whether the officer used
excessive force or not. Another situation that cameras protected the public is in traffic stops.
Officers pulled over a vehicle for not using a turn signal sign. The officers said that when they
made the stop they smelled marijuana and directed the suspect to leave the car and stand by the
trunk (Scheindlin 24). The officers said they then proceeded to search the car and found
marijuana in the pack. The suspect said that they lied because the pack was actually under the
back seat and not on top in view. The defense attorney acquired a dash cam video that showed
the officers making the suspect get out of the car and frisking him without asking for I.D. or
anything. The judge ruled that the officers participated in outrageous activity for cuffing the
suspect and searching him before any previous action were made.
Arguments have been made as to whether police attitude would change when wearing
body cameras. Shira Scheindlin says in her article that officers will be less aggressive and more
respectful when they interact with members of the community. (25) when their actions are being
watched. Scheindlin also mentions that when officers were wearing cameras, all incidents
involving force were initiated by members of the public. When not wearing body cameras, 29%
of incidents were started by police officers. At the Rialto police department in california
incidents involving use of force by police dropped nearly 60 percent from the previous year

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(Tsin Yoh, Body Cameras Increase Police Transparency And Accountability 1). There was twice
as many use of force incidents by officers that were not wearing body cameras as opposed to
officers that were. Body cameras have a civilizing effect for both sides. Police seem to be not as
aggressive while being recorded by the cameras and citizens are not as quick to blame officers
for brutality.
Police body cameras by panasonic are more high tech than people may realize. Although
they record optically stabilized 720p video just like the GoPro (Segan 2), body cameras are
more complicated when it comes to viewing footage. Special government software is required to
open videos and do any kind of editing. Editing is also recorded by each step while the original
video still stays saved. This way officers cannot corrupt video evidence or erase any part of the
footage. Body cameras also have face recognition which recognizes faces in real time (Segan
2) and can be viewed by officials in cases where identity of a suspect or victim is needed. Once
videos are taken they are encrypted in the camera. When they are transferred to another device
they are revalidated. Videos can be transferred wirelessly or by a charging cradle. This ensures
that videos are safe and cannot be tampered with.
Body cameras and dash cameras play an important role in the life of a police officer.
Video evidence is an unbiased way to protect the rights of officers and citizens. The videos can
prove that the officer was justified in protecting himself or using force against a suspect. The
cameras can also capture situations that would prove that the officer did not use excessive force
or brutality when a citizens accuses them of it. Attitudes of officers change drastically when they
are being monitored by cameras so they are not so aggressive and quick to use unnecessary
force. The footage captured by body cameras is secure; the footage can only be viewed on
special software that logs every view and edit action while keeping previous versions intact.

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(Segan 2). Footage is encrypted in the camera when recorded and is revalidated when transferred
onto another device wirelessly or through a charging cradle to ensure that footage is secure and
not tampered with. Police officers should wear body cameras to protect themselves from
unwarranted accusations and to protect the liberties of the public in altercations with law
enforcement.

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Works Cited
Scheindlin, Shira A., and Peter K. Manning. "Will The Widespread Use Of Police Body Cameras
Improve Police Accountability?." Americas Quarterly9.2 (2015): 24. Points of View
Reference Center. Web. 17 Mar. 2016.
Segan, Sascha. "Panasonic Enters The Body Camera Fray." PC Magazine (2016): 12-15.
Computer Source. Web. 17 Mar. 2016.
Tsin Yen, Koh. "Point: Body Cameras Increase Police Transparency And Accountability." Points
Of View: Body Cameras For Police Officers On Patrol (2016): 1. Points of View
Reference Center. Web. 17 Mar. 2016.
Tsin Yen, Koh. "Body Cameras For Police Officers On Patrol: Overview." Points Of View: Body
Cameras For Police Officers On Patrol (2016): 1. Points of View Reference Center.
Web. 14 Apr. 2016.