Should Police Wear body-worn cameras?

Amina King

3/18/18

Green Group

Should Police Wear body-worn cameras?

civil rights marches like Selma, to the death of Eric Garner in 2014, Police brutality has long

been an issue in the U.S. In the year of 2010, there were 4,861 reports of police misconduct

(Packman). Although there is racial bias surrounding the issue, violence from police happens to

citizens of every race. A new, controversial solution has been introduced: body-worn cameras

(BWCs). BWCs are small cameras that police officers wear on their person and turn on when

they make contact with someone. They are already gradually being implemented into some

departments. Every state should be working to outfit every officer with a body-worn camera as

soon as possible. Each state legislature around the U.S. should pass laws requiring officers to

wear body-worn cameras at all times because cameras allow for just and clear court rulings,

actually prevent violence, and decrease complaints.

Body worn cameras increase transparency by allowing actual videotaped evidence to be

provided in court trials and eliminating confusion surrounding what occurred during the incident.

For example, on April 4th, 2015, in North Charleston, South Carolina, an unarmed black

motorist named Walter Scott was shot five times in the back by a police officer, causing his

death. After about two years, the police officer, Michael Slager, pleaded guilty and was

sentenced to 20 years in prison. In an earlier trial, it was established that Slager had pulled

Scott over for a broken tail light. Slager claimed that Scott had taken control of Slager’s Taser,

and Scott was afraid for his life in a scuffle after the stop (Vann). A video was produced by a

bystander that showed the exchange from the point when the two men were standing in an

open lot after the stop. It did not show Scott obtaining the Taser. It did show Scott running away

from the officer as he was shot at eight times until he fell down onto the ground, where the

officer handcuffed his hands behind is back (Walter Scott Shooting). In this case, the video was

vital in providing the truth of the interaction. If the video had not been taken, there may have

been confusion, and Slager may have gotten away with his apparently false claims.
 In the case of Michael Brown, a fatal shooting of an 18 year old black man in Ferguson

Missouri, a video was not taken, and there were contradicting statements about an important

part of the case. Law enforcement stated that the officer had shot when Brown began to reach

for his gun, but witnesses claimed that Brown’s hands were in the air when he was shot. If

police were required to wear body-worn cameras, evidence would be clear and just convictions

could be made based on exactly what could be seen happening.

Body worn cameras would also decrease unwarranted violence overall. Studies have

shown that body-worn cameras have a high correlation with decreases in violent interactions.

When a person is alerted that they are being recorded, they are often more well-behaved and

professional. This causes both police officers and citizens to be mindful of their actions and be

more careful of what they do, because their actions are being recorded and can be used against

them. Citizens resist arrest less when they are being recorded. Once citizens know they are

being recorded, they make more of an effort to seem innocent on camera, so they do not fight

back as much. This increases safety of police. Not only do citizens use less violence, but police

officers use less as well. For example, a study was conducted in Rialto, California to assess the

effects of body worn cameras. For a year, body-worn cameras were randomly assigned to some

frontline officers over 988 shifts. The use of force incidents decreased by 60% among officers

who wore a camera, and shifts without cameras had twice as many use of force incidents than

those with cameras (Farrar). A similar study was conducted in Mesa, Arizona, where 50 officers

wearing BWCs had 75% less complaints than the year before the study when they were not

wearing cameras (Ready). These studies suggest that when both officers and citizens are able

to be held accountable for their actions with videotaped evidence, fewer violent interactions

occur. Citizens are more likely to cooperate, resulting in police officers not feeling the need to

use force, and vice versa.

Body worn cameras also decrease false complaints against officers. Footage from body-

worn cameras would help determine whether or not a complaint was reasonable. Studies show
that complaints against officers decrease enormously as an effect of body-worn cameras. In

some cases, complaints against police officers are false, and the video provides proof and the

truth of the situation. For example, Mike Chitwood, a chief of police in Daytona, Florida, faced a

citizen who threatened to place a complaint against an officer and go to the media if nothing

was done about it. He had accused the officer of racial profiling, threatening, and racial slurs.

Once the video was reviewed, “The officer was glad to have the footage because the

individual’s allegations were absolutely not what was represented in the video” (Miller). On the

other hand, a citizen may file a complaint without realizing the situation from the officer’s point of

view or without a complete understanding of what happened. “If citizens can see that they were,

perhaps, mistaken, or that they did not understand the situation from the officer’s point of view,

or that they did not have all the facts, they may come away with a better grasp of the situation,

and feeling that they need not continue with the complaint process” (Harris). Body-worn

cameras would decrease inconvenience caused by false or unwarranted complaints.

Some people are concerned with the possible violation of privacy and the lines that need

to be drawn when passing body-worn camera laws. The best way to handle this is to pass

legislation outlining how to preserve privacy. This should include privacy in home interactions,

and how long the footage can be held (Stanley). Laws have already been passed to protect

privacy of citizens. For example, in New Hampshire, laws require the consent of both parties to

make a recording. They require that the police notify the person that they are being recorded.

They also say that the footage must be used for law enforcement purposes only. Laws in Florida

forbid the release of videos taken in certain areas considered as private, such as someone’s

home or a medical facility. Laws in Washington require law enforcement agencies to make

policies regarding when cameras should be activated and deactivated, what to do when a

person does not wish to be recorded, how the use of cameras should be documented, when a

person should be notified that they are being recorded, and training requirements (NCSL Staff).
 Because it makes court rulings easier and more fair, it decreases violence, and it

decreases complaints, state legislatures throughout the U.S. should pass laws requiring police

officers to wear body-worn cameras at all times. Police officers are meant to keep citizens safe,

and if body-worn cameras increase the safety of police officers themselves and the citizens, it is

extremely important that action is taken immediately, before more cases like Walter Scott or

Michael Brown appear.

Works Cited

Farrar, Tony. “Self-Awareness to Being Watched and Socially-Desirable Behavior: A Field

Experiment on the Effect of Body-Worn Cameras on Police Use-of-Force.” Police Foundation,

Mar. 2013

Harris, David A. “Picture This: Body Worn Video Devices (‘Head Cams’) as Tools for Ensuring

Fourth Amendment Compliance by Police.” Legal Studies Research Paper Series. 2010.

University of Pittsburgh School of Law.

Miller, Lindsay, and Jessica Toliver “Implementing a Body-Worn Camera Program

Recommendations and Lessons Learned,” U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Community

Oriented Policing Services, 2014.

www.policeforum.org/assets/docs/Free_Online_Documents/Technology/implementing%20a%20

body-worn%20camera%20program.pdf

NCSL Staff. “Body-Worn Camera Laws Database.” National Conference of State Legislature, 27

Oct. 2017, www.ncsl.org/research/civil-and-criminal-justice/body-worn-cameras-interactive-

graphic.aspx#/
Potter, Mark, and Tim Stelloh. “Michael Brown's Death in Ferguson Renews Calls for body-worn

cameras.” NBCNews.com, NBCUniversal News Group, 17 Aug. 2014,

www.nbcnews.com/storyline/michael-brown-shooting/michael-browns-death-ferguson-renews-

calls-body-cameras-n182751

Ready, Justin T., and Jacob T. N. Young. “The Impact of on-Officer Video Cameras on

Police Citizen Contacts: Findings from a Controlled Experiment in Mesa, AZ.” Journal of

Experimental Criminology, vol. 11, no. 3, 2015, pp. 445–458., doi:10.1007/s11292-015-9237-8

Stanley, Jay. “Police Body-Mounted Cameras: With Right Policies in Place, a Win For All.”

American Civil Liberties Union, Mar. 2015, wwwJayaclu.org/other/police-body-mounted-

cameras-right-policies-place-win-all

Vann, Matthew, and Erik Ortiz. “Walter Scott Shooting: Michael Slager, Ex-Officer, Sentenced to

20 Years in Prison.” NBCNews.com, NBCUniversal News Group, 9 Dec. 2017,

www.nbcnews.com/storyline/walter-scott-shooting/walter-scott-shooting-michael-slager-ex-

officer-sentenced-20-years-n825006

“Walter Scott Shooting.” Vimeo, The Post and Courier, 16 Mar. 2018, vimeo.com/124336782

Packman, David. "2010 NPMSRP Police Misconduct Statistical Report -Draft."

PoliceMisconduct.net, 5 Apr. 2011, www.policemisconduct.net/2010-npmsrp-police-misconduct-

statistical-report/. Accessed 6 May 2018

30 June 2015, www.newsmax.com/FastFeatures/police-body-cameras-pros-and-

cons/2015/06/30/id/652871/

^This source briefly outlines the general idea of body cameras and provides a straightforward list of

pros and cons.

Farrar, Tony. “Self-Awareness to Being Watched and Socially-Desirable Behavior: A Field

Experiment on the Effect of Body-Worn Cameras on Police Use-of-Force.” Police Foundation,

Mar. 2013

^This source is a report on the research discovered in study in Rialto, California, and it outlines

data and how body-worn cameras affected participants’ behavior.

Harris, David A. “Picture This: Body Worn Video Devices (‘Head Cams’) as Tools for Ensuring

Fourth Amendment Compliance by Police.” Legal Studies Research Paper Series. 2010.

University of Pittsburgh School of Law

camera use and implementation.

Lovett, Ian. “In California, a Champion for Police Cameras.” The New York Times, The New York

Times, 22 Aug. 2013, www.nytimes.com/2013/08/22/us/in-california-a-champion-for-police-

cameras.html

^This source provides statistics and quotes on how body-worn cameras have decreased

complaints filed against officers.

Miller, Lindsay, and Jessica Toliver “Implementing a Body-Worn Camera Program

Recommendations and Lessons Learned,” U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Community

Oriented Policing Services, 2014.

www.policeforum.org/assets/docs/Free_Online_Documents/Technology/implementing%20a%20

body-worn%20camera%20program.pdf

^This source is a report that provides recommendations and statistics on how and why to

implement body-worn cameras.

NBC News. “Should Every Police Officer Be Outfitted With a body-worn camera?” NBCNews.com,

NBCUniversal News Group, 26 Nov. 2014, www.nbcnews.com/storyline/michael-brown-

shooting/should-every-police-officer-be-outfitted-body-camera-n256881

^This source provides quotes and statistics on body-worn cameras relationship with dropping

complaints and information on how witnesses would be more careful about what they say in

cases
NCSL Staff. “Body-Worn Camera Laws Database.” National Conference of State Legislature, 27

Oct. 2017, www.ncsl.org/research/civil-and-criminal-justice/body-worn-cameras-interactive-

graphic.aspx#/

^This source provides an overview on body cameras and research, and gives a description of

many body camera laws in each state.

Packman, David. "2010 NPMSRP Police Misconduct Statistical Report -Draft."

PoliceMisconduct.net, 5 Apr. 2011, www.policemisconduct.net/2010-npmsrp-police-misconduct-

statistical-report/. Accessed 6 May 2018

^This source provides analysis of statistic on police misconduct collected in 2010.

Potter, Mark, and Tim Stelloh. “Michael Brown's Death in Ferguson Renews Calls for body-worn

cameras.” NBCNews.com, NBCUniversal News Group, 17 Aug. 2014,

www.nbcnews.com/storyline/michael-brown-shooting/michael-browns-death-ferguson-renews-

calls-body-cameras-n182751

^ This source provides a brief description and background of the renewed calls for body-worn

cameras.

Ready, Justin T., and Jacob T. N. Young. “The Impact of on-Officer Video Cameras on

Police Citizen Contacts: Findings from a Controlled Experiment in Mesa, AZ.” Journal of

Experimental Criminology, vol. 11, no. 3, 2015, pp. 445–458., doi:10.1007/s11292-015-9237-8

^This source provides a report on research done in Mesa, Arizona on body-worn cameras.

Stanley, Jay. “Police Body-Mounted Cameras: With Right Policies in Place, a Win For All.”

American Civil Liberties Union, Mar. 2015, www.Jayaclu.org/other/police-body-mounted-

cameras-right-policies-place-win-all
^ This source provides statistics on the implementation of body-worn cameras and a description

of constraints of body-worn cameras, pros and cons, and things that need to be kept in mind.

Vann, Matthew, and Erik Ortiz. “Walter Scott Shooting: Michael Slager, Ex-Officer, Sentenced to

20 Years in Prison.” NBCNews.com, NBCUniversal News Group, 9 Dec. 2017,

www.nbcnews.com/storyline/walter-scott-shooting/walter-scott-shooting-michael-slager-ex-

officer-sentenced-20-years-n825006

^ This source provides a description of the Walter Scott shooting and trials.

“Walter Scott Shooting.” Vimeo, The Post and Courier, 16 Mar. 2018, vimeo.com/124336782

^This source is an actual video of the Walter Scott Shooting