Persuasive Essay On Police Body Cameras

When police officers wear body cameras, everyone benefits. These cameras are tiny portable video recording devices worn on the officer's uniform. The use of body cameras by police started in the United Kingdom and had great success. This equipment is quickly becoming standard in departments across the United States now for good reasons. Police body-worn cameras are extremely beneficial. The cameras benefit not only officers but also the public by decreasing the number of complaints about officers, enhancing officer safety, and increasing transparency and accountability of officers. The body cameras that police wear are quite small, but within this small package are big opportunities. There are many benefits to the use of body-worn cameras by law enforcement. The number of complaints from the public about police officers decreases with the use of these small video cameras. This was illustrated by a police department in Rialto, California. They saw a decrease of 88% after implementing body-worn cameras in their department (Kissiah, 2019). This may be a result of officers following policies and procedures more closely due to being “watched” by the cameras, or because the public is reporting fewer fake complaints due to knowing the officer can prove he/she followed procedures