And in some instances where they have introduced the cameras, complaints have been drastically cut (sometimes as much as 90+ percent) against officers and their department.
The hope is that for officers who know that they might be watched via the camera, that hopefully they will act more professional. However, cameras have still been able to be tampered with and officers have been able to turn them off.
As well, other reports have found that officers might be just as likely to get violent when they have the camera rolling, than when they don't. And not only that, but another analysis of the cameras has also indicated that officers might be more prone to assaults if they wear the camera.
For the most part, researchers suggest that the cameras might not be having as great an effect on keeping officers from abusing their authority as some thought they might.
According to one study that analyzed officers in Washington who had been wearing the cameras, they were about as likely to have complaints logged against them as officers who hadn't been wearing cameras.
But that hasn't been the case everywhere, in places like California it was reported that the cameras contributed to a drastic decline in complaints against officers.
And some circumstances when officers might not be able to keep the cameras rolling is whenever there might be a child or sexual assault victim being interviewed, if people have any religious or cultural objections to the filming, or if officers are going to be entering a house without a warrant and there isn't any crime nor emergency in progress at that time.
The body camera program has cost taxpayers millions of dollars and there is also a hefty cost that comes along with video management services for that data, costs for support staff, and more. For Seattle alone for example, it's estimated that the camera program will cost them more than $1.4 million.
As well, the cameras don't catch all of the activity mind you. There could still be issues with accountability seeing as the cameras cannot encapsulate the officer's perception exactly as it is. In other words, there could be times when something takes place that might seem threatening to the officer etc, that the camera doesn't capture and therefore cannot corroborate.
According to the president of the Seattle Police Officers Guild, Kevin Stuckey, the union has launched a labor complaint with the Public Employment Relations Commission in the state and they are suggesting that the body cameras for officers need to be negotiated so that specific scenarios can be discussed.
Human rights groups and civil liberties advocates have for quite some time now strongly urged caution when it comes to officers adopting the body camera technology. They have repeatedly suggested that we should look to sharply limit the use of such biometric technology.
The cameras might have been marketed as some sort of quick-fix for police accountability, but solving the issue isn't going to be that simple.
Pics:
Pixabay
via mercurynews.com
Wesley B. Edrosian via americasquarterly.org
Sources:
http://www.kiro7.com/news/local/millions-of-dollars-privacy-concerns-surround-seattle-police-department-body-camera-program/692859188
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-37502136
https://techcrunch.com/2016/10/03/police-complaints-drop-93-percent-after-deploying-body-cameras/
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/04/california-police-body-cameras-cuts-violence-complaints-rialto
https://gizmodo.com/cops-wearing-body-cameras-are-more-likely-to-be-assault-1777104650
http://www.chicagotribune.com/la-me-ln-lapd-body-cameras-20150331-story.html
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/baltimore-police-officer-who-turned-off-body-camera-charged-with-tampering-with-evidence/2018/01/24/6c6700ae-015b-11e8-bb03-722769454f82_story.html
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/police-body-camera-study-finds-complaints-against-officers-did-not-drop/2017/10/20/4ff35838-b42f-11e7-9e58-e6288544af98_story.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/20/us/police-body-camera-study.html
https://steemit.com/government/@doitvoluntarily/filming-the-police-in-public
