Police Body Cameras Only Effective When Police cannot Turn Them Off?

2015-03-25T14:34:31-04:00

According to recent reports Police body cameras can be effective in reducing abuse complaints but are only effective when the Police are unable to disable or turn off the camera's. What does the Rallypoint community think about this?

Personally I think Police should wear them, and be unable to turn them off. I support the Police but I feel that this is necessary to foster the good will of the public and as the Police themselves say in regards to surveillance cameras. "If you don't do anything wrong, you got nothing to hide."

https://news.vice.com/article/reports-suggest-body-cameras-are-only-effective-when-cops-cant-turn-them-off

Reports Suggest Body Cameras Are Only Effective When Cops Can’t Turn Them Off | VICE News

Incidents where body cameras were either switched off or manipulated highlight oversight issues as police departments across the US adopt the technology.

Response by PO2 Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 25 at 2015 2:36 PM

2015-03-25T14:36:18-04:00

What about 10-100?

Response by SGT Jeremiah B. made Mar 25 at 2015 2:42 PM

2015-03-25T14:42:33-04:00

Any monitoring device that can be turned off by the one it's partially designed to monitor is rather pointless. I would go a step further and say that video should be redundantly stored with third parties beyond law enforcement influence. The department or agency should have neither the power or capability to edit, delete or "lose" video evidence.

The nice thing about the cameras is that it works both ways. Officers tend to act better when they carry a camera and problem children tend to behave better as well. It's kind of hard to manipulate or strong arm a LEO when you know the whole thing is on video. I've heard at least one report where police found that camera'd officers encountered less rudeness and less obstinate resistance from people who knew there was a camera present.

Response by Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS made Mar 25 at 2015 3:50 PM

2015-03-25T15:50:32-04:00

How many times have we had dash cams turned off, or intentionally pointed away, that would have given us a better picture of what transpired at a scene?

Police acting in a Law Enforcement capacity are not "citizens" they are Public Servants. If a retail worker is subject to monitoring without a second thought, why shouldn't a Public Servant?

Response by MAJ Jim Steven made Mar 25 at 2015 4:09 PM

2015-03-25T16:09:15-04:00

without a police camera, you have no way of verifying that a guy with a gun and badge is acting the way he/she is supposed to.

If I am the one getting arrested, I want my defense lawyer to see the video.

Response by CPT Zachary Brooks made Mar 25 at 2015 6:22 PM

2015-03-25T18:22:20-04:00

While I agree with the concept since it fits in with the "Locks keep honest people honest" opinion, it had been brought up to me on RP in another discussion asking about restrooms and personal calls and similar information.

My argument is of course that if this is part of the job, then that would have to be understood to be preserved as a policy. How do we deal with these kinds of issues?

Response by PO2 Vince Chmiel made Apr 13 at 2015 3:27 PM

2015-04-13T15:27:39-04:00

With all that is going on right now, I would imagine all the LE that do their jobs correctly, would welcome the cameras. Think about it, how better to tell the public that what you did was to the letter, following protocol?

Lets take the Ferguson incident. Officer claims one series of events, some eye witnesses claim another series of events. If the officer was wearing a body cam, all we would have to do is release the video and, guess what? Yep, we would all know, not speculate, exactly how it went down.

According to the article, police complaints and use of force incidents were dramatically reduced. Was this because the LEO was better behaved or the "bad guy" was better behaved? We are not entirely sure, more than likely a bit from column A and a little from column B. But really, who cares? Cameras resulted in less violence so I would say its a win.

I also agree that the LEO should have no control over when the device records or doesn't record. As far as interviewing informants, if that video needs to be reviewed, the faces could always be pixelated out to preserve anonymity.

Response by CPL LaForest Gray made Oct 17 at 2022 11:43 AM

2022-10-17T11:43:50-04:00

https://youtu.be/yOegqWf4pM4

Good Cop Gets Bad Cop Fired and Arrested

UPDATE: $650,000 settlement reached https://bit.ly/3olApnaSecond Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClTjur-9cx8Bb4MW8r0K6xwPatreon: https://www.patreo...

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 25 at 2022 6:46 PM

2022-11-25T18:46:59-05:00

they turn them off for a reason... of course unless it was accidental...