Police Use Of Body Cameras Essay

Words: 346
Pages: 2

The use of body cameras can create privacy issues for victims of crime and witnesses.
One reason that people oppose the usage of body cameras is because the video footage depicts murders and other violent criminal activity. Police officers' cameras record regular, violent situations. Oftentimes, because there is footage, the news reports stories on crime and includes the body camera video. As a result, the American people are being exposed to crime and violence that is unnecessary. According to Sgt Bryon Blair the police department doesn't want to release video that is in an investigation. According to senior counsel at the Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University School of Law which tracks police body cameras. “It raises knotty
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When there is a lot of video footage, police stations, towns, counties, and states will have to pay someone to watch the videos for criminal activity. Further, every time the police purchase body cameras and related equipment, the funds come from the people’s taxes. Since those video cameras are used to help investigations and criminal prosecution cases, they will need to be high quality, which requires a large amount of money to purchase. According to a sirs article Obama administration gave over 4 million dollars to the law enforcement.
Finally, when police officers use body cameras, citizens’ rights and privacy are violated. Police departments that utilize body cameras typically have their officers record all interactions during traffic stops and other situations in which the police intervene. Some citizens do not want to be recorded on these videos and feel that in such situations their permission was not sought or granted--thus violating their personal privacy and rights. Additionally, these body camera recordings can be shown in courtrooms without the permission of those involved, and this is a concern for some Americans. According to long beach police Sgt Bryon Blair, videos will not be released because they are all part of ongoing