Should Police Officers Wear Body Cameras Essay

In light of recent incidents due to extensive police brutality, a controversial issue has been whether it would be useful for police officers to wear body cameras. When it comes to the topic of police brutality, most of us will readily agree that some form of action has to be put in place, in order to regain trust and respect for officers and security for citizens. Unfortunately, this agreement usually ends, however, when the question of how beneficial body cameras would be for everyone arises. On one hand many argue that cameras provide security for officers whenever a suspect acts out of character. From this perspective, much evidence does support the idea of officers wearing body cameras. In this instance, officers are then held accountable for their actions at all times. On the other hand, many argue that the public’s sense of freedom would essentially be jeopardized on account of constantly being filmed while in an officer’s presence. From my point of view, both circumstances share a portion of truth. However, I believe placing cameras on police officers is an irrational decision especially when taking into consideration the possible downfalls and concerns associated with enforcing this as a requirement for all law enforcement officers. Though I agree body worn

Because of this conflict, the concept of confidentiality has to be taken into consideration. Allyson Roy, a graduate student at Arizona State University, points out that “research has shown that humans become more self-aware when they are being watched, and as a result they are more likely to alter their conduct” (qtd. In Farrar and Ariel, 2013). Furthermore, one main purpose of implementing cameras is to reduce citizen complaints, therefore the facade of better behavior as Allyson implied may just be that, an outward appearance not an actual