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Advantages of red light cameras
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There is more than 200,000,000 drivers on the road in the United States alone, what are the chances of you colliding with another from someone running a red light. The red light cameras are rising controversy to citizens in every state, and individuals have had a difficult time finding the truth out of traffic cameras. Traffic limitations have created a better nation of safety on the streets but have also created further problems. The controversy that is around traffic cameras is a positive point into the safety of streets and the revenue that comes of people that fail to follow safety protocol. Traffic cameras have a characteristic that everyone is aware of, safety. Safety is the most important part, the traffic cameras leave officers free of stop light duties to emphasize more of their focus onto neighborhoods and other parts of a city. Traffic cameras are notorious for saving the lives of many people and reducing accidents, just in 2013, Insurance institute for highway safety has a study that showed a 24 percent decrease in red light accidents in larger cities. Cities have been af...
Based on my research I went from all for officers being forced to wear body cameras to being indecisive on which side is right. On the up side of officers wearing body camera, it could be a way the people can regain trust in the system, something that has decline over the years. The down side to that is that people right to privacy and figuring out the perfect way for the pubic to see what’s going on without seeing who is really involved. Another pro is that police officers will probably think before they react and being sure they are following all rules and regulation to ensure they are doing the job the way it’s supposed to be done. Then there is the issue with how to fund this project with the right man power and the money to be sure it’s done right. So, doing this assignment has open my eye to the pros and cons of forcing officer to wear body cameras and made me think about both sides with an unbiased
Police officers with their body cameras: a history and back ground paper to answer the question if should all police officers wear body cameras, it is important to first look at the history and back ground of the topic. According to article of Journal of quantitative criminology, writers Ariel, Farrar, Sutherland, Body cameras have been given a new eye opener to people about the excessive use of force against their community members. Arial, Farrar, and Sutherland in the article state “The effect of police body warn cameras on use of force and citizens’ complaints against the police: A randomize controlled trial” describe their observation as:
There needs to be an estimate of the cost and technical expertise needed to maintain the body cameras. TPD and city law-makers would also have to consider policy that would need to be in place in case the officers’ equipment malfunctions or is rendered ineffectual in some manner. For this reason, there needs to be an understanding among all stakeholders that a change in the policy for body cameras will not alleviate all possibility of police misconduct or be a catchall for false allegation against officers by citizens of police
If body cameras were required many police officers would be serving time in prison for some of their actions. A vast majority of the victims also would not have been harmed. Following a study done by Rialto, Calif. Police that ran from February 2012 to July 2013. A group of officers wore tiny video cameras while interacting with citizens. According to the New York Times, the video cameras resulted in a 60 percent drop in the use of force and an 88 percent drop in complaints against officers (Amalcar Scott, 2015, p.13). On a different randomized controlled trial, “nearly 1,000 officer shifts were randomized over a 12-month period of treatment and control conditions. During ‘‘treatment shifts’’ officers were required to wear and use body-worn-cameras when interacting with members of the public, while during ‘‘control shifts’’ officers were instructed not to carry or use the devices in any way. We observed the number of complaints, incidents of use-of-force, and the number of contacts between police officers and the public, in the years and months preceding the trial (in order to establish a baseline) and during the 12 months of the experiment” (Tabarrok,
While both dash cams and body mounted cams record interactions between police and citizens, “dash cam- eras are confined to places where cars can go, which are usually public places, such as roads and parking lots. A dash camera cannot easily record inside people’s homes and other places where there is a heightened expectation of privacy”(Freund 97). Thus, allowing body mounted cameras to record the more private aspects of a law enforcement related situations. Also “unlike body-mounted cameras, CCTV cameras do not record conversations”(Freund 98).This could deter people from going to the police when they witness a crime, because they are afraid of being exposed to the person who committed the crime, giving them the information needed if they choose to retaliate. Ebi, Kevin states that “sensitive information can 't get out if it 's never recorded in the first place,” so, if there is a distress call made to the police for help, there won’t be concern that the person in distresses voice, face or the inside of their home could end up on YouTube ("Body Of
The intent of this study is to determine the effects between the independent variable of law enforcement professionals wearing body-cameras and the dependent variable of civilian’s willingness to talk to the police. The research questions that the data collected intends to answer are: Do civilians that come in contact with police deterred from talking to them about relevant information regarding a crime when there is a camera on the officer? What effects do police body-cameras have beyond accountability of law enforcement professionals? Will body-cameras damage communication between civilians and law enforcement that could result in a decrease in willingness to report crimes thus increasing crime itself?
The use of police to monitor intersections poses its own problems. First, there are not enough officers in urban areas to monitor every intersection on a regular basis. Second, if police officers have to remain at problematic intersections to observe traffic, they are not maintaining a patrol presence within their assigned areas. Third, officers are only capable of stopping one vehicle at a time after a violation occurs. These issues spurred the development of the traffic enforcement camera system; also called red light cameras (RLC).
Body cameras are now widely used by police departments in the United States for safety measures. It would not be a bad idea if The Department of Correction would make it mandatory for all correctional officers to wear body cameras during their shift. Each state here in the U.S. is responsible for maintaining a prison budget, especially when the state is facing severe budget cuts due to economic struggles and drops in tax revenues (Clear et al, 2013). With that being said, proposing body cameras for correctional officers will require a lot of my money, and it will be a challenge to come of up with the funds. The Houston Police Department has requested for body cameras for over three year now and the city understands how critical it is for officers, especially after seeing numerous police use of force and shootings all across the U.S. Houston Police officers are unequipped when it comes to devices that could prevent criminal and civil litigations. HPD Chief Charles McClelland requested City Hall for $8 million to equip 3,500 police officers with small body cameras to record encounters between law enforcement and citizens as a way of improving accountability and transparency; furthermore, to reduce use of force incidents and citizen complaints (Kuffner, 2014). The request made by the Chief has been pending for over three years due to lack of funding. The estimate cost for the device per officer is approximately $2,500. Body cameras will also prevent officers from having fraudulent complaints filed against them. Houston Mayor Anise Parker’s administration stated they are having trouble finding the money to pay for the Chief’s request (Kuffner,
Surveillance cameras have helped hundreds of law enforcement agencies solve thousands of crimes throughout the nation. They have become so helpful that most law enforcement agencies are planning on setting them up on street corners, buildings, publication parks, and on their own officers. There are many cities across the nation that have began to use surveillance cameras. Setting up cameras is a pivotal technique to solving and preventing crimes. Although, it is often argued that having law enforcement surveillance cameras set up throughout the nations communities is an invasion of privacy, citizens should sacrifice a little bit of privacy in return for their safety and protection of civil rights against criminals and police officers.
By adopting body cameras, officers can do their job without having to worry about getting punished or fired for doing the right thing, even if the events take a turn for the worst, as long as the officer is taking the correct actions they will be protected. Police officers are required to go through months of training and multiple probationary periods before being put out on the streets. The officers know right from wrong, the camera is just there to remind them, someone is always watching.
Chertoff, M. (2014, October 23). Police cameras need to protect privacy, too. USA Today, p. 7a.
“The one thing that unites all human beings, regardless of age, gender, religion, economic status, or ethnic background, is that, deep down inside, we all believe that we are above-average drivers” -Dave Barry, comedian. The number of accidents over the last ten years have drastically increased, drivers are paying less attention to the road itself. Many individuals behind the wheel of a car believe that their driving does not affect the road conditions, however it always will. The driving habits of today are catastrophic due to the reasoning that the driving will affect other lives through reckless or distracted driving, and disobeying traffic laws.
“Each light has a different preset wavelength designed to detect hair, fibers, and body fluids at crime scenes, these lights allow a crime scene to be processed faster and more thoroughly than ever before.” This technology is speedy and can help locate the whereabouts of criminals. The use of in-car camera systems has become very popular, especially by law enforcement. These cameras are used to record traffic stops and road violations of civilians. “From the time the first in-car cameras were installed to document roadside impaired-driving sobriety tests, the cameras have captured both intended and unintended video footage that has established their value. Most video recordings have resulted in convictions; many provide an expedited means to resolve citizen complaints, exonerate officers from accusations, and serve as police training videos.” Photo enforcement systems helps to maintain road safety by “automatically generating red light violations and/or speeding summons and as a result to greatly improve safety for the motoring public.” (Schultz,
It is important to follow all traffic laws to keep everyone safe on road. The amount of traffic accidents and losses drops significantly when people are obeying the rules on the road. Sometimes we forget what a big responsibility it is to drive carefully. Traffic laws are designed to protect you and other drivers on the streets. If we don’t follow them we are not only putting ourselves in risk but also other innocent people. By knowing the rules of the road, practicing good driving skills, you help play a vital role in preventing a crash. You will also be making the safety policies more effective. Many components play a major role in road safety including speed limits that are posted and making sure safety equipment is properly installed and used.
The topic I picked for our community project was traffic lights. In a community, people need stop signs and traffic lights to slow down drivers from going to fast. If there were no traffic lights or stop signs, people’s lives would be in danger from divers going too fast.