by McKenna Whelan
Across the nation there has been protesters speaking about cops allegedly abusing their powers towards minorities. Due to these allegations, President Barack Obama is encouraging police officers to wear body cameras.
In hopes to strengthen the trust and relationships between civilians and cops the President is discussing with Congress legislation to help buy cameras for police officers. President Obama’s goal is to reduce the unfortunate events that have been occurring like the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri.
Today, big cities all over the nation are participating and showing interest in this law enforcement. Nashville, Tennessee, is considering a bill for cops to wear a wide-angled body camera. Also, Commissioner William J. Bratton of the New York City Police Department recently announced that The New York Police Department will begin equipping a small group of officers with body cameras.
“It’s too important to wait,” said Bratton; 60 cameras will be handed out to officers in immense crime districts in New York in the upcoming months.
Even a recent Cambridge study has seen an 89 percent decrease of dissatisfaction and complaints from the usage of body cameras in The Police Department in Rialto, California. The NIJ (National Institute of Justice) has funded the Los Angeles police department in 2014 to start testing body-worn video technology.
The nation’s police departments are considering body-cameras and evaluating the potential outcome of this device. NIJ will be examining privacy concerns,crime reduction, police legitimacy and changes in police services. Overall the NIJ, police departments, and congress will be addressing the standards for these body cameras in hope for crime reduction and police legitimacy.
Citations
“Obama Wants More Cops Wearing Body Cams.” PoliceOne. Web. 29 May 2015.
Toliver, Jessica. “Research on Body-Worn Cameras and Law Enforcement.” National Institute of Justice. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 June 2015.
Goodman, J. David. “New York Police Officers to Start Using Body Cameras in a Pilot Program.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 04 Sep. 2014. Web. 01 June 2015.
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“Police Body-Cams Are A Great Idea But . . .” The Crawdad Hole. N.p., 03 Dec. 2014. Web. 01 June 2015.
