Benefits of Police body worn cameras
By each passing day, population of this world is increasing. This is also giving a sharp rise in technology and science. Now a day, we can see a lot of sublime inventions near us. These inventions make out lives easier. With the increasing population of a major city, there will definitely be a drastic increase in the crime rate. City Police has to deal with problems every day. For their ease, science has helped us by giving us Body Worn Cameras.
What is a Body Worn Camera?
Body Worn Cameras are as the name indicates, cameras that are worn on the body of an individual. As a result, the camera records the everyday life of that specific person. It is like have an extra eye. The camera is fitted in a metal box that has a battery in it. The battery is chargeable. The box is then attached to the front facing side of the individual’s body. So, the daily routine of that person is recorded in the camera. The recording made by the camera is saved in a memory card attached to the box so that the recording can be seen anytime.
Why are Body Worn Cameras used?
Body Worn Cameras are a great invention of science and technology and they make our lives easier for us. Let’s have a look at the use of this camera. Why are body worm cameras used? Well, these cameras are specially used by the police during their duty time. The police individuals use these cameras to record their daily work. Why do they do it. A policeman’s life is full of risks and challenges. He has to take each and every step carefully. This demands for active and sharp senses. What if we say that having the body worn camera increases his sense of sight? This is true. As the camera records the daily routine of the policeman it behaves as a third eye for him. There are sometimes certain things that an individual does not notice while watching. These things are captured by the camera. And as an addition, these recordings can be played as many times as they want for research and investigation.
Advantages of Body Worn Cameras:
Body Worn Cameras provide great help in a policeman’s daily life. If we see clearly, then we can see many cons in this product but generally, body worm cameras are a great help. Every gadget has some pros as well as cons but we will assume that this gadget has greater number of advantages as compared to the number of disadvantages.
Let’s have a quick look at some of the advantages of Body Worn Cameras:
Increased Safety:
Police body cameras increase the safety of the public and the police by giving them extra sharp senses in form of a camera. People act differently when they know they are being filmed. Police body cameras can encourage good behavior by police officers and members of the public, leading to a decrease in violence, use of force incidents, and attacks on officers on duty. According to a study, it was found that there was over 40% reduction in the total number of use of force incidents by police officers when body cameras were worn; complaints against officers fell from 30 in the year prior to the study to 3 during the year of the trial. Having a camera on the body also reflects the doings of the policemen also. Therefore, it is important for the policemen to behave and fulfill their duty in a proper way. As they know that the camera is recording them and if they even talk bad, they will be responsible for that.
This goes the same for the public too. They will also behave and respect their policemen if they know that they are being recorded and are in front of a camera.
Removal of False Accusations:
Police body cameras improve police accountability and protect officers from false accusations of misconduct. Police body cameras provide visual and audio evidence that can independently verify what happened in any given situation. Let’s take an example like in Texas, a police officer was fired and charged with murder after body-worn camera footage emerged which contradicted his initial statement in the shooting of an unarmed youth. This shows us the importance of body worn cameras. We can see a lot of examples and scenarios in the daily life of a police officer that involves these sharp senses. Therefore, the best thing they have is the body worn camera. A similar incident occurred in Texas in 2015 in which a wrongly accused policeman was sentenced to death which was stopped after the footage from the body worn camera.
Good Learning Tool:
Police body cameras are a good tool for learning and have strong support from members of the public. Video recorded from police body cameras can be used to train new and existing officers in how to perform during difficult encounters with the public. The Miami Police Department has been using body cameras for training since 2012. It gives a perfect learning opportunity to the new recruits. They can see their seniors coping with the situation and making it stable. This gives them chances to learn and progress. If new officers see the recordings of the encounters, then they can be prepared mentally. This also gives them advantage during a drill for example the senior members can perform the drill or the course with body cameras attached to their bodies. The rookies can learn from them by watching their recorded videos which will give them a great chance to learn.
On a conclusive level, we can say that body worn camera are great gadgets that can be used for many useful purposes. There are also many disadvantages of using this gadget but if we see clearly, we will realize that it has more advantages then the number of disadvantages. Therefore, in our own opinion, body worn cameras are an example of useful gadgets.
