body camers

docx

School

Fayetteville State University *

*We aren’t endorsed by this school

Course

215

Subject

Sociology

Date

Feb 20, 2024

Type

docx

Pages

Uploaded by thomascherri

Brant Mercer, BA Candidate Body Worn Cameras Submitted to the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice The University of North Carolina at Pembroke In partial fulfillment for the Degree of Bachelor of Arts December 6 ,2022 “ I have neither given nor received unauthorized aid in the preparation or completion of this manuscript. Brant Mercer”

One cannot turn on the news today without hearing how a police officer has harmed or killed an individual that is under questioning or scrutiny. With the rise of police brutality and wrongful deaths in the United Stated, the government should require that each police officer to be equipped with a body worn camera (BWC) and they are required to be used when interacting with a citizen of the community. Due to the concerns of recent policing events the footage from the body cameras would be made available to the public. Body cameras are able to provide a true account of what truly transpired. The cameras are beneficial in documenting evidence, increase transparence, create accountability, prevent or resolve citizens’ complaints, and for training purposes (Research on Body-Worn Cameras and Law Enforcement, 2022) . “ Proponents of BWCs claim that the technology will provide legal stakeholders with a factual and objective account of what happened during recorded police-citizen encounters. While defendants, witnesses, or victims can tell their sides of the story, a BWC record of the event may show the whole story” (Bakardjiev, 2015.para 8). The camera cannot lie. Having a police officer’s wear and actively use a body camera while on duty would help rebuild trust within the communities of the United States. “Body-worn cameras (BWCs) have been rapidly adopted by police departments in the United States in response to long-simmering police-minority community tensions that were exacerbated by a string of police killings of unarmed black men in cities such as Ferguson, Baltimore, North Charleston, and Staten Island” (Police Body Worn Cameras: A Policy Scorecard, 2017) . “Citizen demands for greater accountability and increased transparency of officer actions during these event” (Braga, 2020 p.852). The U.S. Department of Justice heard this demand. In 2015 the Dept of Justice allocated $20 million dollars in grants to facilitate the use of BWC’s to be used by local police departments. The body

worn cameras grant program began under the Obama administration and was continued under the Trump administration. “A 2015 survey by the Major City Chiefs and Major County Sheriff’s associations found that 19% of its members had already implemented BWC programs and some 77% planned to do so in the near future (Lafayette Group 2015). According to the “2016 Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics (LEMAS) survey, nearly half (47%) of 15,328 general-purpose U.S. law enforcement agencies had adopted BWCs” (Braga, 2020.p.852). The body camera is not only beneficial for citizens of the community but also for the officer that is wearing it. The BWC is a necessary training tool that will provide real-life scenarios for new officers. The cameras can create an understanding of how to react in stressful or delicate situations. The BWC supports the safety of the officers. According to Cotter, BWC video review is beneficial in training programs (Cotter, 2018). First it will “informs future decision-making, sheds light on positive and negative citizen encounters, helps officers learn from one another, it is cost effective” and finally they “could be an opportunity for continuing education credit” (Cotter, 2018) . With the videos on hand a police department will be able to “pre-determine the type of BWC videos officers must watch and align them with specific learning” (Cotter, 2018) . An example would be a department may have officer view videos how to de-escalate a hostile situation. Departments may develop a discussion board to go through the footage and what one could learn from the footage. Departments would generate quizzes to be administered before the video is viewed and after the video is viewed. This would create a clear understanding on how that particular police department wants to handle certain situations. They are given the correct why of preforming in that particular situation. Viewing many types of calls to see how the scenarios plays out would allow officers to think who they would handle this type

Your preview ends here

Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version

Access to all documents
Unlimited textbook solutions
24/7 expert homework help

of situation and learn from situations at go wrong. Each police call is individualized. And finally, the videos from the BWC could allow officers to develop reports and learning lesson plans. The BWC offers many peer based training tools and allows other officers to see real life scenarios played out to create a learning environment (Cotter, 2018). The body worn camera is a necessary tool for any and all police officers. It creates accountability and transparency in our communities. It is also beneficial for citizens that may encounter an officer who is feels they are superior to common man. This tool is cost effective and may save the life of an incident citizen or allow rookie officer to learn from the mistake of another officer. It is a beneficial tool for both the police officers and private citizens.

Reference Bakardjiev, D. K. (2015). OFFICER BODY-WORN CAMERAS-CAPTURING OBJECTIVE EVIDENCE WITH QUALITY TECHNOLOGY AND FOCUSED POLICIES. Jurimetrics, 56 (1), 79-112. Retrieved from https://login.proxy181.nclive.org/login?url=https://www-proquest- com.proxy181.nclive.org/scholarly-journals/officer-body-worn-cameras-capturing- objective/docview/1787805621/se-2 Braga, A. A., Barao, L. M., Zimmerman, G. M., Douglas, S., & Keller, S. (2020). Measuring the direct and spillover effects of body worn cameras on the civility of Police–Citizen encounters and police work activities. Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 36 (4), 851-876. doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/s10940-019-09434-9 Cotter, H. R. (2018, August 8). Training day: How to use the body-worm cameras to train new cops. Police 1 . Retrieved October 23, 2022, from https://www.police1.com/police-prducts/investigation/evidence-management/article/training/day- how-to-sue-body-worn-cameras-to-train-new-copsKGYIUUOCD9IS3 Police Body Worn Cameras: A Policy Scorecard. (2017, November). Upturn . Retrieved October 23, 2022, from https://www.bwcscorecard.org Research on Body-Worn Cameras and Law Enforcement. (2022, January 7). 1. Retrieved October 7 2022, 2022, from https://nij.ojp.gov/topics/articles/research-body-worn-cameras-and-law- enforcement

Related Documents

CRJ 613 Week 2 Assignment.docx

example.pdf

MEDIA ASSIGNMENT 3.docx

Aimee Coleman Research Design 2.docx

Crip Camp Assignment (2).docx

week 7 discussion .docx

Active Shooters.docx

PSY 215 Weekly Discussion Posts.docx

Secret 5.docx

mod1 short answers.docx

CI5513 Module1 Analysis (2).docx

Online Activity 2-GNED.docx

Recommended textbooks for you

Social Psychology (10th Edition)

Sociology

ISBN:9780134641287

Author:Elliot Aronson, Timothy D. Wilson, Robin M. Akert, Samuel R. Sommers

Publisher:Pearson College Div

Introduction to Sociology (Eleventh Edition)

Sociology

ISBN:9780393639407

Author:Deborah Carr, Anthony Giddens, Mitchell Duneier, Richard P. Appelbaum

Publisher:W. W. Norton & Company

The Basics of Social Research (MindTap Course Lis...

Sociology

ISBN:9781305503076

Author:Earl R. Babbie

Publisher:Cengage Learning

Criminalistics: An Introduction to Forensic Scien...

Sociology

ISBN:9780134477596

Author:Saferstein, Richard

Publisher:PEARSON

Sociology: A Down-to-Earth Approach (13th Edition)

Sociology

ISBN:9780134205571

Author:James M. Henslin

Publisher:PEARSON

Society: The Basics (14th Edition)

Sociology

ISBN:9780134206325

Author:John J. Macionis

Publisher:PEARSON

SEE MORE TEXTBOOKS

Recommended textbooks for you

Social Psychology (10th Edition)
Sociology
ISBN:9780134641287
Author:Elliot Aronson, Timothy D. Wilson, Robin M. Akert, Samuel R. Sommers
Publisher:Pearson College Div
Introduction to Sociology (Eleventh Edition)
Sociology
ISBN:9780393639407
Author:Deborah Carr, Anthony Giddens, Mitchell Duneier, Richard P. Appelbaum
Publisher:W. W. Norton & Company
The Basics of Social Research (MindTap Course Lis...
Sociology
ISBN:9781305503076
Author:Earl R. Babbie
Publisher:Cengage Learning
Criminalistics: An Introduction to Forensic Scien...
Sociology
ISBN:9780134477596
Author:Saferstein, Richard
Publisher:PEARSON
Sociology: A Down-to-Earth Approach (13th Edition)
Sociology
ISBN:9780134205571
Author:James M. Henslin
Publisher:PEARSON
Society: The Basics (14th Edition)
Sociology
ISBN:9780134206325
Author:John J. Macionis
Publisher:PEARSON