Why the police should wear body cameras

The police shells of ordinary people (usually black people) have become unfamiliar in recent years. Smartphones rise sharply, anyone can record police actions. Another reason for the death of Keith Lamont Scott, who caused a violent protest in North Carolina last month is convincing - it comes from the police. Police are increasingly wearing cameras in uniforms. There is increasing evidence that gadgets improve police and their behavior

Cambridge University and Rand Europe's think tank and police researchers at the end of September found that human cameras can reduce the number of complaints to police. In the year they studied, the cameras were randomly assigned according to the shift of two units of the United States and four units of the UK. Compared with the previous year, the number of complaints to them decreased by 93%. When the judges did not wear them during the trial, they also collapsed, and the author called it "infectious accountability." In order to ensure the success of the camera, the police should have little discretion on when to turn them on and off. According to Barak Ariel, a researcher at Cambridge Research, people who are wearing a camera but who have started recording only with the general population tend to use more power than those who do not use the camera.

Civil libertarians welcome the opportunity to pay attention to the police. Many cops are also very enthusiastic. Dealing with complaints is expensive. Camera improved public action and reduced the number of false complaints submitted to police. They are an effective way to gather evidence. They can be used for training; officials can learn from the behavior of their colleagues. Mr. Ariel believes British police are more open to these devices than that of the United States. Boston and Cincinnati police union says they should not be introduced before contracts are changed to reflect the new work the camera needs.

However, the use of cameras brings new challenges. If the police record all the interactions with the public, they have to find a way to save the resulting hours of images. Then you will have questions about how long this data should be kept and what should be published publicly under what circumstances. This concern is not trivial. However, there is evidence that the practicality of this camera goes beyond people's concern.

Latest information (October 27): The interpreter has been modified to state that the police and Rand Europe are members of the research team.

"The cops should be asked to wear a camera on their body, a body-mounted camera provides important information about the quality of interaction between police officers, the public, the media and researchers. These videos do not solve all the discussions about the appropriateness of the actions of officials they describe, but the information they have revealed can advance empirical police reform.The police and the public Effective way of behavior and action Every method of resistance reduction (ie use of force), civilian complaints reduction, civilian injury reduction, and public injury reduction are all net plus Implementation

Supporters who improve the transparency of law enforcement agencies can understand that they want to see more police officers wearing internal cameras. In addition to the evidence that police wearing a car camera caused a decline in the police "military force" incident, police camera lenses provide useful evidence for police fraud allegations . However, despite the advantages of police cameras, there are still significant privacy concerns that must be considered and addressed as they become more general.

Almost all Americans (89%) support the police wearing human body cameras to record their job interactions. 53% is "strong support", 35% is "somewhat support". Only 11%, while the police are wearing a body camera. The scope of support extends to population and political organizations. During the superparty days, the police body camera gathered bipartisan approval. Most (58%) of those who have good opinion to the police stated that police officers should be allowed to see the video before issuing a statement. Of the people with bad opinion, the majority (71%) said they should refuse access to the camera before announcing the official statement.