No matter if it is used to protect themselves or to protect citizens, police officer’s ought to wear body cameras while on duty. There has been a significant amount of times where police officers have been attacked or have been witnesses to a crime. According to The Policing Institute body cameras have been used frequently in the past 10 years. The downfall is if the cameras were to get damaged, they would be very pricey to replace. Long term maintenance on these cameras can result to be an expensive investment.
The Cato Institute acknowledges the fact that in order to afford these body cameras there needed to be an increase in taxes. Some citizens were not happy about this, and some were high supporters. Some argued as to whether or not the footage from the camera could be released to anyone or for any case. The footage from the case would be beneficial to witnesses in cases or to the jury in courts. According to The Cato Institute, 52% of the citizens argued that the footage from the police officers’ body cameras should be allowed to be viewed by the police officer before it is released. Others argued that the footage should not be released or viewed to the public without lawful reason.
The National Institute of Justice identified the positive outcomes of police officers wearing a body camera. The camera would see if anyone assaulted a police officer, it could help the police officer during traffic or conducting field interviews. Sometimes there are claims that an officer was too aggressive during an arrest. The body camera would help to prove otherwise. The footage from the body cameras can provide evidence in an investigation. Some are opposed to the use of body cameras because they can take away citizens’ privacy. The local tax dollars are raised in the towns in order to purchase body cameras and even though there are many who consent to this there are some who do not. Cities and larger towns feel more inclined to have police officers wear body cameras, but usually smaller towns will not. This is because cities and larger towns tend to have more crime along with more access to funding.
Although there are many benefits to police officers having body cameras there are reasons why they are not necessary. Since body cameras are expensive, they should only be used in larger towns or cities rather than in small towns where there is not that much crime. In order to afford these cameras, there needed to be an increase in local taxes. This has led to many local citizens disagreeing on the use of body cameras and agencies not using them.