The advancement in technology across all the sectors is inevitable, and it has both negative and positive impacts on those sectors. In this era, people have the freedom to take photographs in almost every place, and most people have small gadgets that can record all the events that occur. Police officers also benefit from using this technology of recording events using body-worn cameras (BWC) to record events as they occur. The United States of America has introduced this technology to assist law enforcement agencies in preventing crime by recording events and ensure easy decision making during court cases (Jennings, Fridell, & Lynch, 2014). However, the use of these cameras by the police has become controversial. It is essential to understand the intended and unintended consequences associated with the help of these cameras by the law enforcers and its contribution to crime prevention.
Intended Consequences
Police body cameras’ intended consequences are the benefits that law enforcement agencies get from using these cameras. As the number of police departments who use body cameras increases, it is indisputable that many police officers and suspects will change their behavior to the positive. Currently, the police who have cameras have different positive actions than those who do not have cameras. It is crucial to ensure each officer benefits from using this technology since it also has other services such as influencing positive behavior. The video that the camera records during police interaction with the victim and perpetrator provides useful evidence in the future prosecution or when applying for protection orders.
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The availability of these video recordings provides essential evidence that can help avoid things such as a trial. Compelling video evidence also plays another critical role in ensuring reluctant witnesses become willing and assist in the perpetrators’ prosecution. The perpetrators will also be willing to consent to the orders or plead guilty because the video provides indisputable evidence. The use of such video evidence in the justice system helps the victims avoid trauma because it is unnecessary for them to give testimony in court that might force them to think about violence or bad things that happened to them.
Body cameras also play another crucial role in moderating tension during domestic violence call-out, and this helps reduce unacceptable police brutality and assault on the police by the civilians (Ariel, Farrar, & Sutherland, 2015). Research studies have revealed that the use of body cameras captures other important information. It also calms the perpetrator because they know the recording is going in, and in case they resist or become violent, they might worsen the situation. Other important information that the body camera can capture includes disturbance at the scene and emotional effect on the victim, and all these are vital in strengthening the prosecution process.
Body cameras also increase the number of arrests, especially domestic violence, as revealed by the study in Arizona in the US. The number of arrests in Arizona increased by 17%, and more cases were filed and resulted in a guilty verdict. These cameras also help in checking the behavior of the police officers. The police officers who have these body cameras tend to be less brutal than those who don’t have cameras. These body cameras play a significant role in providing crucial evidence that ensures that the decision is correct. Victims receive their right to justice while perpetrators face the consequences. The use of these body cameras will provide substantial evidence that will enhance the process of delivering justice and the accuracy and reliability of decisions made by the justice system.
Unintended Consequences
Body cameras also have some adverse effects when they are used by the police to capture events. For instance, the police may respond to call-out and find that the perpetrator appears calm and rational, while the victim, on the other hand, is terrified and irrational beyond the expectation of the police and the prosecutor. Such events and behaviors of both perpetrator and the victim are captured in the video, and that might present obstacles to the victim’s claims to have protection orders and compromises the victim’s credibility during court hearings (Braga & Sousa, 2018). The perpetrators’ ability to act in different ways whenever they see police with a camera compromises the usefulness of using these gadgets to record pieces of evidence to be used for judgments.
Another disadvantage of using body cameras is that police might sometimes record short or one-off footage that cannot help understand the event; this could present misleading information between the perpetrator and the victim of the assault. When used as a source of evidence during prosecution, short or one-off footage can lead to unintended criminalization of the victim because the video might show some of the injuries that the perpetrator sustained when the victim was trying to defend him/herself.
If the video recorded by body cameras is used as a testimony from the victim, or when it contradicts the live testimony, it can be used to coerce participation victims who are not willing to prosecute their perpetrators. Recording events and videotaping statements can force some of the victims to face confrontation in court, especially those who recant their testimonies before recorded statements. Videotapes, some of the victims are likely to face prosecution for perjury, especially those who give testimonies that contradict or conflict with the statements captured in the video.
Body cameras capture a vital source of evidence; however, using video information as the only source of evidence can spell disaster. Undeniably, the body cams record information as they unfold, but they also have another weakness since one can quickly delete the data, and the entire source of evidence will be gone. It can be possible for the police officers who have these cameras to delete or edit the recorded information, especially when they feel that they might have done something wrong to help them avoid prosecution or face disciplinary actions. Since the police have control over the cameras, they can manipulate the process of recording events to favor their needs, and this can compromise the reliability of the recording for evidence.
Another disadvantage of these body cameras compromises the police’s privacy, mostly when they cannot be switched on and off. Switching on and off of these cameras also have another demerit where the police officer might forget to switch on the cameras when the event is taking place, missing an essential piece of information that could have provided vital information to carry out justice. The use of body cams is critical, but they can compromise the accuracy and reliability of recorded data for evidence during prosecution.
The use of body cameras by police officers has significantly improved the crime prevention process. In cases such as domestic violence, this technology enabled the victims to find justice more easily. Body cameras are crucial in recording events that can provide evidence during prosecution, and it also ensures that the police use the right amount of force on the civilians. Body cams also have some disadvantages; for instance, one-off footage or short recording cannot provide sufficient information for evidence. The recording can also lead to unintended prosecution of the victim.
References
Ariel, B., Farrar, W. A., & Sutherland, A. (2015). The effect of police body-worn cameras on use of force and citizens’ complaints against the police: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of quantitative criminology, 31(3) , 509-535.
Braga, A. A., & Sousa, W. H. (2018). The effects of body-worn cameras on police activity and police-citizen encounters. The Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, 108(3) , 511-538.
Jennings, W. G., Fridell, L. A., & Lynch, M. D. (2014). Cops and cameras: Officer perceptions of the use of body-worn cameras in law enforcement. Journal of criminal justice, 42(6) , 549-556.
