Police body cameras have been used by law enforcement officers for over a decade, and have proved to be a fundamental tool in policing. I support the opinion that body cameras are not being an invasion of privacy. The devices are intended to safeguard police officers and local government officials. Although the increasing presence of body cameras has raised some critical attention surrounding privacy, their primary purpose is to gather evidence in cases that may trigger verbal or physical abuse.
There has been an increase in the number of violent assaults on law enforcement officers over the last decade ( Stanley, 2013) . The increase in the number of violent crimes against law enforcement officers has meant that they have resorted to the use of body cameras to protect staff. The implementation of police body cameras by officers has greatly minimized complaints by about 90%. As a result, the body camera support transparency and accountability and prevent violence against police.
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The cameras are used to provide evidence, which may prove or disapprove police misconduct allegations. In essence, privacy activists have scrutinized some police departments and local government officials for their implementation of the body-worn cameras and have recommended prior completion of privacy impact assessment ( Lin, 2016) . The main aim of the evaluation is to explore the effect of body worn video on the public.
The body cameras are also used to reduce the risk of vulnerable victims and witnesses of crime ( Lin, 2016) . The use of body cameras encourages good behavior by law enforcement officers and members of the public. Therefore, they result into a decrease in violence or any form of attacks on the officers. Besides, the videos can be used to train other police officers on how to handle violent situations when dealing with the public.
The worn body cameras offer police officers with an evidence gathering tool. To avoid the issues associated with privacy through the use of body-worn video, privacy impacts assessment is necessary for all officers using the body-worn video cameras. The assessment is mainly designed to provide solutions on some of the issues that have been highlighted by the privacy activity groups. Therefore, the devices are not intended to infringe on the public’s privacy.
References
Stanley, J. (2013). Police body-mounted cameras: With right policies in place, a win for all. New York: ACLU . Retrieved from http://urbanaillinois.us/sites/default/files/attachments/police-body-mounted-cameras-stanley.pdf
Lin, R. (2016). Police body worn cameras and privacy: Retaining benefits while reducing public concerns. Duke L. & Tech. Rev. , 14 , 346. Retrieved from https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/dltr14&div=15&id=&page=
