American policing is facing a tremendous challenge (click here) —a wide spread perception that
the police are routinely guilty of bias in how they treat racial
minorities. This comes at a time when crime rates have fallen almost
everywhere in recent years, and when the police might otherwise be
celebrating their contribution to reducing crime and creating safe
communities. Instead, the police find themselves baffled and defensive.
Racial
and ethnic minorities constitute a substantial and growing segment of
the U.S. population. Strength is in diversity, and we look to minority
communities to participate fully in all aspects of society. Police are
now looking to the public for partnerships and collaborative
problem-solving solutions to community ills. If substantial segments of
the community are the victims of police bias, or even perceive that they
are, the likelihood of success is dim....
This is not going away until it DOES go away. Below is a report about Body Worn Video Cameras from 2012. Police Unions do not necessary like video cameras. Guess why.
For many police executives, (click here) the biggest challenge is not deciding whether
to adopt one particular technology but rather finding the right mix of
technologies for a given jurisdiction based on its crime problems,
funding levels, and other factors. Finding the best mix of technologies,
however, must begin with a thorough understanding of each type of
technology. Police leaders who have deployed body-worn cameras
say there are many benefits associated with the devices
.
They note that body-worn cameras are useful for documenting evidence;
officer training; preventing and resolving complaints brought by members
of the public; and strengthening police transparency, performance, and
accountability.
In addition, given that police now operate in a world in which anyone
with a cell phone camera can record video footage of a police encounter,
body-worn cameras help police departments ensure events are also
captured from an officer’s perspective
.
Scott Greenwood of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said at the September 2013 conference:The average interaction between an officer and a citizen in an urban area is already recorded in multiple ways The citizen may record it on his phone. If there is some conflict happening, one or more witnesses may record it. Often there are fixed security cameras nearby that capture the interaction.
So the thing that makes the most sense—if you really want
accountability both for your officers and for the people they interact
with—is to also have video from the officer’s perspective.
