Introduction
Police violence is a currently discussed topic associated with multiple debates and controversies in the legal field. On the one hand, this type of behavior is preventable, and multiple reforms and policies make it possible to halve or eliminate the burden and establish fair and trustful police-citizens relationships (GBD 2019 Police Violence US Subnational Collaborators, 2021). On the other hand, not many people understand how racist and violent American police have become, and wearing firearms or having authority aggravates the situation (Schwartz, 2020). It is necessary to provide people with clear information and details to remove unnecessary biases and judgments about the quality of police work. Promoting such an intervention as wearing body cameras and gathering evidence from these devices turns out to be a solid idea with many benefits for American society. However, the question of whether cameras reduce police violence remains open, and additional evaluations should be enhanced. This research project aims to explore the impact of body cameras on police misconduct. Although such concerns as high price, limited access, video quality, and privacy emerge, the worth of body-worn cameras includes the reduction and prevention of police violence.
Literature Review
In the United States, many law enforcement agencies have already supported body-worn cameras as a way to improve the performance of police officers and provide ordinary citizens with safe services. When police officers are on duty, cameras are required to be constantly working so their performance is recorded and may be used as inevitable evidence (Fan, 2018). The mix of positive and negative outcomes provokes additional studies and discussions. However, when talking about police violence, people want to believe that cameras are effective enough to reduce misconduct on the streets (Yokum et al., 2019). GBD 2019 Police Violence US Subnational Collaborators (2021) prove that a certain number of deaths due to police violence remains unreported. Therefore, to answer the question about the connection between wearing cameras and police violence, it is important to focus on the background of the problem, the first initiatives, and the positive/negative impacts of body-worn cameras. The evaluations of different opinions, findings, and attitudes toward the idea of wearing cameras should be mentioned to compare with the reports about police violence before and after the intervention.
Background of the Need
The role of the police in American society is always great because officers enhance control and order to protect citizens. Police departments, sheriff’s offices, and federal agencies take responsibility for protecting people, preventing crimes, and arresting suspected individuals (Fan, 2018). Everything seems to go well because all participants are aware of their tasks and regulations to ensure safety and minimize harm. However, the deaths of Michael Brown, Eric Garner, and George Floyd prove that there was something wrong with the system (Coleman, 2020; Schwartz, 2020). Police violence has been reported as a public health issue, organizational problem, and social concern that may take a human life under legally approved conditions (GBD 2019 Police Violence US Subnational Collaborators, 2021). For example, being just 13% of the US population, black Americans comprise 26% of police shooting victims compared to white Americans (61% of the total population and 50% of police victims) (Schwartz, 2020). The number of unarmed victims is even more frustrating – 36% of blacks and 42% of whites (Schwartz, 2020). Law enforcement and police violence have become racially biased, and this problem should be solved as soon as possible.
First Initiatives
Regarding the offered statistics, the decision to implement body-worn cameras was made in different regions of the United States. The Bureau of Justice Statistics and the National Institute of Justice (2022) examined public changes associated with the first initiatives, according to which more than 80% of large law enforcement agencies acquired cameras. The reasons for such steps were to improve officer safety, promote evidence quality, and manage public complaints about police violence (Birck, 2018; National Institute of Justice, 2022). The Metropolitan Police Department (Las Vegas, Nevada) used cameras, which reduced the unnecessary use of force (National Institute of Justice, 2022). A similar program was supported by the police departments in Phoenix, Arizona, and proved its statistical significance for public concerns. Still, American success was based on the evaluation of the British experience in the same area. The first body-worn camera interventions were promoted in Birmingham, United Kingdom, but the changes in officer use of force were not evident (National Institute of Justice, 2022). The US government took similar steps in 2015, underlying the initial goals and expectations to ensure effective intervention assessment and understanding of the use of new devices.
Positive Expectations
Police violence is a serious social problem, and cameras have become a recent solution for the existing concerns and misunderstandings. When the first programs to implement cameras among police officers were offered, most people supported the initiative. Many body-worn camera advocates underline the possibility of decreasing police misconduct, which leads to reduced citizen complaints and improved accountability (Coleman, 2020). Regardless of their education, employment, ethnicity, gender, or age, people believe that a camera on an officer is a reason to think twice before using a gun or force in relation to an ordinary citizen. The government considered cameras “a cure-all to the problem of police violence” (Birck, 2018, p. 155). When investigators see what police officers see, they can improve decision-making and reduce brutality. Examining officers’ behaviors helps to understand what can be done to improve social order and cooperation between the police and ordinary citizens. Racialized police violence should be reduced with new vision technologies because law enforcement representatives feel high-level responsibility for their decisions (Henne et al., 2022). Camera evidence is strong, showing how racial biases emerge and can be solved within the frames of one particular situation.
Negative Aspects
Despite the evident benefit of reducing police violence, wearing body cameras is associated with some negative consequences that have to be solved. Many modern companies are involved in the production of body-worn cameras, including Axon Enterprise and WOLFCOM. They set different price policies and configurations and choose various data storage programs (Coleman, 2020). Still, not all departments can allow buying the necessary devices for all team members due to high prices. Such non-profit stakeholders as the American Civil Liberties Union and Black Lives Matter are interested in equipping police officers with cameras (Yokum et al., 2019). Their generous financial support positively affects the promotion of this intervention. However, limited access to information, training, and technological progress cannot be ignored. Differences in video quality and the inability to examine the entire environment may prevent making rational and full judgments of a situation (Henne et al., 2022). There are no guarantees that the material taped with the help of cameras is enough to prevent violence or explain misconduct. The impact of cameras on privacy remains extensive because not all police officers are ready to share all their personal experiences with the public.
Before and After the Intervention
During the last several decades, the problem of police violence has bothered millions of Americans. The number of deaths among non-Hispanic Black people and Hispanic people of any race was high in the country, proving the necessity of finding an effective solution (GBD 2019 Police Violence US Subnational Collaborators, 2021). The example of Darnell Frazier, who recorded George Floyd’s murder in 2020, showed how video recording affected the situation and helped the population see the truth (Schwartz, 2020). Promoting justice within the criminal system is possible if more camera-taped evidence can be gathered (Birck, 2018). The idea of a fulsome commitment to body-worn camera programs is associated with the desire to reduce police violence on the street (Coleman, 2020). People need more guarantees that individuals with weapons and power on official and legal grounds do not hurt them and use their authority to establish peace and order. Video material meets public demands for police accountability and violence reduction (Henne et al., 2022). Although it is hard to connect the number of civilian deaths and the body-worn camera intervention, there is a solid background to prove that cameras reduce police violence.
Discussion of Potential Data Sources
In the current research project, there are seven major data sources for analysis. Each article is closely related to the chosen question about the impact of cameras on police violence in society. There are many fatal examples of police violence, and Black or Hispanic populations remain at higher risk (GBD 2019 Police Violence US Subnational Collaborators, 2021; Schwartz, 2020). Researchers and analytics used people’s experiences to demonstrate how video evidence may affect each case’s understanding (Coleman, 2020; Fan, 2018; Yokum et al., 2019). In addition, a report by the National Institute of Justice (2022) reveals recent findings about body-worn camera initiatives in several American states. This information is necessary to demonstrate how different law enforcement agencies implement new ideas in their regions and what achievements have been recently observed. The deaths of George Floyd, Michael Brown, and Eric Garner have been commonly discussed examples of police violence and misconduct (Coleman, 2020; Birck, 2018). However, these cases are not the only ones in American history, and police brutality continues to bother individuals of different ages, races, and ethnicities.
Conclusion
The chosen potential data sources create a strong background on the topic and explain the necessity of investigating the problem of police violence and its reduction by wearing cameras by police officers. The possibility of imagining police violence through camera-based evidence has been proved with the help of experimental and randomized-control designs (Henne et al., 2022). When people get real evidence, they believe in the effectiveness of the offered intervention. Police officers, in turn, are able to understand that each word, movement, and decision is associated with a high-level responsibility and try to behave reasonably, showing respect and understanding to every citizen (Coleman, 2020). Although such challenges as police oversight, distance, and privacy protection increase the number of questions and concerns in law enforcement, the benefits of police violence reduction and the revelation of potentially problematic areas are evident (Fan, 2018). This discussion contributes to a better understanding of how cameras reduce police violence and what steps should be taken to strengthen similar interventions with minimal costs and harm.
References
Birck, M. A. (2018). Do you see what I see: Problems with juror bias in viewing body-camera video evidence. Michigan Journal of Race and Law, 24, 153-176. Web.
Coleman, R. J. (2020). Police body cameras: Go big or go home? Buffalo Law Review, 68(5). Web.
Fan, M. D. (2018). Body cameras, big data, and police accountability. Law & Social Inquiry, 43(4), 1236-1256. Web.
GBD 2019 Police Violence US Subnational Collaborators. (2021). Fatal police violence by race and state in the USA, 1980–2019: A network meta-regression. The Lancet, 398(10307), 1239-1255. Web.
Henne, K., Shore, K., & Harb, J. I. (2022). Body-worn cameras, police violence and the politics of evidence: A case of ontological gerrymandering. Critical Social Policy, 42(3), 388-407. Web.
National Institute of Justice. (2022). Research on body-worn cameras and law enforcement. NIJ. Web.
Schwartz, S. A. (2020). Police brutality and racism in America. Explore, 16(5), 280-282. Web.
Yokum, D., Ravishankar, A., & Coppock, A. (2019). A randomized control trial evaluating the effects of police body-worn cameras. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 116(21), 10329-10332. Web.