July 31, 2019
Elliot Rouse
10 Reasons for Using Body Cameras in Law Enforcement & the Emergency Services
- Strengthening police accountability by ensuring there is sufficient, reliable and unbiased documentation of any officer/public interactions.
- Preventing confrontational situations due to the 'observer effect', which helps cool down volatile situations where both parties know they are being recorded.
- Potential to solve more crimes by reviewing video evidence and finding any missed or hidden details.
- Improve transparency by allowing the public to review any footage captured during incidents.
- Allows organisations to identify and correct internal problems in identifying instances of officer misconduct.
- Improve officer performance through the use of body-worn camera footage during training.
- Improves evidence documentation for prosecutions.
- Lower incidents of complaints and use of force.
- Lower litigation costs due to an increase in admission of guilt.
- Tactical advantages in the sense that cameras can be detached to look around corners/over obstacles or attached to K9 units.