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Constabulary trunk-worn cameras are "minor video cameras—typically attached to an officer's wear, helmet, or sunglasses—that can capture, from an officeholder'due south indicate of view, video and audio recordings of activities, including traffic stops, arrests, searches, interrogations, and critical incidents such every bit officeholder-involved shootings." Proponents argue that constabulary torso camera programs increase police force accountability, thereby strengthening the public trust. Proponents in police force enforcement also say that trunk cameras are helpful in bear witness collection and protection. Opponents fence that these programs pose risks to private privacy, may hamper the efforts of police enforcement, and are plush.[1] [2]

HIGHLIGHTS

  • In 2016, 47 percent "of the 15,328 general-purpose police enforcement agencies in the The states had caused trunk-worn cameras (BWCs)," according to the U.Due south. Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS).[iii]
  • In fall 2014, Washington, D.C., New York City, and Los Angeles began pilot camera programs.[four]
  • A 2015 poll found that 88 percent of Americans supported the utilize of police body-worn cameras.[5]
  • Groundwork

    History

    The U.S. Section of Justice awarded $23.2 meg in grants "to expand the use of torso-worn cameras and explore their bear on."

    On August nine, 2014, Michael Brown, an 18-year-old resident of Ferguson, Missouri, was shot and killed by police officer Darren Wilson. At near noon on that twenty-four hours, Wilson observed Brownish and a friend on the street. Noting that Brown matched the clarification of a suspect in a convenience store robbery, Wilson asked the ii men to move to the sidewalk. An altercation reportedly ensued between Wilson and Brown. Ultimately, Wilson fired upon Brownish, who was unarmed. Brownish did not survive.[half-dozen]

    According to the Washington Postal service, the events in Ferguson led to expanded use of police body-worn cameras. On Dec 2, 2014, President Barack Obama (D) proposed that the federal government reimburse localities half the cost of implementing body-worn camera programs. On September 21, 2015, Attorney Full general Loretta Lynch announced that the United States Department of Justice had disbursed $23.two million in grants "to expand the use of body-worn cameras and explore their impact." The grants were given to 73 local agencies in 32 states.[4] [vii]

    According to the Washington Post, "Just a few dozen departments, most of them small" had implemented body-worn camera programs before 2014. In the aftermath of the shooting in Ferguson, Washington, D.C., New York, and Los Angeles commenced pilot programs.[iv]

    Usage

    In 2016, 47 pct "of the xv,328 general-purpose law enforcement agencies in the United States had acquired body-worn cameras (BWCs)," according to the U.S. Section of Justice's Agency of Justice Statistics (BJS).[3]

    Back up and opposition

    Arguments supporting body-worn cameras

    Proponents argue that police trunk-worn cameras are "useful for documenting evidence; officer training; preventing and resolving complaints brought by members of the public; and strengthening police transparency, operation, and accountability."[ane] Jay Stanley, a policy analyst for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), wrote the following in a March 2015 policy paper regarding the use of constabulary body-worn cameras:[8]

    " Although we at the ACLU generally have a dim view of the proliferation of surveillance cameras in American life, police on-body cameras are different because of their potential to serve as a check confronting the abuse of power by law officers. Historically, there was no documentary evidence of most encounters between police officers and the public, and due to the volatile nature of those encounters, this ofttimes resulted in radically divergent accounts of incidents. Cameras have the potential to exist a win-win, helping protect the public against law misconduct, and at the same fourth dimension helping protect police against faux accusations of abuse.[9] "
    —Jay Stanley

    Additionally, a study conducted past George Mason establish that constabulary officers said the cameras were helpful when collecting prove and for protecting themselves. "Officers and citizens both seem to believe that BWCs tin can protect them from each other," the study said.[2]

    Arguments opposing body-worn cameras

    Opponents debate that body-worn photographic camera programs may make information technology more than difficult for police officers to perform their duties. Boston police force commissioner William Evans argued, "I fright that a lot of people, and the dialogue nosotros have going, a lot of people might not want to have that interaction with us if they knew they're on camera or they're being recorded."[x]

    Opponents besides argue that the implementation of trunk-worn camera programs poses a run a risk to individual privacy, as footage from the cameras can sometimes be subject to public inspection. Matt Pearce wrote the following for the Los Angeles Times in September 2014:[xi]

    " Video from dashboard cameras in police cars, a more widely used applied science, has long been exploited for entertainment purposes. Internet users take posted nuance-cam videos of arrests of naked women to YouTube, and TMZ sometimes obtains police videos of athletes and celebrities during minor or embarrassing traffic stops, turning officers into unwitting paparazzi. Officers wearing body cameras could extend that public centre into living rooms or bedrooms, should a call require them to enter a private home.[9] "
    —Matt Pearce

    Additionally, opponents argue that the cost of outfitting officers with body cameras is not fiscally possible for every police department. In 2018, after the Kansas Land Senate considered a bill that would take required officers to wear body cameras, state Sen. Rick Wilborn (R) said in an interview that smaller cities would likely have a difficult time complying with the requirement if it became law. He said, "We try to exist understanding, especially with smaller counties. You can't mandate something that'due south onerous to the point of breaking a budget."[2]

    Public opinion

    Polls

    An Economist/YouGov poll conducted in April 2015 establish that 88 percent of respondents in the U.Due south. supported proposals requiring police force officers to clothing body cameras. The graphics beneath pause downward these results by age, race, and political ideology.[12] [13]

    Reports on body camera usage in the cities

    Constabulary trunk-worn photographic camera policies past city, 2017

    In Nov 2017, the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights released a report scoring torso-worn camera programs in 75 law departments.[14]

    The report scored programs on eight criteria, evaluating each department on whether it did the post-obit:[14]

    "
    • Makes the section policy publicly and readily available
    • Limits officer discretion on when to tape
    • Addresses personal privacy concerns
    • Prohibits officer pre-report viewing
    • Limits retention of footage
    • Protects footage against tampering and misuse
    • Makes footage bachelor to individuals filing complaints
    • Limits the use of biometric technologies[9]
    "

    The table beneath summarizes the study's findings. "Yes" indicates that a department's programme fully met the criterion. "No" indicates that a program did non see the criterion. "Partially" indicates that a programme partially met the criterion. The table includes information about body-worn cameras in 57 of the 100 largest cities in the U.s.; for the complete findings, meet the full report.

    Police trunk-worn camera policies by city, 2015

    In November 2015, the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights released a report scoring trunk-worn camera programs in 25 constabulary departments. According to the written report, "[Police departments] are moving quickly to deploy body-worn cameras, and are experimenting with a broad range of policies in each of the dimensions we studied. Departments that have a potent policy in one expanse oftentimes falter in another–every section has room to improve. At the aforementioned time, nosotros are pleased to find examples of strong policy linguistic communication currently in use for nigh all of our criteria."[15]

    The report scored programs on eight criteria, evaluating each section on whether it did the post-obit:[15]

    "
    • Makes the department policy publicly and readily bachelor
    • Limits officer discretion on when to record
    • Addresses personal privacy concerns
    • Prohibits officer pre-study viewing
    • Limits memory of footage
    • Protects footage against tampering and misuse
    • Makes footage bachelor to individuals filing complaints
    • Limits the utilize of biometric technologies (like facial recognition)[9]
    "

    The table below summarizes the study's findings. A green check mark indicates that a section's program fully met the criterion. A red cross indicates that a programme did non run across the benchmark. A gray dash indicates that a plan partially met the criterion. The 10 largest departments addressed in the report are included in the tabular array below; for the consummate findings, see the full study.[fifteen]

    Law torso-worn camera policies, November 2015
    Department Policy available Officeholder discretion Personal privacy Office review Footage retention Footage misuse Footage access Biometric use
    New York

    10px-600px-Red x.png

    {{{1}}}

    {{{1}}}

    10px-600px-Red x.png

    Unresolved Unresolved

    10px-600px-Red x.png

    10px-600px-Red x.png

    Chicago

    {{{1}}}

    {{{1}}}

    {{{1}}}

    10px-600px-Red x.png

    10px-600px-Red x.png

    10px-600px-Red x.png

    10px-600px-Red x.png

    10px-600px-Red x.png

    Los Angeles

    {{{1}}}

    {{{1}}}

    Unresolved

    10px-600px-Red x.png

    10px-600px-Red x.png

    Unresolved

    10px-600px-Red x.png

    10px-600px-Red x.png

    Philadelphia

    {{{1}}}

    {{{1}}}

    {{{1}}}

    10px-600px-Red x.png

    10px-600px-Red x.png

    Unresolved

    10px-600px-Red x.png

    10px-600px-Red x.png

    Houston

    {{{1}}}

    {{{1}}}

    Unresolved

    10px-600px-Red x.png

    {{{1}}}

    10px-600px-Red x.png

    10px-600px-Red x.png

    10px-600px-Red x.png

    Washington, D.C.

    {{{1}}}

    {{{1}}}

    Unresolved

    10px-600px-Red x.png

    10px-600px-Red x.png

    Unresolved Unresolved

    10px-600px-Red x.png

    Dallas

    10px-600px-Red x.png

    {{{1}}}

    Unresolved

    10px-600px-Red x.png

    {{{1}}}

    Unresolved

    10px-600px-Red x.png

    10px-600px-Red x.png

    Phoenix

    10px-600px-Red x.png

    Unresolved Unresolved

    10px-600px-Red x.png

    10px-600px-Red x.png

    10px-600px-Red x.png

    10px-600px-Red x.png

    10px-600px-Red x.png

    Baltimore

    10px-600px-Red x.png

    Unresolved Unresolved Unresolved

    10px-600px-Red x.png

    {{{1}}}

    10px-600px-Red x.png

    {{{1}}}

    Miami-Dade

    10px-600px-Red x.png

    {{{1}}}

    Unresolved

    10px-600px-Red x.png

    Unresolved Unresolved

    10px-600px-Red x.png

    10px-600px-Red x.png

    State legislation

    Proposed country legislation

    The following is a list of recent bills relating to law policy generally, and body-worn camera policy specifically, that have been introduced in or passed by country legislatures throughout the United States. To learn more about each of these bills, click the bill title. This information is provided by BillTrack50 and LegiScan.

    Note: Due to the nature of the sorting procedure used to generate this listing, some results may non exist relevant to the topic. If no bills are displayed beneath, and so no legislation pertaining to this topic has been introduced in the legislatures recently.

    News feed

    The link below is to the nearly recent stories in a Google news search for the terms police force body photographic camera. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these manufactures.

    See also

    • Federal policy on crime and justice, 2017-2020
    • Changes to policing policy in the states and 100 largest cities, 2020

    References

    1. 1.0 1.ane U.S. Department of Justice, Community Oriented Policing Services; Policy Executive Enquiry Forum, "Implementing a Torso-Worn Camera Plan: Recommendations and Lessons Learned," accessed 2014 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "report" divers multiple times with dissimilar content
    2. 2.0 2.i 2.2 The Pew Charitable Trusts, "Body Cameras May Not Be the Easy Respond Everyone Was Looking For," Jan 14, 2020
    3. 3.0 3.1 U.Due south. Department of Justice, Agency of Justice Statistics, "Body-Worn Cameras in Law Enforcement Agencies, 2016," Nov 2018
    4. 4.0 4.ane 4.2 The Washington Mail service, "Bug over police force shooting in Ferguson pb push for officers and body cameras," December 2, 2014
    5. YouGov, "Unlike Ferguson, the shooting of Walter Scott finds racial agreement," April 15, 2015
    6. The New York Times, "What Happened in Ferguson?" August x, 2015
    7. United States Department of Justice, "Justice Department Awards over $23 Million in Funding for Body Worn Camera Pilot Program to Support Law Enforcement Agencies in 32 States," September 21, 2015
    8. American Civil Liberties Wedlock, "Police force Body-Mounted Cameras: With Right Policies In Place, A Win For All," updated March 2015
    9. 9.0 9.1 nine.2 9.3 Annotation: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
    10. PoliceOne.com, "Boston brass, police marriage fearfulness body cams on cops," Dec 3, 2014
    11. The Los Angeles Times, "Growing utilise of police force body cameras raises privacy concerns," September 27, 2014
    12. YouGov, "Unlike Ferguson, the shooting of Walter Scott finds racial agreement," April 15, 2015
    13. YouGov, "The Economist/YouGov Poll, April xi-xiii, 2015," accessed April x, 2016
    14. 14.0 14.1 Leadership Conference on Civil and Human being Rights, "Police force Torso Worn Cameras: A Policy Scorecard," November 2017
    15. fifteen.0 15.1 fifteen.2 The Leadership Briefing on Civil and Human Rights, "Constabulary Body Worn Cameras: A Policy Scorecard," November 2015