As of June 2nd 2020, only about half of law enforcement agencies in the U.S have body cameras for police officers and over 16% of those agencies do NOT have any policy of when officers should turn on their camera. Enough is enough. The federal government, or every state government, must pass a law that requires ALL law enforcement officers capable of making arrests to have body cameras, and all officers MUST have their cameras active whenever they make an arrest or use force on a citizen. This can be done by officers making sure the camera is active before any interaction with an individual. Some police departments already have this policy, but it’s up to our government to make sure that all of them do. 

Why do we need cameras?

1. Holding officers accountable
There have been countless acts of police brutality that have only been recorded by bystanders who happened to be around at the time. Most recently was George Floyd’s murder at the hands of Minneapolis police officers. What would have happened if there were no bystanders around to record those police officers? Would his death have been swept under the rug by law enforcement? How many more unjust killings will it take for change to occur? At this point, it is pretty safe to say that there already have been incidents like this, where officers have gotten away with excessive force because witnesses were not around to record it. This is why a system of oversight is necessary. To ensure that police officers do not use excessive force, we must have a way to keep our officers in check, especially when no one is watching. This can only happen with mandatory body camera policies for all on duty police officers. 

2. Protecting officers who are doing their job and gaining public trust
Another key component of this law would be protecting the majority of police officers who ARE doing their jobs properly. Body cameras protect officers from false accusations and increase the overall trust people have in law enforcement. The riots that have been happening in cities all across the U.S show that the public does NOT have trust that police officers are doing their jobs correctly, and this can only be gained back through a system that continuously checks for misconduct. 

Why it wouldn’t cost too much

The biggest argument against body worn cameras are around the costs that are associated with keeping and maintaining them. A Policeforum.org study found that the most expensive body camera program reached around 5 million dollars for one of the largest police departments, but the majority of programs were as little as 5,000 dollars for smaller departments. However, we cannot put a price tag on human life. If an expensive body camera program can save even one life, it will be worth it. Additionally, body worn cameras can protect agencies from civil suits that also cost into the millions of dollars as well as preventing rioting damage from acts of brutality, which can reach into the hundreds of millions of dollars. Furthermore, the average cost of a body camera is $189, according to policeforum.org. The additional amount of gear required by police officers, (guns, tasers, police vehicles) exceeds this cost easily as well. Overall, we cannot put a cost to human life, and body cameras are a necessary investment that can save lives, and bring about justice. 

How you can help 

The National Institute of Justice backs these claims and adds further potential benefits of having body cameras worn by police officers. You can read more about it here. Please consider signing this petition and sending a message to your congressman to support this idea, and to introduce this as a law. You can send a message to your representative here. To contact your senator, visit this link. You can also contact your state legislature or governor to help this law get passed in your own state specifically. Thank you for your support!

“Quis custodiet ipsos custodes” - latin for “who will watch the watchmen?”