Stitching a Gap in Society: Transparency Through Police Body Cameras

Stitching a Gap in Society: Transparency through Police Body Cameras

Following events that led to the fatal shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, thousands of people congregated across the country to adjoin their voices in a growing movement. Together, they demanded justice; they cried for greater accountability in law enforcement, highlighting not only the tragic event that occurred in Ferguson, Missouri, but also in Baltimore, Maryland and Sanford, Florida. Such tragic instances leave traces of familiarity. Though details may vary, the outline of the story remains the same: an encounter between an officer and a citizen turning deadly. Many propose the idea of body cameras outfitted among officers to eliminate ambiguity in such stories. Proponents argue body cameras have a potential in bringing accountability in law enforcement, even serving as evidence in officer-related incidents; however, as with many ideas in its early stages, implications still exist in terms of application and costs.

An instrument such as a body camera has a potential to reinforce accountability in law enforcement by apportioning responsibility to each officer. By documenting interactions, cameras create a transparency in police behavior and provide “an ‘unambiguous’ account of police-civilian encounters.” Citizens have the ability to request footage of such encounters; in doing so, theses footages place individual accountability both toward good and bad behavior. A pacifying effect results, not only from deterrence of unnecessary force among police, but also from unnecessary behavior among citizens who are informed that they are being recorded. The most compelling evidence toward police body cameras comes from Rialto, California where officers in the department adopted cameras that captured all police-public encounters. Over the course of a year, results revealed an 88% reduction in citizens’ complaints and a 60% reduction in the use of police force. Such reduction suggest cameras may have