How Body Cameras Bridge the Needs of Police Force and the Public

Over the past few years, the discourse surrounding police activity and the way they interact with the public has reached an all-time high. Every day, more than 780,000 police officers across the U.S. selflessly and bravely serve their communities; this job can be difficult and thankless at times. And recent high-profile cases that have graced national headlines have raised already-high tensions between the public and police forces. And unfortunately, outrageous cases of police brutality have poorly reflected the national image of the police force.

So what can be done? Police departments across the country have been seeking solutions that not only provide accountability and peace of mind, but provide a reliable way of tracking and monitoring police activity. One of the best and most reliable ways to do this is by requiring police officers to wear body cameras on their persons and install dash camera systems in car vehicles. So far, 72% of state police departments and highway patrol vehicles have these police dash cams in place.

These methods are beneficial for a number of reasons. Firstly, body and dash cams provide officers with direct evidence of how interactions with civilians transpire. Unlike firsthand accounts and witness statements, there’s no way to misinterpret a video; the facts don’t lie when they’re on a monitor, being played out real-time.

According to research, this solution is not only helpful, but it’s what the public wants. In a 2015 report titled the Policing Perspectives Research Report, it was found that 60% of Americans believed that using body cameras will help to soothe relations between the community and police officers. Civil-rights groups are also on board, as they believe that the use of video footage will help provide greater transparency to interactions between the police and the public.

While the nation’s police departments are always striving to better serve the community at large, the body and dash cameras provide an opportunity for officers to practice this real-time, with real accountability when it matters.

As of 2013, 75% of all police departments employed the use of body cams, and this number will only grow.