Reigning in the Age of Transparency With Police Car Cameras

After recent events involving information breaches at government facilities, there has been increasing public demand for transparency. This climate of teetering paranoia has only increased after the amplified exposure of police shootings and brutality. Law enforcement in general has seen its share of scrutiny, leading to desired regulation that would require police officers to record their actions in the field to prevent any abuses of power.

In order to discourage inappropriate actions by authorities, police car video systems have become more commonplace to record patrols, traffic stops, and arrests. Vehicle dash cameras have proven to be such an effective deterrent against unlawful police conduct and boosting public trust of law enforcement, that it didn’t take long for the government to take action to help enforce their use. Even by the beginning of 2004, 47 states and the District of Columbia had received a total of more than $21 million in federal assistance for in car camera systems.

While in the past, authorities in larger departments, such as state police, would be the only law enforcement with these modern technologies at their disposal, they are becoming far more accessible and affordable for smaller departments as well. Currently an estimated 72% of state police and highway patrol vehicles are equipped with dash cameras. The number of local authorities will likely increase soon as well.

Car dash cams are not the only technology that has been implemented to ensure appropriate police conduct, but even body cameras are now being used to record the everyday activities of officers. Implementation takes time, however; a 2013 survey by the Police Executive Research Forum found that around 75% of polled police departments reported they were not yet using body cameras.

Without body cameras, it’s important to at least have in car cameras to offer the public some comfort. Especially when unfortunate circumstances could be shined under negative light by the media, having video evidence of an officer’s proper use of force could end up improving local trust of law enforcement, as well as even save the officer’s job.

Even though the police are the ones putting their lives on the line to protect others, it is still important to show the public that law enforcement has their best interests at heart. Body and car cameras can offer the transparency that people desire, and can encourage public support.