The Impact of Using Body Cameras by Law enforcement Officers.

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The Impact of Using Body Cameras by Law enforcement Officers.

Dawes, D., Heegaard, W., Brave, M., Paetow, G., Weston, B., & Ho, J. (2015). Body-Worn Cameras Improve Law Enforcement Officer Report Writing Accuracy. Journal of law enforcement, 4(6).

In this article, Dawes et al. delves into the issue of using the body-worn cameras and its importance in recording an accurate and valid statements. In an era where every move an acts by the law enforcement officers are recorded by the members of public, it is becoming increasingly necessary for the police to have body-worn cameras that they can use to record videos and have the valid evidence against suspect when they come into contact to avoid misreporting from the members of public. This research was conducted by involving several law enforcement officers who recorded different scenarios of their engagement with the members of public and recorded their statements. Evidently, there were some adjustments that they made in their reports after reviewing their video recordings.

The authors of the study are qualified scholars who are often involved in conducting researches that deal with issues affecting the judicial system in the country. Therefore, they are qualified and have the authority to conduct researches on such matters that affect members of the society. This research is also important because it explores the impact that body-worn cameras have on the accuracy of reports recorded by the law enforcement officers. However, the research has some limitation because it may have been subjected to biases as a result of the people who participated on the matter under investigation.

Pelfrey Jr, W. V., & Keener, S. (2016). Police body worn cameras: A mixed method approach assessing perceptions of efficacy. Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management.

This journal highlights the efficacy of the body-worn cameras in ensuring that the police do not use excessive force when they are discharging their duties. It also highlights the perception that the police officers have regarding the use of body-worn cameras. The study establishes that the cases of police using excessive force have reduced significantly since the introduction of the body-worn cameras. This is critical in ensuring that the relationship between the police and members of the society is improved. The findings also indicate that the law enforcers have their reservation regarding the use of BWC data.

It is authors are accomplished writers on matters pertaining policy strategies and management. Therefore, they have the authority to conduct research on such important matters which relates to policies in the police force.

Phillips, S. W. (2018). Eyes are not cameras: The importance of integrating perceptual distortions, misinformation, and false memories into the police body camera debate. Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice, 12(1), 91-99.

In this article, Philips discusses the distortion of information that people have had over the years that police who cannot recall all the events that they encounter are rogue police who want to cover up for an incident. The author argues that the eyes of police officers are not cameras and police officers are subject to forgetting some incidences they encounter on the streets. However, the author acknowledges that cameras are important in capturing the reality on the ground but that should not be interpreted to mean that the police cannot execute their mandates without the use of body-worn cameras.

This article is important in demystifying the unusually long-held notion that police who do not recall some of the events they encounter are officers who are covering up for criminals in the streets. The author is a writer who is interested on issues of policing and governance.

Smykla, J. O., Crow, M. S., Crichlow, V. J., & Snyder, J. A. (2016). Police body-worn cameras: Perceptions of law enforcement leadership. American Journal of Criminal Justice, 41(3), 424-443.

American Journal of Criminal Justice is an article that articulates the perception that the leaders of the police in the United States have regarding the body-worn cameras. It also explores the impact that these body-worn cameras have on how the police discharge their duties. According to the authors, the public have a positive perception on the use of body-worn cameras by the law enforcement officers. However, the leaders of the police have a contrary opinion and majority of them think that these cameras influence how the police discharge their responsibilities and may deter them from using necessary force to maintain law and order.

Smykla et al. (2016) are working with the school of criminology and criminal justice system at the Florida Atlantic University. They have a wealth of knowledge in the criminal justice system and they have the authority to research on such a compelling matter to understand the perception of the police leadership on the use of body-worn cameras. This research work is important and can be used as secondary data to further research on the impact of using body-worn cameras by the law enforcement officers. One of the strength of this study is the quality of data collected which affected officers from the three tiers of government in the United States; local, state and federal government.

Voigt, R., Camp, N. P., Prabhakaran, V., Hamilton, W. L., Hetey, R. C., Griffiths, C. M., … & Eberhardt, J. L. (2017). Language from police body camera footage shows racial disparities in officer respect. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 114(25), 6521-6526.

In this article, the researchers conducted a study to establish the level of respect that police officers in the United States accord people from different racial backgrounds when they are communicating with them. In the study, the researchers established that police accord more respect to the white community compared to the people of color. Although body-worn cameras are often intended to aid the police officers in discharging their duties in accordance with the law, the finding of this study is important in reforming the police and ensuring that they treat all citizen equally.

The authors of this article are researchers drawn from different departments at the Stanford University. Some of the researchers are scholars from linguistic department while others work in the department of psychology. Although the findings of this research may be necessary in conducting future researches on the same subject, it has several weaknesses and the method of data collection maybe have been subjected to biases.