Do You Think Gun Cams Should Be Mandated?

[dannybuntu]

First of all, I'm not a police officer but I do understand that there's a certain element where law enforcement becomes a matter of "he says" and "she says". This becomes more pronounced today as we have seen in the Ferguson issue. In such a scenario, a gun cam would not only serve evidence purposes but also allay any fears people might have about a police state and the militarization of the police.

They already have CCTV's in almost every street in London and I think it would really be helpful for law enforcement professionals to have a gun cam installed especially in the event when an officer has to discharge his weapon.

 

[Profit5500]

First of all, I'm not a police officer but I do understand that there's a certain element where law enforcement becomes a matter of "he says" and "she says". This becomes more pronounced today as we have seen in the Ferguson issue. In such a scenario, a gun cam would not only serve evidence purposes but also allay any fears people might have about a police state and the militarization of the police.

They already have CCTV's in almost every street in London and I think it would really be helpful for law enforcement professionals to have a gun cam installed especially in the event when an officer has to discharge his weapon.

That would be a fantastic idea it would show Internal Affairs exactly who's shot came out of what gun. Then you would have charges racked up for officers who commit police brutality against the public. If this camera was precise like listing the name of the officer, department, and badge number then the officer would have to think twice about it.

 

[GemmaRowlands]

I think that this would be a fantastic thing to do, because it would mean that there would no longer be any unanswered questions about who fired a shot - because you would be able to see it there and then. It would help to stop people from worrying about things going wrong, and would also stop innocent people from being blamed for things that they have not done, which is something of great importance in the modern world of policing, I think.

 

[Profit5500]

I think that this would be a fantastic thing to do, because it would mean that there would no longer be any unanswered questions about who fired a shot - because you would be able to see it there and then. It would help to stop people from worrying about things going wrong, and would also stop innocent people from being blamed for things that they have not done, which is something of great importance in the modern world of policing, I think.

Hence why I think we should just go for it. I think that would add something for our tax dollars to pay for. I rather put the money towards an new law enforcement equipment that would save lives.

 

[bala]

I'm in favor of this and have always wondered why this hadn't been implemented already.I just don't know if the resources are available for it to be mandatory.
How do we maintain and control the videos..?

 

[Trickster]

I remember that there was a test where police officers got cameras installed on their uniforms, I believe. The amount of police brutality lowered down significantly!

It would be a great way to get rid of all the lousy cops who are making cops look bad and evil. And also, maybe the most important purpose - evidence.

 

[ReDGuNNeR]

With all the talk about body cams I am surprised "Gun Cams" haven't been mentioned as much. These cameras are of more interest to the public because we are entrusting law enforcement and police officers with the right to take someone's life if they really need to/feel threatened. Yes you can argue that most citizens have this protection but it's different when your job actively puts your own life in constant threats.

There are many jurisdictions in South Florida where these types of cameras would help both officers and citizens in ensuring a safe environment. Criminals don't play by the rules but that doesn't mean that police officers should expect carte-blanche treatment, especially after all the recent police brutality events that are in the public's eye at the moment.

 

[KrustyKrabella]

Absolutely! Not only do cams protect the general public, they also protect the police officers themselves from lying civilians. Win-win. Everybody behaves better on camera, and we could do with a lot of behaving better from both sides!

 

[ReDGuNNeR]

Yes, it seems like there would be accountability on both sides as long as the police officer cannot easily tamper with or power off the gun or body camera. There are several cases where the officer has neglected to turn on his body cam or it has malfunctioned while they are in the middle of a very questionable case.

Most body cams right now are turned on at the discretion of the officer who then chooses to upload the video to a clearinghouse website cleverly titled EVIDENCE.com | Simple, secure digital evidence management for law enforcement. Again, the law for these things is in its infant stages so it will be interesting to see how they evolve and what is mandated. When "Tazers" were first introduced there were alot of uncertainties and ambiguities in the law that have been dealt with after a few years of practice and implementation but I am hoping for a quicker resolution of this hot-button issue.

 

[stevesxs9]

Anything that's going to make it better for all concerned, I'm for it. I know some technology may not be available because of cost per unit. But whatever is affordable I think is worth a try.

 

[Lexi]

In 2014 with the technology we have, the fact that we don't already have cameras on guns is a joke. Maybe it's for the safety of cops. If there were cameras on guns then they couldn't get away with as much as they do. (There are many crooked cops)

The elite want to monitor the public to the core - tracking everything. The thing is, the people in power are the ones able to do the most damage. They are the ones that need to be monitored. On a smaller scale, there are police that abuse the power they think they have. They need to be monitored to make sure they do their job and nothing more.

 

[Nevi]

No more finger pointing. Gun Cams may or may not be implemented in the future but let's see. This is a brilliant idea.

 

[js85]

I think it's a good idea, but not an end-all for everything. It would be good for concrete evidence, but there's a lot that goes into confrontations that's more subjective than what a video can show.

 

[DancingLady]

That sound like a great idea to document what happened so there are no, or at least few, questions. However, I wonder about the expense. I don't think most departments have that kind of money right now. It seems like money is so tight everywhere these days. If it meant cuts in other important areas, I don't know if it would be worth the sacrifice.

 

[AlexF15]

I didn't honestly know what a Gun Cam was until I read all this. This is actually very interesting, I honestly don't know what the answer would be, even after reading this.

 

[PineappleKing]

It's very hard to argue against this since, if you're not doing anything wrong, you have nothing to hide. By working as a policeman, you work to serve the community, and must be held to a higher standard. No matter what the privacy concerns are, it seems like gun-cams are the way to get rid of controversy, like the kind that caused national outrage in the Michael Brown and Trayvon Martin deaths.

 

[Peninha]

I haven't heard about gun cams as well, but I think that would make guns too expensive to become a reality, but we never know do we.

 

[JoshPosh]

I've said it before in other threads here, but I think it's essential to have these cams for evidence in the court of law and to keep an eye out for police that are unruly.

 

[Patrick]

I see no reason argument against gun cams besides their cost. They have already been implemented in some countries in Europe to great success, I hope that many other nations will follow suit.

 

[shreklock]

I think that having cameras on suits would be better. I don't know a way to put a small camera that would withstand the shock of shooting a gun. Yes, they could put bigger cameras, but in my opinion they would just get in the way.