Body cameras a good idea
Published December 16, 2014
Editorial by Winston-Salem Journal, December 15, 2014.
A state representative from Guilford County has drafted legislation that would require all police officers in the state to wear body cameras. This is a worthy idea.
State Rep.-elect Cecil Brockman, D-Guilford, plans to file the proposed bill when the General Assembly convenes in January, Amanda Lehmert of the News & Record of Greensboro reported recently. His bill would require officers to turn on body-worn cameras “during any interaction with the public,” the News & Record reported. This wouldn’t include incidents in which officers are speaking to undercover officers or confidential informants, but would include interviewing victims and witnesses of crimes or during any exchange with the public. They could also be used during strip searches, with the consent of the person involved.
The Winston-Salem Police Department has started to use body cameras, and the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office is also taking steps in that direction. All Greensboro patrol officers currently wear cameras.
The Ferguson case others, as well as simple common sense, suggest this could be a wise course. As Brockman told the News & Record, cameras would help to assure the public that officers are acting appropriately and also protect police from frivolous accusations of misconduct.
“The community should feel like they can trust the police,” Brockman said.
The cameras would help.
Brockman’s bill would allow recordings to be used as evidence in civil or criminal cases, but otherwise they would not be considered open to public inspection.
Of course, cameras for all state officers would not be cheap; Guilford County Sheriff B.J. Barnes told the News & Record that 350 body cameras for his department’s deputies would cost about $280,000 — or $800 per camera.
“I don’t think there are many folks that don’t think that body cameras are a good idea and would probably love to have them. The issue is how are you going to pay for them?” he told the News & Record.
Brockman suggests that federal funds could help defray the cost. And some departments have found smaller body cameras for prices considerably less than $800 each.
Considering the cost of litigation – and the possible cost in terms of public trust – the expense seems well worth it.
The cameras must also be governed by a rigorous set of policies for their use, or they may create privacy concerns and end up harming relations between officers and citizens. Brockman’s bill sounds like a good start in developing those policies. We hope the legislature will take up his bill.
Body cameras aren’t the be-all and the end-all - there will always be some ambiguities and controversies involved in police work - but recording exchanges with the public could significantly eliminate a lot of questions on both sides. In this day and age, with personal cameras recording everything from celebrity sightings to national uprisings, it’s hard to understand how police departments have done without them.
December 16, 2014 at 10:12 am
Richard Bunce says:
Here are a few improvements to the bill. Significantly reduce the number of State and local government agents authorized to carry weapons, do not just focus on the State patrol, SBI, County Sheriffs, and Municipal police. Any State or local government agent authorized to carry a weapon should be issued a body cam with that weapon and be required to use it when interacting with the public. Finally eliminate from State statues and local government ordinances any prohibition on the public video recording any government agent performing their duties.
