The greater use of body cameras is long overdue
In the last few months, both Canadians and Americans have witnessed a series of troubling incidents involving the police. Such incidents have raised concerns about police conduct, particularly toward minorities. Accordingly, society needs to utilize police body cameras (that collect both video and audio) to a greater extent.
Simply put, police body cameras provide an objective account of what transpired, allowing for greater transparency and more accountability.
If people know they are being watched, they will adjust their behaviour, ensuring that it meets community standards. Police officers would do the same through the use of body cameras.
In many legal cases, there is essentially a credibility contest between the parties involved. In this context, it would be between police officers and civilians who witnessed or were involved in the event. Judges are then forced to make credibility assessments based on who they believe. According to the academic literature, humans are notoriously bad at credibility assessments.
Body cameras would make the task of determining what occurred far easier. It would provide an objective, verifiable account of what transpired. Even if a camera did not capture everything, it would still enhance the fact-finding function of the court.
We would like to think that we know when a person is lying. However, the academic literature suggests otherwise.
In the recent case of Regis KorchinskiPaquet, resulting in the tragic loss of life as she fell from her apartment, the investigation by the Special Investigations Unit will try to determine what transpired. But if the police officers had body cameras, which they did not, the investigation would be easier and the result would inspire more confidence.
In the U.S., plain clothes police officers executed a warrant to enter the home of Breonna Taylor and her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, in the middle of the night. Although this was a special no-knock warrant, allowing the police to enter without notice, police officers must follow a specific procedure to lawfully execute a warrant. Police body cameras would provide important information about how the warrant was executed and what happened inside the house. Unfortunately, the officers did not have body cameras, so there will be a credibility contest.
Notably, in the incident involving Amy Cooper, it was the camera footage taken by Christian Cooper, a Black man who was being threatened with a call to the police, that resulted in Amy Cooper being held accountable for her actions. Police body cameras can do the same.
Admittedly, police body cameras pose their own set of challenges. Some are logistical: will the batteries last long enough? Will the cameras be durable enough? Other challenges are about privacy and effectiveness: do we as a society want more surveillance? Will the cameras be always on or can the be turned on and off by a police officer?
Some of these questions can be addressed through comprehensive, evidence-led policy around the use of police cameras. Fortunately, there is an increasing number of empirical studies, examining the effects of body cameras and possible risks, which can guide policy-makers.
Of course, body cameras will not be an automatic fix. There are other ways to ensure that the police are properly equipped to deal with situations and act appropriately. Further training on mental health and de-escalation tactics would be beneficial, along with banning tactics that obstruct a person’s airway.
Lastly, while many police officers are doing their best to protect society, these incidents have a corrosive effect on how society views the police, especially for those who belong to minority groups that have a long and painful history of being on the receiving end of police misconduct. Thus, it is in everyone’s interest, even the police, to ensure that society can minimize occurrences such as the ones mentioned above.
Canadian police forces, along with other police forces around the world, have already begun to experiment with police body cameras. Police Chief Mark Saunders has advocated for the use of police worn cameras. Indeed, the integration of police body cameras cannot come soon enough.