New Technology: Police Body Worn Cameras Essay

Our department is currently going to purchase new technology in the form of officer worn cameras. Over the next five years this technology will be put in place. The police department will see many benefits from this technology in the areas of evidence preservation, reduced liability and improved efficiency for the police department. The officer worn camera is a device that has become cost effective and efficient in size and capabilities. The camera is attached to the Officers uniform and allows the officer to capture video and audio of his activities throughout his tour of duty. This will be used to document traffic stops, consent searches and â€Å"res gestae† statements made to officers. The officer worn camera will reduce false allegations made against officers, and the investigative overhead that comes along with these allegations. The future benefits from the officer worn cameras in the reduction of liability to the city, the police department and the officer. According to Sir Ronnie Flanagan’s policing review published last week, not only do cameras provide improved evidence, they can also reduce the time taken to file incident reports by 22 per cent, which would give officers an extra 50 minutes of patrol time per officer per day, according to the report (Kelly, 2008) In this new era of budget shortfalls and diminished manpower this new technology can provide a more efficient police department by freeing up time that is normally spent on unnecessary investigations. Implementing reporting procedures using cameras and video can also reduce time spent on report writing duties. In Conclusion, the purchase of the officer worn cameras will reduce liability in cases where false accusations are made. Video statements can be used preserve evidence and the capability of reporting will create a more efficient police department. References: Foster, R. E. (2005). Police technology. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall Kelly, N. (2008). Police pilot body-worn cameras. Computing, 6. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/212414151?accountid=32521