But are body cameras really the solution to an escalating problem of violence during these encounters? Rules about when to turn on a body camera vary from department to department and from state to state. Even if a body camera captures an incident, the majority of police chiefs surveyed by the Police Executive Research Forum said they support allowing police officers to review videos before making any official statements. Some argue that this policy affords the police an opportunity to put a “spin” on the occurrence that certainly would favor the police.
Another problem is there is no nationwide policy on when a camera should be turned on. Running the cameras continuously would be a waste of storage space and battery life. Cameras would spend a lot of time being recharged during any shift. But with no written directives on when to turn a camera on, officers could be selective in what and when they choose to record. A general consensus is to activate the cameras whenever responding to an emergency call or possible criminal activity. Officers could turn cameras off when arriving if they decide a recording is not necessary, but they would have to explain their reasons in a written report or on the recording before turning the camera off.
Policies can be written, rules handed down and protocols set, but all of that is not infallible. All the rules and technologies cannot overcome one simple flaw: human nature. It’s possible that in the heat of a situation, which started out routine, but then became suddenly violent, an officer might forget or not have time to turn on a camera. What then? Will a conspiracy charge be brought? Will the officer be reprimanded or even fired in the aftermath? These are serious questions that have not been answered.
Many cities are considering supplying their police departments with video cameras, including Minneapolis, Flagstaff and Miami Beach — each city recently approved a $3 million expenditure for video cameras. New York City is considering a pilot program issuing video cameras to some officers and New Jersey passed a law that all municipal police departments had to mount cameras on their squad cars or use body cameras. To offset the cost of this program, fines for drunk driving were increased.
Pullman, Washington supplied its 29-member police force with cameras at a cost of about $60,000, including $10,000 for storing the digital recordings the officers took. According to an article published in the New York Times in September 2014, Fort Worth police spent more than $3 million for more than 600 cameras and accessories, and storage bills for 64 terabytes of data a year, an amount equivalent to at least three times the contents of the 20 million cataloged books in the Library of Congress.
With all this video being stored, who gets to see it? Are public records laws going to allow anyone to request to see a particular video, or all the videos in storage for that matter? If the public is denied access to the videos, then more court challenges will certainly become the norm as people refuse to rely on the police version of what happened. At least 15 states are moving legislation forward that would limit what the public is allowed to see from these recordings.
That type of legislation does not sit well with some, especially in Philadelphia, where police shoot at suspects at the rate of nearly once every week. The city has already paid millions of dollars in police brutality claims and citizens want police equipped with body cameras.
Another problem with acquiring video footage is the cost associated with these requests. In Sarasota, Florida, the city was charging about $214 an hour for video recordings. After being sued over the cost of providing video recordings, the city has halted its body camera program.
With continued calls for accountability, the debate goes on over the use of body cameras by police, the problems of the costs associated with storing and maintaining all those recordings, and the questions of disclosure and privacy. Nothing is as easy as it appears. Just turning on a camera to ensure justice comes with many costs.
