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| ▲ | JamesBarney an hour ago | parent | next [-] |
| It's more mixed. They like it because shields them from frivolous complaints, and lets them document evidence against subjects. They don't like it when management uses it for frivolous minor policy enforcement or they feel like it reduces their ability to use discretion. But overall police officers who are given cameras tend to me more positive after using them. |
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| ▲ | infecto an hour ago | parent [-] | | So no citations? | | |
| ▲ | refulgentis an hour ago | parent [-] | | https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html - "Be kind. Don't be snarky. Converse curiously; don't cross-examine."; "Don't be curmudgeonly." FWIW, with a foothold in both domains, this is quite similar to a cop forum poster dismissing all conversation on CVEs until they get a citation on whether or not SWEs like memory safe languages. It's asking for research, when it can only be afforded an opinion poll, and the issue is too complex to boil down to "yes" or "no" - i.e. some "no"s may reveal the underbelly of dislikable cops, some "no"s may reveal it causes them to lack discretion in enforcement due to an over-zealous manager. I don't agree with your assertion of numerous incidents where we see police prevent recording, but understand generally you're handwaving at some stuff you saw some time, and that there's certainly > 0 of those incidents, and don't see a need to halt conversation until you provide a citation / not an anecdote. | | |
| ▲ | infecto an hour ago | parent [-] | | That’s not snarky. I am asking for evidence based on the original comment that police like wearing comments. My own anecdotes differ but they are of course anecdotes. Asking for citations is neither snarky nor worth of posting a rules link. You seem to be misreading what I said. I am pointing out that what I have are anecdotes and I would love to have some real data instead of folks just claiming what police like or dislike. I am sorry you feel the need to be slightly rude in your response too. Again I am not hand waving but simply saying it’s hard to believe cops like wearing them but I have no idea what they feel and I would love data instead of folks expressing ideas. Unions highly opposed the rollout of cameras and I know in the biased selection of videos we see, conversation is often muted. Sorry my post confused you, I am not claiming to know either way! |
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| ▲ | kijashdkujdfhas an hour ago | parent | prev | next [-] |
| One of my favorite subgenres of body cam videos on YouTube are those where a cop, politician, or other official is under suspicion of some crime and is angling for an off-camera conversation to discuss how this whole thing could be swept under the rug, and the camera-wearing cop ignores or deflects the request, possibly getting to a point of outright refusing to talk off camera. Maybe the cop would have refused to engage in an act of corruption without the camera being there, but I'm glad the camera is there to discourage corrupt behavior. |
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| ▲ | infecto 36 minutes ago | parent | prev | next [-] |
| To add. It was not that long ago that most police unions were resisting the implementation on the grounds of collective bargaining. This was 15 years ago so I guess sentiment could have changed but I would be shocked with how often you see thin blue lines. |
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| ▲ | adolph an hour ago | parent | prev | next [-] |
| Here is an interesting quick read about the Australian experience with body worn cameras (BWC). I selected it from the search results since many of the US-centric results are sourced from DoJ or similar which may be seen as less than objective. My takeaway is that like anything, generalizations miss a lot. BWC have lead to more efficient triage of complaints against police officers that even if sustained reduce the substantial amount of uncertainty. It is an open question to what degree BWC neutrally observe police behavior which is better than anecdotes or if the presence of the observer alters police behavior to meet standards. https://academic.oup.com/policing/article/doi/10.1093/police... |
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| ▲ | infecto 38 minutes ago | parent [-] | | Interesting. I for one wish cameras rolled constantly in cars and on body. I would think it should improve outcomes for everyone abiding by the law. I just don’t know in the US how much local police appreciate wearing them. I go back to the 2010s when they started rolling out and it was a pretty large sticking point with most of the unions. Hence I would be surprised cops have changed that much. |
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| ▲ | mc32 2 hours ago | parent | prev [-] |
| Things have side effects. When teachers ask to show or explain your work good students have no problem with it and poor students don’t do as well. Yes, it means good students have to put in a bit of more (unnecessary) work but overall it’s good for them and the class and society at large. Same for police cameras. Overall they protect civilians and also the police itself. Does it mean they have to be careful and restrained when they chat? Sure. Does it allow management to be fussy? Yes. Yet, overall it’s a net good for everyone involved. |
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| ▲ | infecto an hour ago | parent [-] | | So no citations then? We can definitely come up with idea though like you have. Again not trying to poke hard here but you shared a datapoint and I am curious if there is data that backs it up. | | |
| ▲ | mc32 an hour ago | parent [-] | | There don’t seem to be recent studies. Mostly the reports go on to say that they are overall positive but that the overall positivity depends on department policies, rollout, etc. It looks like it’s too early to tell for certain. There are reports and police accounts that cover the spectrum. From what I’ve read online, a plurality of officers think it’s positive. Some say it has changed police and citizen behavior others say it hasn’t impacted citizen nor police behavior. The overall temperature is positive. My take is that it’s positive as well. Bad cops and bad civilians don’t like it. The rest have some trepidation over privacy and some other aspects, but never the less see it as positive. |
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