Montgomery Blair High School

Critical Thinking Paper

Ingrid Johnson

CAP 9

Mr. Bustillos

May 13, 2019

Yellow Group
 Throughout history there have been many times where cases have been questioned

because of lack of evidence. On August 9th, 2014 there was a police officer, Darren Wilson who

shot and ended up killing an 18-year-old Michael Brown. This was a case where Brown was

unarmed but still got shot by an officer and the details leading up to the killing were unclear.

There have been many other cases with a similar occurrence but this is said to be the start of

Barack Obama implementing body cameras on the Police Force. Obama wasn’t alone in this

decision. A petition called “We the People” was addressed to the White House in order to have

officers include body cameras while on the job. This petition had around 154,000 signatures

from people in support of installing the cameras. On September 21, 2015, it was announced by

Attorney General Lynch, that 23.2 million dollars in grants from the United States Department

of Justice was going to provide body-worn cameras to police forces (Ballotpedia). Initiating the

cameras is the first step to having more evidence to rely on in uncertain cases. These cameras are

called body-worn cameras which are small devices that can be placed on police uniforms. There

is also a recording device to pick up the sound of the events. These cameras can usually provide

high definition video and last up to 12 hours which is needed for a day's work. These cameras

not only provide the video and audio they can also show the timestamp and GPS location which

would provide more evidence for many trials. From theft to illegal gun possession these cameras

can be used for any arrest or problem that the police are looking into. Every Police force in

Montgomery County should implement body cameras for officers in order to better performance

on the job, provide accurate evidence to what actually occurred and educate themselves and

others in learning about how to handle different situations.

People act differently when they are being filmed and for the most part, they act in a

better way. This is a reason why having body cameras would be important because the officers
would act in a more professional way. In a study taken with California’s Rialto Police

Department they found that “ In that study, incidents occurring during shifts without cameras

were twice as likely to result in the use of force. Indeed, when officers wore cameras, every

physical contact was initiated by a member of the public, while 24% of physical contact was

initiated by officers when they weren’t wearing the cameras”(Ethan Bernstein). The use of body-

worn cameras could eliminate some of the police brutality that has occurred again and again. In

the article, it states, “Citizens who know they are being filmed are less likely to act aggressively

as well, as the video removes any opportunity for disputing their behavior”(Will Erstad). Not

only would the cameras make the officers act better but it would also have civilians act

differently. Having both of the people involved act this way would bring down the violence

between citizens and police indefinitely. In an interview with Regional police Cpl. Cliff Horn, he

says “He says the cameras often reduce tensions immediately. When everyone involved in a

police response call knows that tape is running, it tends to de-escalate situations pretty quickly,

he added” (Christian Menno). Having first-hand knowledge from a cop shows how he has seen

this theory and has proven it to be true. When cops confront citizens the cameras have made the

scenes not as tense showing how it will cause in a much safer encounter. The use of body-worn

cameras would cause people to act in a better behavior that would lead to safety meeting between

the police and citizens.

The director of the ACLU’s Technology for Liberty Program Kade Krawford says, “For

100 years, courts have faced a ‘he said, she said’ dilemma, as police officers describe one set of

events, and defendants another. Now we have a more neutral witness,”( Milton J. Valencia). In

many trials or reviews of what has happened with officers there is not set evidence that tells the

true story of what occurred between the two. This can lead to which person has the best attorney
and who the jury sides with over the actual truth. Having the police wear body cameras this

could fix this problem and make sure the guilty people don’t walk free. An article, focusing on

body cameras states, “Police reports, especially in complex situations, can be hard for juries to

interpret or visualize. Video evidence removes a lot of that uncertainty”(Will Erstad). This shows

how useful the body-worn cameras could be in aiding people in court with finding out what

really happened. It is an accurate account of what really happened and doesn’t have bias like

stories that people will tell. This can also be seen in a case with Sterling Brown who was an

NBA player. In one article it explains the case and says, “In one case, Milwaukee police officers

stopped Sterling Brown, an NBA player for the Milwaukee Bucks, for a parking violation. After

a verbal exchange, the officers wrestled Brown to the ground and tased him. Once footage of the

incident was released, the officers involved were suspended”(Bryce Peterson). This shows how

important the cameras could be used as tools in the investigation. At first, there was no clear

evidence of what happened that night but after watching the video the truth came out and the

people responsible got the consequences.

Body-worn cameras also present a new way to teach officers and train them on how to handle

situations or handle them better. The cameras show real situations that these people might have

to deal with when they are out in the field. In an article, it states, “It might be used for providing

scenario-based training, but also to evaluate the performance of new officers” (Vuk Velebit). The

use of cameras could add a lot to the training program and overall make the new people more

ready for the difficult situations that they have to deal with in the future. Also, the fact that they

can be used to see how they are reacting can allow bosses and teachers to help tweak how they

handle them to make them better at the job. In an article it explains the reasons for using body

cameras during training of new officers and says, “implement BWC video footage review for
ongoing training:Informs future decision-making; Sheds light on positive and negative citizen

encounters; and helps officers learn from one another;”(Heather Cotter). These are all things that

need to be taught to the new officers and these cameras are tools that easily fit with what is

needed to keep people safe. Not only can these cameras teach others but the officers can also use

them to learn more about themselves and how to improve. In an article, it says, “allows officers

to self-evaluate and find opportunities to improve” (Will Erstad). This is important because when

you watch yourself you critique yourself a lot but in this case it would be for the better and allow

these workers to be the best that they can be at their job. The body cameras allow a lot of areas

for teaching police officer how to be better and this could be used in Montgomery County.

Implementing body cameras for every officer in Montgomery County would be a helpful tool

to help the lives of officers and citizens but there is a cost that many departments don't have

access to. In Arlington Virginia, a nearby police depart is described as, “Arlington County,

Virginia’s police department, for instance, opted not to follow through with a proposed body

camera program once it was discovered it would cost about $300,000 a year” (Anne Branigan).

This could be a similar price to what the Montgomery County Police would have to pay which is

a lot of money during lean times. Just startup costs are a large sum of money. In an article, it

states, “For a police department wanting 100 cameras, that comes out to about $86,000 in startup

costs in the first year” (Cliff Judy). Some departments in Montgomery County have already

implemented this which has already taken away money from the different departments. This isn’t

the only payments, every year you have to put more money into storing the film which adds up

with a source saying, “Between the purchasing and storage costs, the BPD would be spending

about $440,000 in its first year of using body-cameras, plus an additional $240,000 every year

afterward” ( Jason Kotoski ). This is a lot of money every year that the department could be
using for other things to keep people safe. Although the prices are very high, people's lives are

priceless and if body-worn cameras help keep people safe it is worth it to implement them in

Police Departments.If you balance the cost with the evidence that the cameras provide for a

speedy trial in the end the cameras are very useful tools.

Body cameras have led to officers having better performance on the job, accurate

evidence that could be used in court, and have provided teaching material for officers making it

clear that body cameras should be implemented for every officer in Montgomery County. There

have been many instances with the officer being more responsible, careful, and thoughtful

because they know they are being watched. Body Cameras have been used for many cases in

court and have caught criminals from accurate evidence captured by the cameras. The cameras

have also been important in teaching new officers and having officers evaluate themselves. All

of these facts outweigh the problem of the costs. Body cameras have been shown to keep people

safer and this is an important factor that should be implemented in everywhere just not

Montgomery County.

Work cited

"Police Body Camera Use in the United States." Ballotpedia, ballotpedia.org/

Police body camera use in the United States.

Bernstein, Ethan. "How Being Filmed Changes Employee Behavior." Harvard Business

Review, 12 Sept. 2014, hbr.org/2014/09/

how-being-filmed-changes-employee-behavior. Accessed 30 Mar. 2019.

Erstad, Will. "Police Perspective: The Pros & Cons of Police Body Cameras."

Rasmussen, 25 Jan. 2016, www.rasmussen.edu/degrees/justice-studies/

 blog/pros-and-cons-of-police-body-cameras/. Accessed 30 Mar. 2019.

Menno, Christian. "Police focus on the pros, cons of body cameras." AP News, 18

Aug. 2018, www.apnews.com/7e9c67662f5c42ac9273036573bd4804. Accessed 30

Mar. 2019.

Valencia, Milton J. "As body camera footage gets used in court, both sides agree

on its usefulness." The Boston Globe, 26 Mar. 2018, www.bostonglobe.com/

metro/2018/03/26/

body-camera-footage-gets-used-court-both-sides-agree-its-usefulness/

JlDH0T4TdASK9Bt74QWqHP/story.html

Peterson, Bryce. "Three ways police can use body cameras to build community

trust." Urban Institute, 29 May 2018, www.urban.org/urban-wire/

three-ways-police-can-use-body-cameras-build-community-trust. Accessed 30

Mar. 2019.

Velebit, Vu Velebit. "Pros and Cons of Police Body-Worn Cameras." Point Pulse,

29 Jan. 2018, pointpulse.net/magazine/

pros-and-cons-of-police-body-worn-cameras/. Accessed 30 Mar. 2019.

Cotter, Heather. "Training day: How to use body-worn cameras to train new cops."

Police One, 8 Aug. 2018, www.policeone.com/police-products/body-cameras/

articles/478337006-Training-day-How-to-use-body-worn-cameras-to-train-new-cops/.

Accessed 30 Mar. 2019.

Branigan, Anne. "Citing Costs, Police Departments Drop Use of Body Cameras."

The Root, 22 Jan. 2019, www.theroot.com/

citing-costs-police-departments-drop-use-of-body-camera-1831960711.

Judy, Cliff. "The cost of police body cameras." Atlanta New Now, 12 Apr. 2015,

www.ajc.com/news/national/the-cost-police-body-cameras/gS80Bxexi9R6zC6TXxfhjI/.

Accessed 30 Mar. 2019

Kotoski, Jason. "Money, Storage Primary Obstacles in Police Body Camera

Implementation." Government Technology, 8 Mar. 2016, www.govtech.com/em/

safety/Police-Body-Cam-Installation.html. Accessed 30 Mar. 2019.

Annotated bibliography

Bernstein, Ethan. "How Being Filmed Changes Employee Behavior." Harvard Business

Review, 12 Sept. 2014, hbr.org/2014/09/

how-being-filmed-changes-employee-behavior. Accessed 30 Mar. 2019. This

article describes the way that being watched changes people's attitudes and

what they do while working. This article uses many different studies to

show that this is true.

Erstad, Will. "Police Perspective: The Pros & Cons of Police Body Cameras."

Rasmussen, 25 Jan. 2016, www.rasmussen.edu/degrees/justice-studies/

blog/pros-and-cons-of-police-body-cameras/. Accessed 30 Mar. 2019. This

article writes about the pros and cons of Body Cameras and backs each of
 these ideas up with evidence. In the conclusion it weighs both sides

Menno, Christian. "Police focus on the pros, cons of body cameras." AP News, 18

Aug. 2018, www.apnews.com/7e9c67662f5c42ac9273036573bd4804. Accessed 30

Mar. 2019. This article is an interview with a former police officer that

talks about his experience from going to a body camera when for most of his

job he didn't have one. The article explains the pros and cons of this idea.

Valencia, Milton J. "As body camera footage gets used in court, both sides agree

on its usefulness." The Boston Globe, 26 Mar. 2018, www.bostonglobe.com/

metro/2018/03/26/

body-camera-footage-gets-used-court-both-sides-agree-its-usefulness/

JlDH0T4TdASK9Bt74QWqHP/story.html. This is an article about when body

camera recording was used in court and how helpful it was to the case. It

also uses evidence to show what the jury and the judge perceived the

evidence as.

Peterson, Bryce. "Three ways police can use body cameras to build community

trust." Urban Institute, 29 May 2018, www.urban.org/urban-wire/

three-ways-police-can-use-body-cameras-build-community-trust. Accessed 30

Mar. 2019. This is an article about the different ways that officers can use

body cameras and goes into how they are used for different cases. This shows

the importance of each and them.

Velebit, Vu Velebit. "Pros and Cons of Police Body-Worn Cameras." Point Pulse,

29 Jan. 2018, pointpulse.net/magazine/

pros-and-cons-of-police-body-worn-cameras/. Accessed 30 Mar. 2019. This is

an article that describes the different pros and cons of have body worn

cameras in our police forces. It explains privacy, money and accountability

in the use of body cameras.

Cotter, Heather. "Training day: How to use body-worn cameras to train new cops."

Police One, 8 Aug. 2018, www.policeone.com/police-products/body-cameras/

articles/478337006-Training-day-How-to-use-body-worn-cameras-to-train-new-cops/.

Accessed 30 Mar. 2019. This article is instructions for how to use body
 cameras to train new officers and what learning experience the use of

cameras provide. It can also help officers who are already on the job with

how to improve their own skills in their line of work.

Branigan, Anne. "Citing Costs, Police Departments Drop Use of Body Cameras."

The Root, 22 Jan. 2019, www.theroot.com/

citing-costs-police-departments-drop-use-of-body-camera-1831960711. This is

an article that shows how much costs are for body cameras are. It shows the

different range of money that different departments are having to pay for

the cameras.

Judy, Cliff. "The cost of police body cameras." Atlanta New Now, 12 Apr. 2015,

www.ajc.com/news/national/the-cost-police-body-cameras/gS80Bxexi9R6zC6TXxfhjI/

Accessed 30 Mar. 2019. In this article it reports on the different cost

that body worn cameras are costing and what companies are selling.

Kotoski, Jason. "Money, Storage Primary Obstacles in Police Body Camera

Implementation." Government Technology, 8 Mar. 2016, www.govtech.com/em/

safety/Police-Body-Cam-Installation.html. Accessed 30 Mar. 2019. This

article talks about the pros and cons of body cameras especially the costs

that they are having to pay. It also goes into an example of what happened

at one police department when body cameras were added.

Johnson, Rich. "Montgomery Co. police body camera program: So far, so good."

Washington Top News, 5 Apr. 2017, wtop.com/montgomery-county/2017/04/

13311231/. This article talks about what has happened with Montgomery

county so far with using body cameras. It also shows the need for more body

cameras in MOCO.

Lee, Jasmine. "15 Black Lives Ended in Confrontations With Police. 3 Officers

Convicted." New York Times, 5 Oct. 2018, www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/

05/17/us/black-deaths-police.html. This is an article about police

brutality that has led to many lives ended and how mostly police were not
 counted as guilty even though it was their faults.

Johnson, Jayme. "Body Cameras Work – Just Not in the Way You Think."

National Police Foundation, www.policefoundation.org/

body-cameras-work-just-not-in-the-way-you-think/. Accessed 30 Mar. 2019.

This article talks about what body cameras do that aren't as obvious as

taking video. The cameras also make officers and citizens act in a better

attitude which leads to more safe encounters.

Chapman, Brett. "Body-Worn Cameras: What the Evidence Tells Us." National

Institute of Justice, www.nij.gov/journals/280/Pages/

body-worn-cameras-what-evidence-tells-us.aspx. Accessed 30 Mar. 2019. This

article talks about the evidence that they are finding from the use of body

cameras that are helpful but also how there needs to be more evidence to

see if they are fully used in the Justice Department.

"Police Body Camera Use in the United States." Ballotpedia, ballotpedia.org/

Police body camera use in the United States. This article discusses the

background of how body cameras were brought up into today's society and the

logistics of having them installed in various police forces.