Body Cameras Could Restore Trust in Police

This urge to have eyes everywhere is not new. In the late 1700s, the philosopher Jeremy Bentham proposed a “panopticon” – a guardhouse in the middle of a circular prison, allowing guards to see all the inmates without being seen themselves. The idea was that, if the prisoners did not know when they were being watched, they would have to behave at all times as if they were, internalizing the gaze of the guard so that eventually, there would be no need for a guard at all.

When we train police officers, we work on a similar notion, telling recruits to conduct themselves as if they’re being followed by a video camera 24/7, because we know that they – like most people – behave better when they believe they’re being watched. While this is certainly a benefit for the communities in which they operate, it’s also a benefit for the police officers themselves.

Cameras are extremely useful in gathering and maintaining a record of evidence, providing a fuller picture of an interaction than a written report or even a patrol car’s “dashcam” ever could. For this reason, they’re also very good at protecting police from false accusations of misconduct.

Since the advent of the war on drugs, we’ve seen a tremendous rise in racial profiling, unconstitutional searches and other dubious practices. At the same time, we’ve seen a tremendous decrease in public trust in law enforcement generally. The two are not unrelated.

The infamous “blue wall of silence” – the tendency of police to defend against any accusations of wrongdoing – has compounded the problem. But by adopting an objective, transparent monitoring system that allows us to defend those unjustly accused and correct or punish those caught abusing their power, we can prove to the public we believe no person should be above the law, particularly those sworn to uphold it. There are few things I can think of that would benefit our police more.

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