Police Body Cameras: Should law enforcement agents wear body cameras?

SUPPORTERS ARGUE
Body cameras will improve law enforcement and reduce incidents of police brutality. Making footage available to citizens and the press will render police work more transparent and restore public trust. Body cameras will help reward good police work as well as hold unruly police officers accountable for their actions.

OPPONENTS ARGUE
The presence of cameras will actually impede officers from performing their jobs. It is naive to think that body cameras will make the justice system, which is heavily stacked in favor of police, more accountable. Publicizing footage will erode privacy for the individuals recorded, and storing and analyzing it will prove costly to taxpayers.

Let your students review the facts and decide for themselves: Should law enforcement agents wear body cameras? Be sure to check out Issues & Controversies’ complete and unbiased coverage of this timely issue. Enhance the discussion with the discussion questions, primary sources, and bibliography linked to in the article.

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