Since the late 1990’s, police departments across the country have been utilizing in-car cameras or dash cams for a number of reasons. The courts ruled, after a slew of lawsuits regarding racial profiling during traffic stops, that racially discriminatory practices were occurring. The use of dash cams was implemented to both protect officers from false allegations and to protect the public from racially motivated stops. In this day and age, when citizens are growing more fearful of police due to the overwhelming reports of police brutality, having your own dash cam may be the answer to protecting your safety and your rights.
The reason is simple, people behave differently when they know they are being filmed. In cities where neighborhood cameras have been installed, statistics would suggest that crime rates around the cameras drop significantly. With the use of police dash cams, reports of racial profiling dropped as did complaints against officers. According to a 2002 study by the International Association of Police Chiefs (IACP), the largest impacts were felt in the areas of officer safety, professionalism and performance, complaints and community opinion. In at least 50% of all complaints made during the study, when the complainant was made aware of the dash cam recording of the incident, the complaint was withdrawn.
Similar effects have occurred when observing the results of police worn body camera studies. Tony Farrar, Police Chief and Police Foundation Executive, conducted a year long study of use of force incidents when body cameras were used. Utilizing the Rialto, California Police Department, Farrar divided officers into control and experimental groups. According to the study, “The findings suggest more than a 50% reduction in the total number of incidents of use-of-force compared to control-conditions, and nearly ten times more citizens’ complaints in the 12-months prior to the experiment.”
In modern day Russia and parts of Eastern Europe, where crooked cops and insurance fraud are rampant, dash cams are installed in most vehicles. As stated by Aleksei Dozorov, a Russian motorist’s rights activist, “You can get into your car without your pants on, but never get into a car without a dash cam.” Russian police are notorious for taking bribes and participating in other forms of corruption. Dash cams have become a staple in Russia for citizens to protect themselves from corrupt police. Do things really need to get as bad for us before dash cams become routine here?
Dash cams have been shown to reduce police profiling as well as citizen complaints. Body cams have been shown to reduce police use of force by at least fifty percent. If cameras are good enough to protect police, wouldn’t the logical next step to be the use of dash cams by all of us? With the reports of police misconduct on the rise, don’t be surprised if the citizen dash cam becomes the next technological trend.
SOURCES:
The Daily Dot,. ‘Want To Protect Yourself From Police Abuse? Buy A Dashcam’. N.p., 2015. Web. 8 Mar. 2015. http://www.dailydot.com/opinion/police-brutality-protection-dashcam/?fb=dd
PoliceOne,. ‘The In-Car Camera: Value And Impact’. N.p., 2015. Web. 8 Mar. 2015. http://www.policeone.com/police-products/police-technology/articles/93475-The-in-car-camera-Value-and-impact/
Police Foundation,. ‘New Publication Available: The Effect Of Body-Worn Cameras On Police Use-Of-Force’. N.p., 2015. Web. 8 Mar. 2015. http://www.policefoundation.org/content/body-worn-cameras-police-use-force
Davies, Alex. ‘Here’s Why So Many Crazy Russian Car Crashes Are Caught On Camera’. Business Insider. N.p., 2012. Web. 8 Mar. 2015. http://www.businessinsider.com/why-russian-drivers-have-dash-cams-2012-12?op=1
Its sad when we have to protect ourselves from the people who supposedly protect us.
So get a dash cam, but don’t have closed circuit CCTV in you house… right.