With advances in technology, police are increasingly turning to gadgets they can use in the field to perform their duties. One of the latest devices is a wearable camera that clips onto a shirt pocket and can record everything an officer says and does. Still, some officers are hesitant to use them
Levenson said some Alabama police departments have refrained from installing dashboard cameras because officers feared the video footage would get them in trouble, but roughly 80 percent of the time an officer’s behavior is questioned and the incident is caught on tape, “it exonerates the officer from wrongdoing. Officers have found it to be their friend. If nobody is doing anything wrong, nobody should be worried.”
If officers are worried about dashboard cameras getting them into trouble, then maybe they should rethink their behavior while on duty. Police departments should also consider the fact that they still have 20% of cases where an officer is found guilty of some type of wrong doing.
Baldwin County criminal defense attorney John Beck said video evidence helps him decide how to proceed with a client.
“In every case where there is a possibility that a dash cam or any other camera can shed light on the facts, I’m asking for it,” Beck said. “This is all a search for the truth. And I don’t think either law enforcement or defense attorneys should be afraid to seek preservation of the truth, and having a video and audio record is absolutely the best method to preserve the truth.”
A video and/or audio recording only helps to clarify what occurred during incidents and altercations. Still, there are some concerns that remain.
But Ken Nixon, a Mobile attorney whose clients’ driving under the influence cases comprise about half his criminal defense, said the small size of the clip-on camera also creates the potential for abuse and possibly illegal recordings.
In Alabama, the law requires knowledge of a recording by at least one person in a conversation, unless a warrant is issued. That means an officer would not have to tell a suspect he’s being recorded.
But Nixon said the shirt-pocket cameras are so small they could be left inside a patrol car while an officer stepped outside.
If two suspects inside the car started talking, without knowing a camera was on, any recording of the conversation would be illegal.
While these concerns are legitimate in homes, there are arguments about the expectations of privacy when out in public. The main goal, however, should be that, if the public can be filmed by the police, then the police should be filmed by the public. This notion, however, is still very controversial and many legal questions still need to be resolved before proceeding further.
“They’re good when they’re used properly,” Nixon said. “But I think they’re invasive, if not illegal, when used improperly.”
This is one of the biggest problems that have arisen from wearable cameras. Police have been caught tampering with dash cameras whenever they are shown to have been wrong. This has ranged from cameras malfunctioning or being shut off completely during altercations and confrontations with citizens.
In order to provide the integrity of video and audio evidence, all data needs to be store off-site, with an independent third party. Anything less will leave accusations of unfairness. If the police could abide by this, then an equitable solution may be possible.
