Potential Benefits

The potential benefits of police-worn body-cameras can be demonstrated by the findings of early users of body-cameras. Chief James Stewart of the Anderson, South Carolina Police Department stated that their department has had body-cameras since 2012 and that they have been used to deal with complaints, provide better prosecution and document police activity later used in "civil liability cases" (Marks, 2015). Potential benefits are highlighted by "low-key" usage, such as the Anderson PD, before the surge in popularity of body-cameras. In addition, body-cameras have the potential to "strengthen and enhance transparency and accountability in the police department" (Ferrarin, 2015). Ferrarin is referring to the police department of Elgin, Illinois, however, the aforementioned potential benefit can be logically generalized to police departments/sheriff offices across the United States. Not only may citizens benefit from body-cameras, but officers may as well. Ferrarin includes a quote from Officer Thomas Coffield stating that "...the transparency that body cameras provide make me feel further protected from the possibility of false complaints" (2015). In addition to reassuring both citizen and officer, body-cameras can help remove a lot of uncertainty in court rooms amongst the jury by painting a clearer picture of what may have happened in typical and complex situations ("Police Perspective: The Pros and Cons of Police Body Cameras," Erstad, 2016). Erstad, notes that generally people behave when they know they are being watched (2016). Another potential benefit noted by Erstad is that videos recorded from a body-camera allows for self-evaluation and self-improvement by the officer (2016).