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posted by n1 on Thursday August 28 2014, @11:55AM   Printer-friendly
from the it-wasn't-me dept.

David Kravets writes that US Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO) says police departments nationwide should require their officers to wear body cameras in order to qualify for the hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding they receive each year. "Everywhere I go, people now have cameras," said McCaskill during a question-and-answer session with voters in her home state of Missouri. "And police officers are now at a disadvantage because someone can tape the last part of an encounter and not tape the first part of the encounter. And it gives the impression that the police officer has overreacted when they haven't."

Only a small number of US police departments have outfitted their officers with body cameras, including forces in Fresno, California; Oakland; Rialto, California; Pittsburgh; Salt Lake City; and Cincinnati. A recent study with the Rialto Police Department showed that use-of-force incidents and citizen complaints have been dramatically curtailed since the department began wearing body cams [PDF].

 
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  • (Score: 1) by WillAdams on Thursday August 28 2014, @01:33PM

    by WillAdams (1424) on Thursday August 28 2014, @01:33PM (#86718)

    That's why I prefer to live somewhere that the Sheriff is an elected official.

  • (Score: 2) by strattitarius on Thursday August 28 2014, @02:34PM

    by strattitarius (3191) on Thursday August 28 2014, @02:34PM (#86738) Journal
    Sheriff is an elected position in the US. Unfortunately, the sheriff isn't actually in charge of much.
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  • (Score: 4, Interesting) by Thexalon on Thursday August 28 2014, @02:39PM

    by Thexalon (636) on Thursday August 28 2014, @02:39PM (#86741)

    I don't: Elected sheriffs, judges, and prosecutors often are most afraid of appearing to be "soft on crime", so they will trump up charges against people who are unable to defend themselves in a court of law to increase the numbers of people they've put away. The targets of that kind of policing end up with criminal convictions that prevent them from voting.

    What you actually want is a mayor and council who understand that just because the police want something doesn't mean it's good for law and order, and keeps them on an accordingly tight leash.

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