PHI 210 – Critical Thinking

In the discussion about the pros and cons of law enforcement personnel using body cameras, I am very much in favor of the use of these cameras. The purpose of Police body cameras has proven to be beneficial for police, suspects, and victims. Body cameras have helped to create transparency and elevate accountability for all parties. The cameras have also been helpful in proving or disproving wrongdoing by law enforcement personnel. The footage from the body cameras have also been useful in providing evidence in questionable circumstances and have been used in police training exercises. Strong public support for the use of body cameras has been another benefit. I agree with all of these points and many others not discussed in the article. For more information, please refer to the article at ProCon.org or https://www.procon.org/headline.php?headlineID=005399.

The Support of Police Body Cameras

The ProCon website offered three reasons in support of law enforcement officers using body cameras. I chose these three reasons since they were the only ones provided by the site, but had there been other reasons provided I would have selected these three reasons because I agree with them. The three reasons offered by ProCon are:

Police body cameras increase the safety of the public and the police.

Studies have found that people behave differently than is usual for them when they know they are being filmed. The use of body cameras has increased both citizen and law enforcement safety since they became standard.

Police body cameras improve police accountability and protect officers from false accusations of misconduct.

Studies have shown that a person’s beliefs can affect their recall, body cameras remove doubt of events by providing an accurate account of events with both audio and visual recordings.

Police body cameras are a good tool for learning and have strong support from members of the public.

Footage collected from officer body cameras is used in training to reinforce what was done correctly and what could have been improved.

The Opposition of Police Body Cameras

As with just about any topic that reaches the public, for every positive view on police body cameras, there are also opposing viewpoints. The three opposing views that deserve further investigation are listed below, and the “believing” questions will be discussed after the presentation of each position.

Police body cameras decrease the safety of police officers and negatively affect their physical and mental health

I feel that this is an impressive view and was helpful as I read more of the explanations provided. If I were supportive of this view, I would notice the increased percentage of assaults on law enforcement and the facts about the equipment malfunctioning and possibly injuring the officers. I believe that people that are behaving badly could become angry if their actions were being filmed by an officer because of the proof of their behavior the cameras provide. I am married to a retired law enforcement officer, and he was able to share that there is a little bit of extra stress with the body cameras in remembering to turn them off before using the restroom and other such personal activities so that I can see the added stress component of this argument.

Police body cameras invade the privacy of citizens, expose victims and witnesses of crimes, and damage the police-public relationships.

It is noted in this opposing view that recording interactions between police and civilians can lead to medical conditions becoming public or witness and victims being exposed if the footage is made public. It is also believed that people seem much more hesitant to speak openly with law enforcement while being filmed or even if the camera has been turned off.

I do not feel that this view is as strongly supported as the first view. I think that this stance leads more to speculation than facts. I did find interest in the comment about witnesses or victims being exposed if the footage was made public. This point had me do some research to see how much of the camera footage is made public, the bulk of my research came from the Reporters Committee website: https://www.rcfp.org/resources/bodycams/. While there are many bills introduced to make the footage public, there does not seem to be much progress in this area. Only Alabama had a court case decide the rules regarding public access to the footage. My belief on this matter is that should the footage eventually be made public that victims and witnesses identities would be protected. In the event the footage becomes available to the public this would be a legitimate concern to protect witnesses and victims.

Police body cameras are too expensive and are unreliable.

This viewpoint cited the cost in numerous locations throughout the United States for equipping officers with body cameras and all of the additional costs that most may not have considered, such as training, data storage facilities, extra staff to manage the data and maintenance costs. The numbers provided were substantial and bore earnest consideration. Interestingly worth mentioning was that a sheriff’s office in Virginia has stopped using the body cameras do to technical issues with the camera and difficulty integrating with the IT systems in the station. I found this view helpful and thought-provoking giving me a host of other ideas to consider. The main point that I would notice if this were a view I believed is the sheer expense of the equipment. Comprehensive research would be a requirement for stations and areas wishing to invest in body cameras for the officers.

Types of Bias Likely Encountered during Evaluation of Opposing Views

As Baer (2017) explained our reactions to incidents create a chemical that affects the brain and associated emotions with actions based on the compound the body produces in response to the event. Four chemicals are produced that can impact our activities and decision making, these chemicals are:

Endorphin – a natural pain killer

Dopamine – associated with romantic love, increased motivation, intensely focused attention, and many goal-directed behaviors

Serotonin – pride, a harmonious nature, and self-acceptance

Oxytocin – safety, trust, forgetfulness, and a reduced capacity to think and reason

In addition to a chemical interfering with brain actions and decision making numerous cognitive biases are responsible for distorting our thinking process. The two types of bias that I experienced while evaluating the positions stated above are the confirmation bias and the anchoring bias.

Confirmation Bias

Confirmation bias states that people are more likely to hear information that confirms beliefs that they already have formed. People naturally seem to look for information that confirms what they already believe to be true (Cherry, 2018). I was raised believing that law enforcement officers are the peacekeepers in society and that they are driven by honor and integrity and should be revered with respect and compliance. As I have grown I have seen that law enforcement officers are people, there are good and bad officers because there are good and bad people, but I still believe that they deserve more respect than they are being given by some groups.

Anchoring Bias

Anchoring bias states that people are overly influenced by the first piece of information that they receive whether visually or by hearing (Cherry, 2018). My dad was an MP for 12 years in the Navy. We grew up around many law enforcement officers. My earliest ideas about officers were that they were quality men doing an impossible job and receiving little praise or gratitude.

As I have grown and watched the news and heard the stories of police violence, I still find myself believing that if the person in question had obeyed the commands from the officer that the episodes of force would be significantly reduced. I understand that sometimes circumstance does not allow a non-violent resolution, but many violent outcomes could be avoided by showing respect to the officers. When presented with a news story of violence committed by an officer on a citizen I withhold judgment until the entire story comes to light, usually from the officers own body camera. After reading up on the bias that affects our decision making, I’m more confident than ever that the confirmation bias and the anchoring bias are forms of the enculturation that I received as a child.

Did the “Believing Game” Cause a Change in Thinking

I must admit that the Believing Game, and my competitive nature of not wanting to lose a game, forced me to open my mind to the different perspectives shown in the opposing arguments, two of the discussions were quite persuasive with the statistics and the way the information was presented. I was forced to admit that even as I played the game and attempted to open my way of thinking I could hear that little voice in my head arguing with the opposing views. I had to read them each numerous times to be able to embrace the opposing views long enough to honestly answer the believing game questions. While my thinking has changed in minor ways, my overall position of the topic remains unchanged. The stance I could not support was the invasion of privacy view. In a day when people film events and people with little to no thought of attack of, or rights to privacy, I fail to comprehend how an officer using a body camera to keep everyone honest has become an issue.

I feel that body cameras for law enforcement should be standard issue gear, like their firearm or a bullet-proof vest. Since the use of body cameras has increased the episodes of violence committed by law enforcement had decreased, and the violence perpetrated by the civilians towards law enforcement has also decreased. The camera increase accountability on both sides of the argument and have been helpful in court to accurately relay the facts that would most likely have been skewed by emotions, stress, or biases. In this digital age, cameras are an ally to everyone.

REFERENCES

Baer, M. B., Esq. (2017, June 30). Your Biases And Beliefs Are Impacting Your Decision-Making. Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/empathy-and-relationships/201706/your-biases-and-beliefs-are-impacting-your-decision-making

Cherry, K. (2018, November 6). How Cognitive Biases Influence How You Think and Act. Retrieved from https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-a-cognitive-bias-2794963

ProCon.org. (2018, May 25). Police Body Cameras: Top 3 Pros and Cons. Retrieved from http://www.procon.org/headline.php?headlineID=005399