UK Police’s body cameras builds trust between police, students

Illustration+provided+to+Kernel+By+Joel+Pett

Illustration provided to Kernel By Joel Pett

 

The University of Kentucky and the UK Police Department made the right call in buying body cameras for their police officers.

City police will likely join the club; the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government is expected to approve a $600,000 project Tuesday to provide their police with body cameras.

The amount and notoriety of police brutality in recent months and years has led to a nationwide call for these tools of accountability.

Lexington’s plan to give its officers body cameras was initially halted by questions about how much it would cost, but the council reversed its decision in late June.

UK paid about $29,000 for their body cameras. The plan has been in the works for nearly two years, and the university bought enough cameras for every on-duty officer. The cameras will strap to their uniforms, and officers will be required to turn them on whenever they interact with people.

“We were doing this way before Ferguson, researching them,” said UK Police Chief Joe Monroe. “It’s going to really make sure the officers … are really held to a higher standard.”

UK and Lexington should be applauded for these plans. Public officials authorized to use lethal force should be held to the highest standard.

Tragedies like the police shooting in South Carolina when officer Michael Slager gunned down Walter Scott as he was running away are now less likely, as officers will have to think twice about being quick on the trigger.

This is true especially considering that video footage is what contradicted Slager’s account of the shooting, and is likely the only reason he was brought up on charges.

According to a yearlong study performed by Police Foundation Executive Fellow Chief Tony Farrar, body cameras led to a 50 percent reduction in the use of force by the city police, and ten times fewer citizen complaints than in the year prior to the study.

Many major cities, such as Washington, D.C., Miami and Houston, have body cameras for their police departments, and others like New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Louisville have plans to implement them.

Some major cities such as Boston and Kansas City, however, have no body cameras or any serious plans to buy them. This should be a no-brainer.

Body cameras will improve accountability and transparency, it’s as simple as that.

Critics of body cameras say they’re not a good use of a police’s limited resources, but these same police departments often have enough money to supply buy Humvees, riot gear and military equipment.

Police brutality is an unfortuante reality, and thanks to video evidence, it has recently been in the spotlight.

Most officers are morally upstanding people, but videos of police shootings show that far too many cops are quick to shoot first, and serve and protect later.