So This Happened

"Thank you for pulling out the Race Card, I never hear that!"

This Cop is Joe Sarcasm.

His other greatest hit is, "I'm mildly interested that you have a publicist, but I will have your ID."

I've had this tab opened since Ferguson -- In California, the cops' wearing of body cameras reduces claims of violence lodged against police, and also reduces actual police use of force.

In short, body cameras on officers makes everyone behave just a little bit better. Cops act a bit better because they know they're on tape, and the people they interact with and arrest also act a bit better -- because they too know they're on tape.

I don't know why we just don't do this already.

Rialto, a small, working-class city that bakes in the San Bernardino foothills outside Los Angeles, appeared in the films Transformers and The Hangover. Among law enforcers, however, it is becoming better known for pioneering the use of body cameras on police officers.

Over the past year all 70 of its uniformed officers have been kitted out with the oblong devices, about the size of stubby cigars, and the results have emboldened police forces elsewhere in the US and in the UK to follow suit.

...

[] Rialto's randomised controlled study has seized attention because it offers scientific -- and encouraging -- findings: after cameras were introduced in February 2012, public complaints against officers plunged 88% compared with the previous 12 months. Officers' use of force fell by 60%.

"When you know you're being watched you behave a little better. That's just human nature," said Farrar. "As an officer you act a bit more professional, follow the rules a bit better."

posted by Ace at 03:00 PM

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