insideKENT Magazine Issue 26 - May 2014 | Page 142

MOTORS

BIG MOTORING WORLD
HOW WILL BODY-WORN CAMERAS AFFECT
THE MOTORING WORLD?

The announcement that police will wear cameras
while on duty has caused quite a stir in the media
recently. Mixed opinions have appeared online,
with some people convinced that their introduction
will be beneficial to all concerned, while others
believe that only the police will benefit. From the
public’s perspective, these cameras will
theoretically encourage trust in officers, as well
as minimising confusion over what has happened
during controversial incidents. These cameras
will be able to provide indisputable evidence in
a way that human witnesses cannot.
Research undertaken in an area of California
where cameras have already been issued,
suggests that they could be quite the success.
With an 88% decrease in complaints filed against
officers, and a 60% reduction in occasions where
officers made use of force, their use seems entirely
justified; however, the public is sceptical.
The primary concern voiced across the
internet has been that police officers will be at
liberty to turn these cameras off at any given
time. In fact, it appears that they will be expected
to have them off the majority of the time, only
switching them on when an incident is anticipated.
This gives a credible excuse for missing evidence.
On the other hand, concerns have arisen
over how these cameras may invade privacy.
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO)
warns that before introducing these devices in

more areas, councils should consider whether
there is, in fact, a requirement for the footage
these cameras would capture. They also point
out that the public will need to be made aware
of, and appropriately informed of, the use of
these cameras. While the view may be extreme,
there are those who have pointed out similarities
to the world in which George Orwell’s 1984 was
set. In particular, parents may be concerned
about their children’s day-to-day lives being
captured on camera.
So how, exactly, do these cameras affect
you as a motorist?
Marcus Jeter, a driver in the USA, was
charged with eluding police, resisting arrest, and
assault in 2012. While there was evidence to the
contrary recorded by a dash camera, this was
initially buried as it reflected poorly on the police,
who had brutally beaten him and dragged him
from his car. Similarly, a police car hit an SUV,
and then arrested the man in it, in order to cover
up their mistake. Luckily for Robert Jackson, the
innocent man who had been sitting in the SUV,
had his ordeal caught on camera. While both of
these incidents occurred in the USA, there are
numerous cases of British police telling equally
heinous lies. It was recently found that a British
officer had been demanding that speeding drivers
pay on-the-spot fines when stopped. These fines
were bogus, and it was uncovered that the officer

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was keeping the money. Will body-worn cameras
bring a halt to these kinds of occurrences, or will
they simply be switched off to hide the
corruption?
While people appear to be worried about
their pri f7