Reference no: EM133428107

Police Body Cameras have been a hot topic in today's society as many incidents have unfolded with regard to the use and the effectiveness of this device. Body Cameras have been around for at least two decades as they were developed in the early twenty first century primarily for two reasons. The first reason was that these cameras would help to deter police misconduct as they would be able to record the officer's actions when interacting with the public. The second reason is that these types of cameras can provide sufficient evidence for criminal cases as they are able to record the actions that officers and citizens take in a police situation. The first test of the use of body cameras were conducted in England by Devon and Cornwall police officers. The results of this test significantly proved that the body cameras are helpful for law enforcement and the public as Sir Bernard Hogan Howe, the commissioner of the Metropolitan police was quoted to say "video was a 'compelling piece of evidence' and would help to record situations that were previously 'really hard to capture', such as a frightened child while on other occasions, "the mere presence of this video can defuse potentially violent situations"(BBC, 8 May 2014).

In many countries around the world today including England, Australia and the United States, most law enforcement officers are required use body cameras. The use of body cameras for law enforcement officers in the United States has been strongly advocated for as they have been essential in recording and documenting various incidents between law enforcement and the public. Such incidents include the deaths of Eric Gardener, Ezell Ford and Walter Scott, who were all killed in the hands of law enforcement officers. Incidents such as these have spurred the movement to create and utilize body cameras for all law enforcement officers in local, state and federal jurisdictions across the country as society was losing its faith and trust in law enforcement personnel due to the increasing number of deadly incidents. Law makers in the United States sub-committee hearing in 2015 argued that actions must be taken to repair the relationship between law enforcement and the public. This meeting concluded that police officers need to wear body cameras in order to mitigate and reduce the chances of police misconduct from occurring.

Police officers in many countries around the world follow a set of ethical principles which are heavily influenced by the Peelian principles. This set of guidelines were developed from Sir Robert Peel, who is known as the father of modern policing. These principles outline the general out come and behavior of law enforcement officers when interacting with the public and highlights that physical force or deadly force should never be sought out unless it is absolutely necessary in a situation. These principles are important as they explain to anyone who is interested in pursuing a career in law enforcement that the goal of this job is to protect and serve the public with compassion and respect, not to use this position of power for one's self interest. Body Cameras can help to enforce these ethics as a police officer's actions are always going to be watched when interacting with the public.

There have been many arguments regarding the use of body cameras in law enforcement as some see this device as a necessary stepping stone to discovering the truth in criminal investigations such as use of excessive force. Others argue that this device can lead to privacy implications with regard to the freedom of information rules which govern that an individual's information taken from a police body cam is subject to receiving protection against unauthorized sources such as the news or journalists. Overall, body cameras are a still a major topic in police reform today as there have been many positive outcomes in implementing these cameras such as reducing the probability of excessive force by police officers, being able to see first-hand footage on what exactly happened during a situation, etc. Some downsides of using the cameras include the possibility of misinterpreting actions that have occurred in a situation and the possibility of officers twisting their statements to justify their actions in the recording after reviewing their body cam footage from the incident.

Reflective Analysis

My essay is aimed towards anyone who wants to learn about the history of body cameras and whether or not they are effective in law enforcement today. The scholarly article that I have translated from is very detailed and generally focuses on the implementation of body cameras and its outcomes in the United States. I decided to incorporate a different title for my essay as I aimed to develop a title that would be understandable for the readers. This title would also be able to promote intertest in the topic as the title is designed to hook a reader's interest.

Structure

The overall structure of my essay follows suit with the scholarly article. I explained the history regarding the beginning of body cameras in law enforcement. I then proceeded to explain the desire and/or interest of using body cameras in law enforcement in the United States due to the rise of deadly incidents that have occurred between police officers and the public. This essay also discusses key principles such as the Peelian principles which are essential to governing police actions and behavior in any situation. Lastly, I discuss the pros and cons of body camera use that has been argued in the criminal justice community. I decided to follow this format as it easily explains the reasoning and history behind the decisions and views towards body camera use in law enforcement in the United States.

Language

The language of the scholarly article is easy to understand as the author uses simple terms that are well known to the public such as police and deterrence. The author explains the information in a very clear and understandable way which easily leads the reader from one part of the topic to the next such as the history of body cameras and then the push to implement this device among law enforcement in the United States. I have designed my writing to incorporate facts and information that flows from one sentence to the next. I do this so that reader can build upon the information learned in order to understand the main debate in the essay.

Reference Conventions

Professor Otu used many references for his article which has helped to explain the topic at hand and has also provided valuable research data that explains the overall arguments of using body cameras for law enforcement. In my essay, I have decided to highlight the reasoning behind each argument about the use of body cameras and I leave it to the reader in the end to decide whether or not each argument is sensible. There are no supplemental pictures such as graphs and or figures in the article as it is not necessarily needed. In my essay, I have decided to use a few pictures to assist the reader in interpreting the topic being discussed in the paper.

Purpose

This essay provides a lot of detailed information about the creation of body cameras and the overall benefits these cameras could bring to law enforcement such as reducing misconduct or excessive force. I wrote this essay in a way that would greatly inform the reader about the reasoning behind the creation of body cameras as well as the arguments supporting the use of these cameras during law enforcement interactions with the public. This translation of the article is written to guide the reader from one subject of the topic to the next such as the transition between the ethics of law enforcement and how body cameras can ensure these ethical principles are used and maintained. This flow would help the reader in the end to decide whether or not body cameras are needed for current law enforcement activities in the United States.

1. How well does the translation present the original scholarly ideas to you as a general, non-specialist reader? At any point, does your classmate's translation seem to overlook or misrepresent important ideas that you assume the original article discussed?

2. Does the author consider your expectations and needs as a reader? At what points does the essay seem logically confusing or seem like a point is not explained in enough detail?

3. How thorough is the author's reflection on their rhetorical choices in Part Two? Do they discuss their writing process in enough detail that you gain insight into the genre conventions they had to change while translating?

4. How can the paragraphing, logical flow, or structure of either part of the essay be improved?

5. Identify at least one aspect of their translation that they need to discuss in more detail in the reflection in Part Two.