Emerging Technology:
Wearable surveillance cameras on police officers uniforms.
In the spring of 1998, New Jersey police pulled over a van on the turnpike with 4
young black male passengers on their way to basket ball tryouts at NCCU. The debate on
what happened next is a mystery, the men said they were cooperating, but police charged
at the van driver angrily, backed up and tried to run them over. The result was, the police
fired and 3 of the 4 men were wounded. When the police finally searched the van, there
were no weapons, drugs or anything illegal but basketball equipment and a bible (Sugrue
2010).
Even though many police agencies have video cameras mounted inside the car, the
camera can tape in front of the police car to get footage of the definite driver, or they can
also be used to video tape the suspect inside the car. Although they have cameras it isn’t
showing what is happening and being said during the direct face to face interactions with
some police profiling cases
.
According to ABC Channel 10 News broadcasted in San Diego on March 13, 2014
San Diego will be the first to use these new wearable cameras on their uniforms. All traffic
stops, field interviews and arrest will be recorded and labeled with case numbers and