Police Body Cameras: A Failed Promise of Accountability

Despite Millions Spent, Control and Release of Footage Often Remains in Hands of Police Departments

Police body cameras, introduced over the past decade in police departments across the U.S., have failed to deliver on their promise of accountability, according to a ProPublica investigation.
Despite costing taxpayers millions of dollars, the control and release of footage often remains in the hands of the police departments themselves, leading to allegations of selective and delayed release, and lack of transparency.
The case of Miguel Richards, a 31-year-old man shot by New York Police Department officers in 2017, highlights these issues. The department released edited footage of the incident, but withheld the full video for months.
Even when departments have stated policies of transparency, they don’t always follow them. For example, the New York Police Department has released footage within a month in only two out of 380 critical incidents since 2018.
Despite the potential of body cameras to provide objective evidence in cases of police misconduct, their effectiveness is often undermined by department policies and practices, such as officers deciding when to start filming, and officers being allowed to view footage before giving any statements.