The events in Ferguson, Missouri, serve as a powerful wake-up call for the need for body cameras on all police officers. As it stands now, neither the Madison Police Department nor the University of Wisconsin Police Department have plans to equip officers with personal body cameras. Local police departments should embrace this common sense technology and the transparency it will undoubtedly bring.

At the city level, Ald. Scott Resnick, District 8, introduced a body camera proposal during a Public Safety Review committee meeting in September. However, the resulting debate regarding cost and privacy issues, along with resistance from within MPD, has stalled the process indefinitely.

Similarly, UWPD spokesperson Marc Lovicott said in an email to The Badger Herald that while the department is aware of the discourse surrounding body cameras, it has no plans to implement the technology in the near future.

Police departments have used dashboard surveillance cameras for decades in case of high-liability situations. However, these cameras are inherently limited. With a significant amount of UWPD and MPD’s patrolling being on foot, dashboard cameras are unable to capture the entire scope of police interactions.

Body cameras fill this void.

Not only do body cameras clear up any ambiguities, they also help prevent wrongdoing both by and against officers. Knowing that one’s actions are being recorded deters stupid behavior. These cameras would be especially valuable in a campus environment, where many interactions with police are inflamed by alcohol.

Indeed, in the first year of a randomized trial of body camera use in Rialto, California, complaints against officers fell by 88 percent, while incidences in which officers used force fell nearly 60 percent.

The main objections to equipping police with cameras — namely cost and privacy concerns — are largely unfounded. With technological improvements, the cost of both cameras and storage has fallen dramatically in recent years, and will continue to do so. While it is understandable that people might be concerned about their privacy, the reality is that downtown Madison is already blanketed with security cameras. Besides, if a body camera is recording somebody, they are in view of an officer anyway. As long as some basic controls are put in place, like deleting footage after a set period of time, body cameras pose almost no threat to individual privacy.

Even though video evidence may not be conclusive in every case — footage is open for interpretation — the use of body cameras is mutually beneficial to the public and law enforcement. Just as dashboard cameras have become commonplace among police departments across the country, body cameras will eventually become an important tool in police accountability. We hope that UWPD and MPD will be leaders rather than followers.