White House's Community Policing Forum....Your Thoughts?


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  1. I feel that putting cameras on cops would make things better but in a way it could make things worse as well. People might get intimidated by the cameras that people will be like "Oh look at me and my camera, I can do the same thing as you." That's not right. People are forgetting that cops are above the people of the united states. There not realizing that cops are just doing there job and trying to help people. Now yes there are some bad cops but not all of them are bad. Most of them are good and just doing there job. bodybuilder456

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    1. I agree that body cams will be a big solution to a lot of problems in our police force. A big problem with policing right now is that when an altercation happens, it is usually the officers word vs. the accused word. If there is a camera in play recording what is happening, there will be no debate. They will be able to pull up and see whatever it is that happened. If the police officer was out of line, it will be seen and acted on accordingly, likewise for the accused.

      Earthquake 456

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  2. I feel like having body cameras can be good and bad. the good about the body camera is that when the cop is dealing with a person from a distance the body camera will catch what is happening. The bad thing is when a cop is goes hands on with a person the camera will not be able to catch every thing that is going on in that scenario. when the distance is taken away from that camera the only thing you will get from it will be the audio from the footage.then with in the next couple years they will have bigger debates on the facail reconition and other high tech policing strategies.-savage456

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    1. I don't think that having body cameras will help anything. the reason why people are so mad at the police is because they are caught on camera doing something controversial. I mean don't get me wrong they could defiantly be a helpful tool but I'm not sure if it is a good idea.
      KLICK456

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  3. One big thing they discussed was community relationships with police officers. I feel that currently people and police officers have a poor relationship. Many people see police officers as the problem when they should be seen as the solution. I find it funny that the areas that seem to trust the police the least, need the police the most. They mentioned that police need to be taught more people skills. I completely agree, police officers are taught how to handle criminals, but are they taught how to handle people. Maybe they need lessons in how to calm down a frantic citizen or how to comfort a victim.

    Earthquake 456

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    1. Absolutely, glad you brought that up. I feel that this needs to be stressed more. I've seen Pekin's Police Department engaging in their community via their Facebook page. Networking will benefit the community as the police can show what they have been doing and being more of their local news outlet. For an example as of the last weekend 9/5-6, Pekin police have made 22 arrests. On top of that they broke down the arrests by category.
      I also saw they did coffee with a cop, something simple could strengthen connections among the citizens with law enforcement by seeing who is there keeping them safe.
      Palmdaddy456

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    2. I agree that if police are involved with their community just a little bit more that this world would be a much better place. When I am a police officer I'm going to not only do my job but do above and beyond it, such playing ball with the kids that live next door or attending people's cookouts. I believe that I would get more respect out of that. bodybuilder456

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  4. In my opinion the body cam is a genius idea because it will limit the amount of excessive force claims and hold the officer to a higher standard. Cameras also will hold the suspect accountable, showing the whole story. Body cameras are geared toward showing the whole report opposed to a 30 second cell phone video claiming they are wrongfully detained/arrested. Now with this technology people will see the whole confrontation from the beginning to the end. We are all humans a make mistakes, but this will also help identify if an act of force was justifiable or not and if the actions taken fit the result. I don't think it will lower crime but it will set things straight if the police are called. I like how the retired officer said, "This all has a cost." The cost isn't just a monetary one but a practical one for a democratic society. I was thinking once we overcome this discussion what's next? In the future do we want to keep relying on technology? Since facial recognition software is on the radar and is coming quicker than we can deal with it, we must figure if the costs are worth it in the end.
    As a side note, there was a lot of interesting points and the video allowed me to think more openly from both perspectives.
    Palmdaddy456

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    1. I agree with you when you say that the body camera is a good idea. It will also help "weed out" the bad officers out there. It will also make it so people know the whole story. Body cameras will make it so that it won't have the same appeal to video tapping. dance456

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  5. One of the things that caught my attention was when they discussed their recruiting strategies. Teaching cops how to shoot and drive a car is all part of being a good cop but their is more to being a cop then that. I think the thing they should be teaching is people skills. All people need to be dealt in a certain way to not cause a conflict. I think that all police are dealing with people all the same way and it is causing problems. Also they mentioned the public wanting certain information to be given out, whether it be about the police officer involved in the situation or the victim, the information is nobody's business and could endanger the officer or his family. When they talked about the advanced technology coming up in todays world it made me think that I don't know if all of the technology is necessary to protect and serve. Face recognition scanners and license plate scanners are almost like the technology doing the work for the officer and I don't like that. They mentioned a lot of really good points and I hope that all of the stuff the mentioned actually makes a difference.
    KLICK456

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    1. I couldn't agree with you more when they talked about the recruiting strategies, it's something that's very important. People skills is something major that needs to be taught! People don't just have people skills, they need to be enforced a lot more. Not even with police, I think with all professions.
      -dicaprio456

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  6. The biggest thing that caught my attention was the recruiting strategies. Teaching a cop how to drive and shoot is, is part of being a cop but it's bigger than that. You want someone who has PEOPLE SKILLS. I think that hit the head on the nail for me. Being a police officer isn't about having a gun and getting to arrest people. It's about being good with people, how to talk to people. People skills is a major factor when you are a police officer. Also, something major was said which I think should be said more often. He said "white officer and a white suspect, wasn't the right dynamic for the media." I think it's very true, that the media makes it about race. Just because a cop is white and the suspect was black, right off the bat everyone thinks that cop is racist when in reality he isn't at all.( not saying they're aren't people who don't have their bias) As cops we take an oath, the oath is color blind, I wish more people would realize that. Unfortunately, no matter what we do to try and stop racism it's always going to be there! This gives people a lot to think about -dicaprio456

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    1. I agree with you on finding a cop that has good people skills is a plus. All of your work in being a cop is interacting with people so you need to know how to talk to people. I also agree on that the media is making it seem like cops are racist and are only targeting the other race. In reality cops arrest about the same of each race and they give everyone no matter what race equal rights until a person abuses their rights. dragons456

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    2. I completely agree that police interaction with people is very important. Yes, you need to know how to respond with the use of a weapon and make arrests, but social skills are very important when it comes to Law Enforcement. As a police officer, you are interacting with people all day. You need to be able to pick up on physical body ques, and be able to solve why people are acting/behaving they way they are. For example in class on Wednesday, we mentioned how people are not their normal self and that you "aren't really talking to that person." That is why social skills need to be addressed as a more important subject in Law Enforcement. Broncos456

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  7. I think police officers wearing body cams could have both positive and negative effects. The positive effects are that if someone the police officer arrests says that the officer abused them they can review the film and see if the suspect is telling the truth or just making up a lie. Another positive effect is that it could keep the officer more safe by the people they are dealing with know that they are being recorded so they will be less likely to try and attack or harm the officer. One good positive effect is the body cam will show the whole story of an incident not a short recording someone took on their phone so it could help people understand that cops aren't doing bad things and they are actually doing their jobs and keeping people safe. It could help changes people thoughts on cops that they are good people and not out to discriminate against certain people. The body cam could also come with some negative effects too. One negative effect is that people might feel intimidated by being recored and knowing everything they do or say will be recored. It could also cause some people to act different when confronted by a cop with a body cam because they don't want to be recorded. dragons456

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    1. I believe the effects you listed as negative sound pretty positive to me. I may be understanding it wrong, but if people feel pressured to not do something wrong because they are being recorded, then isn't that a good thing? Officers and citizens feeling like they should act maturely and correctly because they are being recorded is a reason why body cameras should be enforced in certain areas of our country. It prevents things such as police brutality, racism, and simply dishonesty from happening.

      OldHollywood456

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  8. Having body cameras on police officers I think would solve a lot of problems. When people say that an officer used an "excessive" amount of force, they can go back and look. It will save a lot of time and money. But at the same time, I feel officers should not have to wear cameras. If a cop asks you to do something, just do it. They have the authority. If you are nice to them, chances are they'll be nice and respect you. -rose456

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  9. I honestly believe that having trust in the community is very important. If citizens do not trust the police how do they expect them to keep them safe. Police officers are around to make communities safer places to live. Without trust then it is harder to feel safe. Officers need to build a better relationships with people in the community. Trust is very fragile. It is easy to destroy, but hard to gain. Officers where I'm from have a great relationship with the community. I always feel safe where I live because of the relationship built here. I also live in a small jurisdiction. I do not think that the size of it should matter. Officers should always get involved with the community. This videos other points are very good points. All the things spoken about in my opinion will help make the police report better. Trust is just the topic that stood out to me the most. dance456

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    1. I love how you mention that trust is an important aspect or a healthy relationship. Whether it it between the community, personal relationships, or between officers and citizens. It's sad how the trust between cops and citizens can be ruined by the corrupted cops though.

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    2. Number1Whiteguy456 from the previous comment

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  10. One part of this video that I thought was especially important was bridging the gap we currently have between police officers and the community. It was stated in this video that there are community members that want to be involved in keeping their towns or cities safe. If this gap is filled between police officers and citizens, then the community as a whole will grow. When members of the community feel that they are not united with the police in their area, then they will act out and things like gangs will get out of hand. If we want policing to be more successful in keeping crime down, mending the relationship between police officers and citizens is crucial. Trust is necessary both ways for a community to be united. This being said, having police officers wear body cameras is a somewhat violation of the trust that is critical to the creation of a united community, but may be necessary to keep those citizens safe. Recently, police brutality has been common in departments across the nation. Although it may not be necessary to have policemen and women in every department in the nation to wear body cameras, it may be helpful to the community to have policemen who are in areas such as Ferguson, Missouri to wear cameras such as these to keep the community safe.

    OldHollywood456

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  11. The body cam topic is something that I personally feel will benefit all police officers. Most videos posted on the news and social media don't contain the part of the video where the police officer was doing his job, or when the suspect wasn't following orders. But the sad part is most of society does not realize that. They go ahead and believe that the cop used force or fired their weapon for no reason. The body camera allows for the entire clip to be filmed, from the time the officer leaves his car to the time he gets back in. This could also force the few "bad" cops to do their job better. The relationship between society and law enforcement is getting worse every time a video is posted. It leaves society with the question, Was that officer really doing the right thing or not? Body cams will bring justice to the officers being wrongfully accused of certain scenarios that were altered to make the officer look like he/she was in the wrong. Broncos456

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    1. I agree with your thoughts on the body cameras. I think it is a great idea, but honestly, how are law enforcement agencies going to pay for all of those specially deigned cameras for each individual officer? I like the fact that it would bring justice to a case and help decide who is really guilty or innocent, but I just think it is too expensive of an operation to actually follow through with. -Eclipse

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    2. Thats a good point I never thought about that. Body cameras would be very expensive for every single officer. It could be possible to lower the costs by just purchasing enough for the officers on duty. Also most of this police brutality stuff is happening in bigger cities such as new york and chicago. So maybe the bigger cities should really be the ones who need these body cameras the most.

      GodFieri456

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  12. The relationship between police officers and civilians is a very important thing when talking about law enforcement. They discussed police receiving more training for how to handle different types of situations. Most police deal with criminals from day to day, but in other situations, the people who need help are not criminals. This is why I agree that police need more training to handle different types of situations. If police respected the civilians of society, then society will respect them. Cops should not have to wear body cameras at all times. If they were properly trained to handle different "non-criminal" situations, then they would not have to wear them. Though, I think that it is a good idea, some people disagree because in order to fund those cameras, somebody has to pay for them, and in this case, it would be the people and their tax dollars. This debate about cameras and police abusing their power could go on forever and never be solved, I think the cameras are an appropriate solution for now, but hopefully that will change, -Eclipse456

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  13. One thing that intrigued me was the way the police are trained to deal with situation. The're out of date methods don't seem to work anymore because the crime has shifted to a more localized domestic type of crime. Crime that needs to be carefully handled. Cops need to be trained to understand that they have the power to control a persons life and with that power comes powerful responsibility. Some policemen are already aware of this and will turn the other cheek and let some petty crime go. Another thing that they mentioned in the debate was that the MEDIA has influence on what people think cops do. Busting down doors, getting suited up in riot gear, and shooting people. It impacts the viewers in a negative way because it lets them become fearful of cops. Last they mention about using body cams as a way of evidence for the court system to one protect the cop from being wronged, and two to prove the suspect guilty. I think it is a brilliant idea, but sadly it is expensive to successfully accomplish.
    Number1Whiteguy456

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  14. I personally think body cameras can be a double edge sword. On one side they can be really good because officers wouldn't do as many illegal activities because they know that they will be caught. Also if a problem comes up with that officer they can just go back and look at the footage. On the other hand it wont be able to catch everything that is going on. The body cameras should be implemented because I think it is a small step in the right path towards reform. I also like the point made about the relationship between the law enforcement officers and the community members. if there is not a good relationship between them then the community will not trust the police officers to keep them safe. If that relationship is closer then there will be a lot more trust between them and a safer community.


    GodFieri456

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