Body cameras, starting Feb. 1, have been given to University Police to wear. The idea behind them is they could capture any potential corruption or inappropriate behavior. Then, if someone claims the police mistreated them, the entire situation will be documented.

The recordings cannot be tampered with or deleted. The footage captured will be automatically deleted after 60 days, according to Syracuse.com. If there is an issue, the police can save the footage in question in order to look over it. The footage will remain indefinitely.

The most notable argument people have against these body cameras is the steep prices. The camera itself would cost around $1,000, but the storage for all of the footage can cost much more than that. Oswego State’s body cameras are funded by its equipment account. While the prices may be high, this could potentially stop someone from being incarcerated when they do not deserve it or stop a police officer from being accused of brutality if they did not do it.

The potential problems the cameras may solve more than make up for the steep prices. A police officer wearing a body camera should have nothing to hide, and therefore, not feel negatively about wearing it. If wearing a body camera leads to a police officer getting into trouble for misconduct, then they should not have been doing whatever it was to get in trouble. Police officers that are corrupt should be aware their actions have consequences, especially when there is photographic evidence of what they were doing.

At the same time, there have been many issues lately surrounding the mistreatment of people, especially those of color, by the hands of corrupt police officers. The presence of a body camera could make potentially hazy situations more clear, so those investigating would not have to make a decision on who to trust. The footage would say it all.

Many police encounters have been live-streamed by civilians who are concerned that they will be mistreated. Some, however, were not so lucky. When they went to get the officers who used unnecessary force in trouble for their actions, there was no proof and no one believed them. Whether their claims were true or false, this is not relevant to the argument at hand. If the brutality was recorded, there would be no question on whether they were being honest.

Implementing body cameras on officers would aid both the officers and the civilians, given both of them are treating each other with respect. If civilians and police officers have nothing to hide, then they have nothing to lose by the use of body cameras.