Police cameras are more important than ever

Shreveport, Louisiana (KSLA)-People and local governments across the country have been closely monitoring the situation in Minneapolis.

One problem that keeps coming up is buying more police cameras. The current events in Minneapolis have once again raised concerns about the need for more human cameras.

The Shreveport Police Department currently has 90 body cameras, but the department's five-year plan requires the purchase of 400 body cameras or all officers.

Just to cite an obvious example, in 2019, Shreveport's Mother's Day melee proved the necessity of a human camera. In the end, the police's body camera videotape caused the Caddo Parish grand jury to refuse to charge any of the four arrested that day. .

Instead, two police officers faced criminal charges.

Proponents call it the power of the body camera.

Just ask Willie Bradford, the recently retired City Councilman of Shreveport. He has always been a staunch supporter of these wearable cameras, first of all so that citizens can at least rest assured.

Bradford said: "They will know that no matter how they are approached by the police, they are receiving the video, they will be respected, and expect the police to be respected." If they are not successful, then they will feel that they have evidence to show that They did nothing wrong, and the police were the aggressors. "

It can also protect officers wearing body armor because it can show that they are acting in accordance with the law.

At a press conference on Thursday, Police Chief Ben Raymond (Ben Raymond) introduced their plans to buy more cameras to the gathered media.

Chief Raymond said: "I will continue to support the purchase of body cameras for all of our uniformed police officers and guide them to use these cameras on duty. I hope to work with the Security Council to find funding for this need."

Considering the price of all these body cameras is about $5 million, finding a source of funding may be crucial.

But when you consider that the city council is facing a budget shortfall of $25 million due to the COVID pandemic-paying for these cameras may require some heavy political work.

Since many people say that police cameras are an essential role in law enforcement, some people think that Shreveport police should now spend money to do it. However, this is not easy. The city’s charter requires a balanced budget. However, substantial reductions across the city are already expected.