Dash Cams - Friend Or Foe

In the old days, if you were accused of a crime, it would often be your word against the word of the officer accusing you. This has changed. If the officer has a dash cam, your entire interaction may have been caught on tape. Unfortunately, what is recorded may or may not be the complete truth. This means the camera may be your friend, or it may be a foe.

What Is A Dash Cam?

A dash cam or dashboard camera, is simply a camera that has been mounted in the vehicle's interior. It is designed to record anything its view while it is turned on or the vehicle is in motion. Depending on the model, it may record audio as well as video. These cameras are legal and can be used by the general public, as well as law enforcement.

While these are commonly found in the cars of state police, along with patrol cars of some major police departments, they are not mandatory. Many smaller police departments have never installed them due to the cost involved in doing so. Those departments who have invested in this technology were often assisted by federal grants such as the one that was available through the Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS). 

What Are The Advantages Of A Dash Cam?

A dash cam has the ability to show video of anything that is taking place within its view. You will be able to hear, as well as see, what is taking place. Some of the advantages are the following:

• An increase in the amount of professionalism and performance by officers using dash cams
• An increase in officer safety.
• Training opportunities, as well as a way for the involved officers to self critique their performance. 
• Provides more accurate information needed for report writing than what would have been available without the use of the video.
• A review of the video helps to prepare officers in refreshing their memories prior to testifying in court.
• The ability to facilitate investigations in cases of citizen complaints. This has often resulted in a higher level of citizen confidence that their cases would be reviewed, as well as settled.

Dash cams have proven to be very valuable in assisting attorneys on both sides of the case to be able to show a judge, or jury, exactly what has taken place. Unfortunately, they have a downside.

What Are The Disadvantages Of A Dash Cam?

One of the largest disadvantages of dash cams is the fact they are stationary, which often gives them a very limited field of view. Because of this, they are often unable to record events which take place just outside of its view field. This often means only a small portion, or even none, of the event is captured. This was recently seen in the case of Walter Scott. Although the dash cam recorded the stop and the officer returning to his vehicle, the camera was unable to follow Mr. Scott as he exited his vehicle, nor did the camera record the fatal shooting.

Dash cameras are also easily manipulated by those who are in charge of them. This fact made the news when officers in St. Louis were shown to turn off their camera during an arrest. The accused later charged the officers involved of using excessive force. Officers have also been known to stage what is seen, as well as heard on the video. 

Officers become dependent on the camera. Knowing they will be able to go back and review the recordings often keeps the officers from documenting the evidence, or information, during the arrest. This can be a significant disadvantage if there are problems with the video when it is reviewed. Not having this information available can create significant discrepancies in the police reports. 

In the field of criminal justice, every case is different. If you have been accused of a crime, and a video exists, you and your defense attorney will have to decide if the video works to your advantage. If it does not, your criminal defense attorney may have the ability to squash it during your hearing.