Policing on camera

In August, a federal judge ruled that the New York Police Department’s stop-and-frisk policy was unconstitutional, because it resulted in discriminatory practices and unreasonable searches.

As part of her ruling, Judge Shira A. Scheindlin of Federal District Court in Manhattan ordered the department to establish a pilot program requiring officers in the five precincts where most of the stops occur to wear small cameras as part of their uniforms. The cameras would record officers’ interactions with the public, an “objective record of stop-and-frisks,” Scheindlin wrote.

New York City is appealing the judge’s ruling.

But many police departments around the country have embraced the technology as a way to protect officers and citizens alike. Watch the video above to see how officers in one California police department use the cameras every day.

Alexis Karteron, senior staff attorney with the New York Civil Liberties Union, discusses the stop-and-frisk ruling: