Show of Hands

Most cops I know already do. It protects them from people lying about their interaction. And can prove they perjury in court. It's amazing how many people lie to cops.

Huh

You have to keep them honest somehow.

Yes

Yes, for their protection and ours.

Most where I live do record their interactions with the public

I'm torn on this issue. While it will help protect people from power hungry cops, it could very well scare an upstanding officer from doing the right thing. Even a moment's hesitation could be the difference between life and death. Then again,...

Yes it keeps everyone safer.

My instinct is to say yes, because of the abuse of power by some police officers, that seems to be getting ever-more prevalent, but looking at the comments I see some pretty compelling arguments against it too.

Great question!

I voted no simply because it would seem to me to override Miranda in just about every way. Conversations can be coerced, as can guilt submissions, all violating fifth amendment if used as evidence.

NSA already does it. 3,000 privacy invasion crimes committed in 1 year.
75% smartphones have NSA coding.
PRISM
Over 1 billion qualified for monitoring. Roving bug.

The list is endless.
NY Times

I voted no, but only out of concern for my own privacy. I don't want every cop around recording my whereabouts.
But I can also see the other side of the argument, that it would temper police behavior.

In cops vs culprit, there's always a guilty side. The more evidence, the better.

Get ready for tickets all the time then. Police discretion means giving warnings. If everything is recorded and admissible, that'll be the end of going easy.

Most do that already, it can be expensive so make sure they have the money to do it before you make it mandatory.

It would keep people honest, and count as evidence.

Absolutely, as it would be a start in making the enforcement caste more weary of how they treat us.

So long as it does not violate the 4th and 5th Amendments.

I don't want law enforcement officials wearing ANY devices that would record ANY aspect (audio/video) of a "situation"
It gives Law enforcement an insurmountable edge and makes it next to impossible to create reasonable doubt with a jury of my peers!

I think recording the calls would help expose the inappropriate behavior of criminals too. If an officer has it in tape it's pretty hard to argue with. Also it would expose bad police behavior. I say record it and let the chips fall where they fall.

It has been attempted but the police unions hate the idea because they know it will expose their members for the thugs they are.

Great question!