Assignment task:
In your response to two of your peers, identify any issues with their stance and suggest ways these issues may be addressed. Respond to one peer who has the same stance as you and one peer who has the opposite stance. Remember to always be respectful when replying to peers, even if you do not agree with their stance and/or rationale.
Answer each peer individually like u are replying to them
Your stance- The increased use of technology by police officers does not pose a threat to civil liberties.
Peer one / same stance
The increased use of technology, such as police officers using body cameras, does not threaten civil liberties. The use of body cameras has helped increase police legitimacy. Officers required to use body cameras typically act more professionally and respectfully towards citizens. They know everything they do and say will be recorded. Departments utilizing body cameras also see a drop in use of force reports. This is again due to the officer knowing they are being recorded. It also deters the suspect from assaulting the officer because the suspect's action will also be recorded. These cameras are also out in the open for everyone to see. Officers are not trying to record people with these cameras secretly. Body-worn cameras are so important in today's law enforcement practices that President Briden signed an order to advance effective, accountable policing and strengthen public safety. In the order he "Mandates the adoption of body-worn camera policies. The EO orders all Federal LEAs to adopt and publicly post body-worn camera policies that mandate the activation of cameras during activities like arrests and searches and provide for the expedited public release of footage following incidents involving serious bodily injury or deaths in custody" (The White House, 2022).
Peer two / opposed stance
I feel it is ultimately dependent on the technology. I do feel bodycams are a absolute necessity today- not just for the public's protection but the police as well. Bodycams can show an absolutely unfiltered and objective scene without any interference, which is absolutely crucial when police work goes to court.
Now, let's look at something that could be viewed as an infringement on civil liberties- drones. Some police departments are now acquiring drones. Is this necessarily a bad thing? No, drones are hugely beneficial for search and rescue operations, and when searching for fugitives on the run. This is a piece of technology that the pros must be considered vs. the cons. The public may feel more distrust with the police, as having a thermal drone may open the doorway to the violation of rights in the future. There are specific guidelines in place for drones- such as flying at certain altitudes, but there are still a lot of places where there is not set laws or guidelines for drones yet. I would feel uncomfortable if I had a drone (police or not) hovering around my house without warning. There is even some areas where airspace could be considered a land-owners; such as in instances where the property owner has rights to the "tallest possible structure" on said land. This is where rights can be violated, if a drone was flown 40 ft above somebody's driveway, and is under the tree line, the police could be considered as trespassing on somebody's property without a warrant.
In NH, the law is stated as "an intrusion into airspace constituted a trespass if it occurred within the "immediate reaches" of the airspace adjacent to the land, and substantially interfered with the property owner's use and enjoyment of his property. Restatement (Second) of Torts § 159." (Hawkins, n.d.) which leaves the debate open and allows a major grey area in lawmaking efforts for this specific instance of technology. I would personally assume the "immediate reaches" would be considered the tallest buildable structure allowed in town, but even that is a stretch as it really just depends on the circumstances.
I feel with any new piece of technology, there should be a discussion with the town / city about whether or not the people would like to vote for this before the police requests it. New technology is awesome, and it can hugely benefit society when used properly, but misuse unfortunately does occur sometimes.