this post was submitted on 06 Feb 2026
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People keep proposing naive solutions without realizing cops only use bodycams because they see them as net benefit for them. The technology was around for a long time but only became popular when it was sold as surveillance tool, not accountability tool. If police loses control of the footage they will simply stop using them. If you force them they will protest. Guess who the politicians will support in this fight?
There are only two ways to fix this that I see:
Neither of which the US is going to do, because here, the cops and law enforcement are a civic religion. Therefore the best most Americans can do is keep their heads down and avoid the bastards as best you can manage.
The technical solution is: body cam footage is automatically, frequently, uploaded to cloud servers that the department does not control. The department gets read-only access, nobody gets the ability to delete footage for 7 years, and defense attorneys get automatic access to everything remotely related to their case.
Also: planting evidence and sending the falsely accused to prison for 6 months is a misdemeanor punished with suspended sentences and probation? That department owes the falsely accused damages for lost wages and damage to their ability to obtain future employment. That's actually a "superpower" cops know all too well: if you've never been arrested they can seriously screw up your life with absolute impunity just by arresting you - charges never have to be filed, that arrest on your record - however baseless it may be - can hurt you in all sorts of ways, especially employability, for the rest of your life.