And no, the CCTV remark wasn't any sort of thinly-veiled "nationalism" or "exceptionalism," just cynicism related to the very issues you spelled out in your concluding paragraph. Abuse of a widespread electronic surveillance system can become a very real possibility and if we ever do expand the use of cameras in public we'd better be damn sure the right eyes are watching and there are proper controls and protections in place. It's a pretty common concern over here with a lot of people on all sides of the political spectrum.
Conceded; I jumped the gun a bit there. I'm used to hearing responses in reaction to the idea of having more cameras around in general, i.e. in response to the broad strokes of the concept itself, that it will inevitably lead to some kind of fascist dystopia. Certainly in the US in particular, there would be major concerns about who would be using those cameras, and in what way,
because of the actions of the group which most requires examination and reform: law enforcement.
I stand by what I said about the rest, though. I do view it as a simplification because you said that bad cops are to blame and "all of society" isn't. I specifically disagree
with that part. "American society" IS to blame. The "bad cops who are doing bad things" aren't a "them" that you can target and then remove from their positions of authority. It's not that simple. America, and by that I mean mainly and overwhelmingly "white America", is culpable for creating the atmosphere that allows these things to happen. Culture and attitudes and the ability of authority figures to abuse their power don't just spring up out of nowhere. Our society fosters an environment that tolerates police abuses of power, that tolerates other cops covering up those abuses, that refuses to hold ANYONE accountable for the unjustified murder of black people, and instead ballyhoos about problems within "the black community" and asks them to sit calmly at the negotiating table and not get out of line while this country's racist, oppressive power structure professes that it wants to help them and then simply maintains the status quo.
The point is that most people do have smart phones, and the threat of being recorded contributes to keeping law enforcement honest...
Except all the times they try and steal/smash/take smartphones or try and prevent people from recording or intimidate people to delete the video. A technological solution is only a band-aid. Same with bodycams, there will always be ways to get around them. Real reform is needed not just bandaids for what is equivalent to a gaping wound.
I disagree that its just a band aid. Law enforcement make up less than 1% of the population. They can't break and destroy every single phone. Documentation of incidents (via cell phone video cameras) will lead to reform.
That doesn't make any sense. They don't need to break or confiscate or destroy EVERY single phone. Just the ones filming them at the time of an incident. Just the devices belonging to people who have one at the time they witness the police confronting someone and then decide to stop and film it. Far from "all the phones in America". Besides which, incidents being caught on film has been FAR from some kind of shoe-in that appropriate action will be taken against the officers committing the acts, as we have seen.
Getting the crimes committed by police officers on film is a
good thing, sure; no one is disputing that. But by themselves,
Hound of UIster is right that they are a band-aid. At best they can be viewed as a contributor toward making the process of reforms and cultural shifts
easier, but those reforms and shifts are still A) massive in scope, and B) absolutely necessary if we are to have any hope of truly curbing this problem.
