As police services continue to adopt and roll-out body-worn cameras, it is inevitable that the public will become more aware of police actions imprinted on the footage they record. What remains unclear is how the police can be held accountable by the use of body-worn cameras when the “official” narrative is manufactured and controlled by police themselves.

Although body-worn cameras have become widespread in law enforcement agencies across the United States, taxpayers have continued to bear the brunt of the financial costs associated with police accountability. Officers should absolutely be held accountable for bad behaviour caught on body cameras but the public should not be expected to continue to subsidize it.