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When someone accuses a police officer of misconduct, it's often a he said-she said situation.
当有人指控警察有不当行为时，指控的内容通常都是“他说……”，“她说……”之类的。
But video is completely changing that.
但视频正在彻底改变这一点。
Ever since a bystander recorded Rodney King being beaten by Los Angeles police in 1991,
自从一名旁观者用视频拍下罗德尼·金在1991年被洛杉矶警方殴打后，
the power has been in the hands of witnesses,
权力就转移到了目击者的手上，
especially now that so many people have camera phones.
尤其是现在有这么多人都有拍照手机的情况下。
But it's up to chance whether a bystander captures an interaction on video or not.
但旁观者能否拍到警察和民众的纠纷也要看运气。
Most police departments now have in-vehicle dashboard cameras,
大多数警察部门的警车上现在都安装了行车记录仪，
but they vary in how they're used.
但它们在使用方式上有所不同。
Now, there's a rapid rise in the number of police departments who are testing body cameras,
现在，随身带着摄像头进行执法的警察部门数量迅速增加，
so that all interactions can be recorded,
这样一来，警察和民众所有的交涉都可以被记录下来，
not just the ones that take place right in front of a police car.
而不仅仅是那些发生在警车前的交涉。
In some cases, video evidence can be the key that demonstrates that a police officer really did commit a crime.
在某些情况下，视频证据是有可能成为证明警察的确存在犯罪行为的关键。
Can I see your license please?
“请出示您的驾照。”
Get out of the car! Get out of the car!
“下车！下车！”
Get on the ground! Get on the ground!
“蹲下！蹲下！”
I just got my license. You said get my license!
“我刚刚在拿我的驾照啊，你叫我拿驾照的啊！”
When police officers aren't conviced, or even charged, after an episode of misconduct,
当警察存在不当行为但没有被信任甚至没有被起诉时，
video can show how wide the gulf is between what many people feel is acceptable and what cops are allowed to do,
视频可以显示出许多人认为可以接受的范围和警察的权力之间存在多大的鸿沟，
such as the killiing of John Crawford for carrying a toy rifle in a Walmart.
比如约翰·克劳福德因为在沃尔玛携带玩具步枪被警察击毙的案例。
But bodycams and dashcams are also helpful to police.
但随身摄像头和行车记录仪对警察也是有利的。
In fact, video evidence exonerates cops more often than it convicts them.
事实上，视频为警方提供免罪证明的时候要多过证明警方有罪的时候。
And some cities have found that just using cameras puts everyone on their best behavior.
有些城市已经发现，仅靠摄像头就能让所有人变得安分守己。
One town in California found that use-of-force incidents dropped 60% after police started using body cameras.
加利福尼亚州的一个城镇还发现，警方开始使用随身摄像头后，暴力事件下降了60％。
The next big question is control of video footage:
接下来的大问题是对视频录像的控制：
When cameras get activated, how footage gets stored, and who's allowed to edit a video before it gets released.
比如相机启动后如何存储素材以及允许谁在发布前编辑视频。
In several cases, body cameras or dashcams have "malfunctioned" or gone dark at critical moments,
在某些情况下，随身摄像头或行车记录仪会在关键时刻“出现故障”或变暗，
raising concerns that the footage is being manipulated.
人们便会担心该镜头是不是被认为操纵了。
Imagine how that might have affected something like a recent New Jersey case, where the jury might have heard this: Instead of seeing this.
想象一下，最近的新泽西州案例也可能与此有关，陪审团可能只是听到了这个情况，而不是亲眼看到了。
