In an age of ever-increasing technological advancements, body-worn cameras have become an integral part of modern law enforcement tactics. Yet, the timeline for their incorporation is less known to the public. To understand the full picture, it's necessary to delve into the specifics and address the question: when did police start using body cameras?

Backdropping the Body Cameras

The practice of recording police activity isn't new. It began with dashboard cams in police cars, primarily in the late 1980s, aiming to document traffic violations and any ensuing altercations. However, these cameras had limitations. Visibility issues and the inability to capture incidents outside the direct observation field of the car resulted in an incomplete narrative of events.

Against this backdrop, body-worn cameras started seeing increased usage. They provided an all-encompassing personal perspective that wasn't achievable with traditional surveillance footage or dashboard cams.

First Experiments

Rialto, California, is recognized as the breakthrough city for police body cameras. In 2012, under the guidance of Police Chief William A. Farrar and partnering with the University of Cambridge's Institute of Criminology, Rialto Police Department conducted a historic experiment. Every frontline officer would wear a body camera, and effects were starkly positive, setting the stage for the widespread adoption of the technology.

Stepping into Mainstream

Driven by the successful Rialto experiment, more police departments across America began incorporating body cameras in their field operations. The Ferguson incident in Missouri in 2014, which resulted in great public outcry over police use of force, turned body cams from an experiment into a necessity. In 2015, under the Obama administration, the Body-Worn Camera (BWC) Pilot Implementation Program was launched, providing a $23 million budget to assist agencies in purchasing bodycam technology.

Current Stage

Today, body cameras are relatively commonplace in American law enforcement, with an estimated 47% of general-purpose law enforcement agencies using them in 2016, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics. Yet, their usage isn't without controversy. Their effectiveness in decreasing the use of force and establishing transparency, their governing policies of usage and disclosure, and the costs and logistics of storing footage, all remain subjects of ongoing debate.

The Global Stage

While America has been at the forefront, many nations only started to follow suit years later. The United Kingdom trialed cameras in the late 2000s and officially issued them to London's Metropolitan Police Service in 2016. Australia initiated trials in 2013 - 2014, with the trend gradually expanding to other parts of the world.

Upcoming Technological Advancements

Bodycam technology continues to evolve. The rise of facial recognition software, artificial intelligence, and laws regulating data storage may forge the path for future developments. The next few years may well see body cameras becoming smaller, lighter, longer-lasting, and smarter.

The story of police body cameras showcases the complex dynamic between technological advancement, law enforcement, and societal norms. Started as an experiment in a Californian city, today they are part and parcel of modern policing worldwide. As body cameras continue to evolve, society must continue to define the settings in which they are deployed and under what regulations, ultimately to serve the best interests of justice.

As we cease our exploration here, the reader is left to contemplate the future of body cameras as a tool for transparency and accountability, shaped not just by technology but societal norms, legal frameworks, and public discourse. In essence, the tale of body cameras is still being written.