How Does House Bill 972 Help In Domestic Violence Cases?

Having North Carolina law enforcement come to your home for a domestic violence call is often something you do not wish to share with others. It is a vulnerable time when law enforcement comes into your private space to resolve an emotionally charged situation. It might lead to an arrest and scenes that you would rather not have everyone in your community witness. This is something that lawmakers considered when creating House Bill 972.

After the governor signed the bill into law, the focus on House Bill 972 has largely been on its unfairness to news outlets and how it may work to hide corruption among law enforcement.  However, when the bill was making its way through the House early in its life, the focus of lawmakers was on a different reason for the new law. According to WRAL, the ability to keep police body cam video from going public would help in sensitive situations, such as a domestic violence call.

Lawmakers felt that there is some law enforcement situations where the victims would rather not have everyone view what happened. Consider the situation when calling for help for a domestic violence incident. Nobody in your family is at their best. By releasing the video, it only welcomes public comments, which can quickly turn from discussing the facts of the case to judging your family. This is definitely something that you do not need in your life at this particular time when you are already dealing with a stressful situation.

So, House Bill 972 could actually be a blessing for you if you want to keep your situation private. This information is for education and is not legal advice.