Altercations between law enforcement officers and civilians have been sweeping the nation for the past few years. As a result, police departments around the nation have been beginning the process of equipping officers with body-mounted cameras. Emily Balser looks at the Pitcairn Police Department, investigating their plans for future body camera initiation. As a means of conveying her stance in favor of body cameras as clearly as possible, Balser approaches her argument from three different standpoints. The most prominent approach is logical, but she also incorporates instances of credibility and emotion, as well. In the article "Pitcairn Works towards Equipping Police with Body Cameras" for the Tribune-Review, Emily Balser creates an effective argument for body camera usage by appealing to logic, or logos, by backing up her argument with sound reasoning while also incorporating credible sources as reference, and emotional stories of officer triumph, or ethos, and pathos, respectively.

In this article, Balser argues that equipping police officers with body cameras is the correct course of action because they are able to provide useful information to officers when investigating a crime. To support this claim, she provides sound reasoning that sheds a positive light on the body camera initiative. Examples of the benefits that the cameras would offer are not only stated, but also supported by Chief Scott Farally of the Pitcairn Police Department. Claiming that the cameras are beneficial for police departments without showing any sort of proof leaves the argument empty. In theory, the author could claim whatever she liked, but without any support the argument would not stick. The absence of evidence turns an argumentative article into a simple opinion piece. The type of evidence needed in this situation to gain the most support is looking at the many practical uses of the cameras. In the article, it is stated that the cameras are "valuable in investigating crimes" (Balser). That statement on its own would not gain much traction. There is no hard evidence to support the claim, leaving an opportunity for the opposition to refute. However, this sentence is followed by a quote from Chief Farally stating, "It's direct evidence. It can be used in criminal prosecution" (Balser). It may seem as though these two statements are saying the same thing just in different words, but in reality, the quote from Chief Farally, who has much experience in the law enforcement world after serving on the force for many years, provides a concrete reason for police departments to switch over to body cameras. A claim that was once empty is now factually supported, thus supporting the original argument for body cameras. 

When Emily Balser makes her argument in favor of body cameras, she does not forget to mention, and refute, the counterarguments that are often made. In this case, all the information about the benefits of body cameras offers a solid foundation for the argument, but the inclusion of an opposing argument is one detail that drives the point home. Rather than laying out all the facts to prove a point, Balser brings up an argument from the opposition. A common issue that some see with the body cameras is the privacy of the footage, mainly questioning who has access to it. This is a valid point that the opposition presents. Though Balser could have ignored it, it is more beneficial to her argument to acknowledge the concerns of the people. In addition, the manner in which she addresses the issue uses logical reasoning. The first step is to acknowledge the opposing side. If the opposition was then simply dismissed, then the author would have weakened their own argument. However Balser responds to the issue with a reasonable solution. The counterargument alluded to is the issue of privacy, or lack thereof. This is an issue that is brought up in every argument against the use of body cameras, so it was smart for Balser to confront it. To do so, she includes a quote from the Chief of the department stating that, "he will be the only person with access to the stored data, unless another officer needs to review it for a police report" (Balser). By not only addressing the other side's concerns, but also providing a logical solution, the argument being made becomes validated.

Emily Balser was not only effective in her use of logical reasoning for the bulk of the argument, but she was also effective in incorporating credibility and emotion. The appeal of credibility, ethos, plays a small but substantial role in the argument of this article. It is essential to establish some sort of credibility when making an argument because it transforms from an article based on opinion to one based on fact. The entire basis of the argument, at a logical level, rests on the words of Scott Farally. His quotes provide support for all positive claims made by Balser. This appeal to ethos goes hand in hand with the appeal to logos. At multiple points throughout the article, she backs up her claims with sound logic provided by a credible source. Similar to the importance of the quotes to provide evidence, the fact that Scott Farally is the Chief of the Pitcairn Police Department is essential to making the quotes credible. The absence of quotes would hurt the claim. Likewise, quotes from the common man would not hold as much authority, thus hurting the claim. 

The appeal of emotion, pathos, can be efficiently used to drive home the argument to the audience because emotions are often easier to relate to then facts and statistics. People typically respond to emotion. The facts and quotes that were included by Balser were relevant and necessary, however there was one other detail that was intended to target that last bit of resisters. To end the article, Balser includes the fact that during the past summer the Pitcairn Police Department was able to "equip officers with naloxone, more commonly known as Narcan, to help revive victims of heroin overdoses" (Balser). This provides an example of a new technology introduced to the police department that resulted in the saving of victims of drug abuse. The Chief believes that the Narcan was successful, and he's "sure the body cameras will be too" (Balser). Though this was a mere few sentences to sum up the argument, it served a specific purpose in making people feel. The last piece of technology introduced resulted in the saving of lives, meaning this new one will as well. The hope is that if they believe it in their hearts, then they'll believe it in their heads.

Often when writing articles about controversial topics, authors use a number of approaches to try and sway the audience to join their side. The article, "Pitcairn Works towards Equipping Police with Body Cameras" by Emily Balser was no different. Though she incorporated all three appeals, Balser mainly focused on the appeal to logic. An article, such as this, published without including any sort of research or facts would not be effective in persuading an audience. The reasoning behind the argument is what gives the audience something to think about, and hopefully shift their viewpoint. Without support, those opposed will have no problem tearing holes in the claim, and will likely strengthen their own view, rather than change it. However, because she included sufficient evidence to back up her claim, Balser was able to effectively argue in favor of body cameras. 
