I'm old, white and live in the suburbs. Undoubtedly, that shapes the way I look at the world.

Take cops, for instance. I trust them. Respect them. I know they're not all perfect, but I was raised to believe law enforcement was a noble calling.

And I still believe that today.

Even if I think most law enforcement agencies in Tampa Bay have completely whiffed when it comes to the topic of body cameras.

In case you weren't aware, Tampa Bay lags far behind the state's major metropolitan areas when it comes to body cameras. Like, seriously lags.

In South Florida, agencies in both Miami-Dade and Broward County use cameras. So do the cities of Miami and Miami Beach. In central Florida, sheriff's deputies in Orange, Seminole and Volusia counties have them. So does Orlando's police department. The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office is hammering out final details with union members before unveiling their cameras this year.

And yet around here, body cameras are mostly a rumor.

Neither the Hillsborough nor Pinellas sheriff's offices are in favor. Neither is Clearwater. It feels as if St. Petersburg has been studying cameras since the first Polaroid was created. The Tampa Police Department has a handful of cameras but has never shown much interest in expanding.

That is, in a word, nuts.

The arguments you hear from critics are 1) the cameras are not a perfect tool, 2) they create privacy concerns and 3) they cost a lot of money.

Okay, so 1) nothing is perfect, 2) other departments have solved privacy issues and 3) reports have indicated that some of the costs are offset by fewer internal investigations and lawsuits.

Basically, the arguments seem like subterfuge.

I think the real reason is most cops view body cameras as a personal slight. As if they can't be trusted to conduct themselves professionally unless they're on video.

And that's not just the wrong approach, it's also the wrong interpretation. This isn't simply a question of looking over a cop's shoulder, it's also an unbiased confirmation of every police report.

The Gulfport Police Department, along with Temple Terrace and Pasco County, is one of the few to use the technology in Tampa Bay. Chief Robert Vincent does not make the body cameras mandatory but says almost everyone in the department has grown to appreciate their availability.

"We've had (citizens) come in over the years wanting to file a complaint, and the supervisor will say, 'Okay, let's pull up the body camera footage,' and suddenly they change or recant their story,'' said Vincent, whose department has been using the technology for nearly nine years.

"I think for most officers, the chances of a camera helping you are far greater than the chances of it hurting you.''

Can cameras sometimes miss a critical point of view? Sure. Will there be questions if an officer fails to turn on a camera? Absolutely. But having a camera record an entire encounter is far better than a bystander capturing a snippet of action on a cell phone.

Body cameras are essentially an easy way to protect both residents and cops, and departments around the nation have already come to this conclusion.

For law enforcement leaders in Tampa Bay to ignore that truth is disappointing.

And it's only a matter of time before some agency regrets it.