Hawaii’s Legislature is on the verge of passing what would unquestionably be the best police body-camera law in the country — Senate Bill 2411 — that carefully balances the rights of civilians and law enforcement.

Since the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., on Aug. 9, 2014, many communities — including here in Hawaii — have witnessed a string of deaths involving unarmed people at the hands of police. The names and locations of these tragedies invoke powerful feelings of outrage and sadness.

Eric Garner of Staten Island, N.Y. Walter Scott of North Charleston, S.C. Freddy Gray of Baltimore, Md. And there was Sheldon Haleck, who died on March 16, 2015, in front of ‘Iolani Palace.

These incidents — many of which were brought to light after being caught on camera — sparked national calls for a quick and tangible response. It was upon that basis that a national movement toward equipping police officers with wearable body cameras began.

To be sure, the complex problems affecting policing and race relations in Hawaii and nationwide will not be solved by pinning a small camera to an officer’s uniform. However, police body cameras do have the potential to move us in the right direction. With a strong policy framework, police body cameras offer improved police transparency and accountability and can reduce adverse incidents.

On the other hand, if they are governed by the wrong policies, they have the potential to further erode police-public relations and to broadly violate our privacy. For example, South Carolina passed a law requiring all officers to wear body cameras; however, that same law also denies the public any right to view body camera footage. The result is that South Carolinians now have even less police transparency than they did prior to their body camera law.

Hawaii deserves better, and the Legislature has responded with a comprehensive and balanced measure: SB 2411 passed through four legislative committees without a single “no” vote, and overwhelmingly passed the state Senate and House of Representatives by a collective vote of 71-4. It is now in conference committee to resolve the differences between the House and the Senate versions.

What makes Hawaii’s police body camera bill so great? In a word: balance. We need statewide regulation to ensure that body cameras are used to increase transparency in our law enforcement, while enabling police to better fulfill their responsibilities and protect their rights, too. Lawmakers have listened carefully to the public’s (and law enforcement’s) concerns, and have weighed and balanced the many important public policy interests.

For example, how can body cameras be used to increase police transparency and accountability without violating the public’s right to privacy? How can body cameras be used to advance the interests of law enforcement as well as those of the public? How can we ensure the public has access to important body camera footage while also ensuring trivial, embarrassing videos do not end up on YouTube? SB 2411 would be the best body camera law in the nation because it does a vastly better job balancing these competing interests than any existing state law.

We know that well-balanced police body camera policies are achievable. The body camera policy adopted by the police department in Parker, Colo., a city of 50,000 residents, has been widely praised by law enforcement and civil libertarians alike, and that policy is extremely similar to SB 2411.

As currently drafted, SB 2411 would provide clarity, consistency, transparency and accountability, all while protecting individual privacy. The Legislature should pass this bill.