When Texas DPS installed the first camera systems which were VHS tape systems. In those, the officer was responsible for changing their own tapes and turning them in to their supervisor. In rural areas this means that there could be a considerable amount of time that the tape was available for editing. Those systems were an improvement over nothing at all, but there was always the possibility for funny business. The systems main effects were to protect officers from frivolous claims and assist them in report writing. They couldn't stop a dishonest officer from destroying a tape, and therefore didn't always protect people from abuse.

I'd like to think that things (other than the format) have improved in ~25 years, but there is no guarantee of that. Often enough, it takes a significant event like this in order to motivate the right people to do their jobs properly.