A field experiment of the impact of body-worn cameras (BWCs) on police officer behavior and perceptions

Abstract

Amidst the backdrop of considerable citizen unrest in the U.S. stemming from perceived injustices within police-citizen interactions in recent years, many government leaders have relied on the use of body-worn cameras as a means of improving citizen relations. The promise of body-worn cameras is that they might improve officer and citizen behavior given the possibility of retrospective and independent determinations of the appropriateness of behaviors which occur within police-citizen encounters. While the emerging evaluation evidence of their usefulness have been generally promising, overall determinations remain incomplete. Using a partial randomized experimental design, this study evaluated the impact of a test pilot program of body-worn camera use by the Hallandale Beach, Florida Police Department in the U.S. to determine their impact on police officer behavior and perceptions. Findings revealed that officers with BWCs 1) relied on less intrusive methods to resolve incidents, 2) continued to be active rather than abstaining from community contact, and 3) officer perceptions of the usefulness of BWCs remained pessimistic. Implications for policy and future research are discussed.