Body-worn cameras and unintended consequences: A case study of a British police force

Abstract

This paper presents the results of a multi-method case study with a British police force carried out over a 2-year period examining the impacts of introducing body-worn cameras (BWCs). Our findings show that despite a broad enthusiasm for the potential of BWCs, police officers and staff in a British police force reported a series of unintended and undesirable consequences resulting from the introduction of BWCs. These impacts appear to have partly undermined some of the original intentions of introducing BWCs, such as improving policing standards, aiding prosecutorial processes thanks to improved evidential capture and reducing police officer workloads.