Implementation Of Body-worn Cameras Research Articles

Police reform in public housing contexts: Body‐worn cameras, surveillance, and harm reduction in New York City Housing Authority Developments

AbstractResearch summaryThe concern of crime in New York City public housing complexes motivated heightened police patrol of buildings and the enforcement of trespass laws. The 2013 federal court settlement of Davis et al. v. City of New York et al. mandated that the New York City Police Department (NYPD) implement a series of reforms, including the deployment of body‐worn cameras (BWCs) on officers, to address unconstitutional use of criminal trespass enforcement and stop and frisk practices in public housing developments. This study employed a stepped wedge quasi‐experimental design that involved the sequential crossover of public housing service area clusters from control to BWC implementation until all NYPD housing bureau officers were equipped with BWCs. Panel regression models at the individual officer and service area levels were used to estimate BWC program impacts on outcomes between 2015 and 2019. Logistic regression models were used to estimate the impact of the BWCs on the lawfulness of officer stop reports that were randomly selected for audit between 2017 and 2019. Results show that BWC deployment in public housing reduced excessive enforcement, citizen complaints, and use of force by NYPD housing officers. Findings further suggest that BWCs can help reduce constitutionally problematic stops and frisks of citizens.Policy implicationsProblematic police activities in public housing contexts can be reformed using BWCs. When coupled with routine supervisory review of video footage, the deployment of BWCs on public housing officers can improve compliance with department directives to reduce enforcement actions and increase documentation of citizen stops.

Pre-deployment police officer perceptions of body-worn cameras in Brazil

ABSTRACT Body-worn cameras (BWCs) have gained prominence as relevant instruments in policing activities globally. Despite their increasing prevalence, limited analyses exist in Brazil concerning the use of BWCs in public safety. This study examines the pre-BWC deployment perceptions of military police officers in Brasília (Brazil) employing logistic regression models and exploratory factor analysis. Understanding variation in acceptance among different groups is crucial in guiding an organisation's implementation of BWCs. In general, Brazilian military police officers were resistant to cameras. As expected, the results revealed that police resistance to BWCs is associated with an expectation of greater control over their activities. Notably, younger officers, as well as those serving in operational units, emerged as the leading group resisting BWCs. Conversely, perceptions of usefulness, internal procedural justice, and social recognition exhibited a significant and positive impact on fostering acceptance. These aspects suggest a potential avenue for transformative change with substantive implications for adherence to internal protocols within police agencies. The perception that BWCs are useful, make police work easier, and more valuable plays a crucial role in driving their acceptance within the Brazilian context. Finally, this study underscores the policy implications stemming from individual attitudinal shifts toward BWC acceptance across diverse social groups and within police agencies.

Police officers' opinions about some effects of the use of body worn cameras

In the last ten years, many police organizations around the word have been approaching the implementation of cameras that can be placed on the body of a police officer. By implementing these cameras, police organizations strive to prevent and suppress crime, to improve officer safety, officers' performance and police-community relationship. In September 2023, the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs started with the pilot project of implementing body worn cameras (BWC) in two organizational units of the traffic police. The research presented in this paper was carried out before the idea of implementation of BWCs in Serbian police practice was born. The research included police officers from five organizational units of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The aim of the research was to explore the views and opinions of police officers related to implementation of BWCs. Research results and the authors' conclusions may help the decision-making process related to the BWC implementation in Serbian police practice.

Uvođenje kamera za uniformu u policijski rad - stvarna potreba ili iznuđeno rešenje

In the last ten years, police organizations in the USA and Europe have started to implement body worn cameras. The main purpose and goal of the implementation of these cameras is aimed at preventing unlawful and unprofessional actions and behavior of police officers and socially undesirable behavior of citizens. Miniature cameras on the body of police officers should deter police officers and citizens from committing illegal and socially unacceptable actions and procedures towards each other. Police organizations try to use body worn cameras to achieve the abovementioned goals as a substitute for other means of correcting unwanted behaviors, primarily training and education of police officers. This paper analyzes the reasons for the implementation of body worn cameras in the police organizations across the USA and in some European countries in order to reach a conclusion about the justification and the possibility to achieve complex and responsible goals only with the help of cameras.

The Pennybridge pioneers: understanding internal stakeholder perceptions of body-worn camera implementation

ABSTRACT Since body-worn cameras (BWCs) were catapulted into mainstream discourse, they have diffused rapidly across police agencies in the United States. Research followed swiftly, providing a wealth of information about how the police and citizens make sense of these technologies. Moreover, we have learned how these technologies have impacted important policing outcomes, such as citizen complaints and the use of coercive force during citizen encounters. However, despite the growing body of research, very little is known about how police stakeholders make sense of the implementation of BWCs and about their decision-making throughout the implementation process. Therefore, this research examines the decision to implement BWCs in one mid-sized municipal police department in the United States through the lens of Rogers (2003) Diffusion of Innovations theoretical framework. We rely on semi-structured interviews and observations with 17 stakeholders to address this question. Our findings show that BWC technology generally posed little uncertainty for stakeholders in terms of what it could offer conceptually. However, because the agency was an early adopter, decision-makers were confronted with significant uncertainty about practical matters such as the financial and logistical costs of implementing the technology, in addition to policy creation. These findings have important implications for scholars and practitioners.

Organizational legitimation of body-worn camera use in the Swedish private security industry

PurposeThe authors set out to show how key private security industry actors in Sweden establish body-worn cameras (BWCs) as a tool to protect private security officers from the public the officers police and to improve the work environment of the officers.Design/methodology/approachThe authors conducted qualitative semi-structured interviews with key personnel involved in the implementation of BWCs. The authors' analysis focused on delineating recurrent moral stories and affirmative environments to show how BWC use was made legitimate as a work environment tool.FindingsThe authors show how BWC use by private security officers patrolling public spaces in Sweden is legitimized by four organizational narratives: (1) the vulnerable security officer and the caring employer, (2) defenders of protective regulation, (3) moral selves and morally dubious others and (4) function creep and moral guardians. The authors explain how such organizational narratives are key to establishing and legitimizing the use of BWCs as a tool to improve the work environment of private security guards, and how certain narrative environments promote such organizational narratives in Sweden to improve the work environment of private security guards.Originality/valueThe authors' findings in this article add to a small but growing literature on BWC use in policing outside of the USA and the UK as well as to the hitherto very limited research from the work environment and managerial perspectives. The authors illustrate the importance of organizational narratives and narrative environments for understanding organizational change involving legitimation of new technologies.

Body-Worn Cameras and Adjudication of Citizen Complaints of Police Misconduct

Police body-worn cameras (BWCs) have been the subject of much research on how the technology’s enhanced documentation of police/citizen interactions impact police behavior. Less attention has been paid to how BWC recordings affect the adjudication of citizen complaints against the police. We employ citizen complaint data from the Chicago Police Department and Civilian Office of Police Accountability filed between 2012-2020 to determine the extent to which BWC footage enhances the efficacy of evidence used to formulate a conclusion of responsibility, and whether bias against complainants based on race would subsequently be reduced. Accordingly, we exploit the staggered deployment of BWCs across 22 Chicago police districts over time to estimate the effect of BWCs on these outcomes. Our findings indicate that BWCs led to a significant decrease in the dismissal of investigations due to insufficient evidence (not sustained) as well as a significant increase in disciplinary actions against police officers (sustained outcomes”) with sufficient evidence to sanction their misconduct. We further find that disparities in complaints across racial groups for the “unsustained” category fade away with the implementation of BWCs.

Accountability at its Finest: Law Enforcement Agencies and Body-Worn Cameras

Policy makers and police departments have suggested the implementation of body-worn cameras (BWC) to increase officer accountability. BWC may be a contributing factor in altering police officers’ behavior, beyond use of force statistics and citizen complaints. Its impact on reported property crimes and violent crimes is yet to be explored. To examine this topic more meticulously, the authors estimate a difference-in-difference estimation on the effect of the adoption of BWC technology on reported property and violent crime in Washington D.C. This study finds that BWC implementation leads to a 9% reduction in reported property crimes but no effect for reported violent crimes. These results lend important application for accountability literature, policymakers and legislators, including the impact of policy tools on bureaucratic decision making and the development of new accountability standards that include BWC.

Camera Point-of-View Exacerbates Racial Bias in Viewers of Police Use of Force Videos

AbstractThe implementation of body-worn cameras (BWC) by policing agencies has received widespread support from many individuals, including citizens and police officers. Despite their increasing prevalence, little is known about how the point-of-view (POV) of these cameras affects perceptions of viewers. In this research, we investigate how POV interacts with skin color of citizens in police use of force videos to affect perceptions of procedural justice. In an experimental study, participants watched eight police use of force videos—half recorded from BWC and half from an onlooker’s perspective—in which skin tone of the citizen varied. Results indicate that POV interacts with citizen skin tone such that, compared to the onlooker perspective, the BWC exacerbated viewer racial bias against dark skin tone citizens. Furthermore, identification with the police officer fully mediated this relationship. Results are discussed in relation to media theory and practical implications.

Body-Worn Cameras and Adjudication of Citizen Complaints of Police Misconduct

Police body-worn cameras (BWCs) have been the subject of much research on how the technology’s enhanced documentation of police/citizen interactions impact police behavior. Less attention has been paid to how BWC recordings affect the adjudication of citizen complaints against the police. We employ citizen complaint data from the Chicago Police Department and Civilian Office of Police Accountability filed between 2012-2020 to determine the extent to which BWC footage enhances the efficacy of evidence used to formulate a conclusion of responsibility, and whether bias against complainants based on race would subsequently be reduced. Accordingly, we exploit the staggered deployment of BWCs across 22 Chicago police districts over time to estimate the effect of BWCs on these outcomes. Our findings indicate that BWCs led to a significant decrease in the dismissal of investigations due to insufficient evidence (not sustained) as well as a significant increase in disciplinary actions against police officers (sustained outcomes”) with sufficient evidence to sanction their misconduct. We further find that disparities in complaints across racial groups for the “unsustained” category fade away with the implementation of BWCs.

Body-worn cameras: Technological frames and project abandonment

This case study examines the technological frames of administrators and users regarding the implementation of body-worn cameras at the Pennybridge Police Department, a mid-sized police organization (<300) in the Mid-Western United States. Using semi-structured interviews, a patrol survey, and ride-along observations; we found that different actors based on their hierarchy and function framed body-worn cameras differently over time. Administrators implemented body-cameras to protect officers from frivolous complaints while at the same time holding them accountable for their behavior. Users felt, for the most part, that the technology had become a “gotcha mechanism” as body camera footage was used to placate the public, monitor officer behavior, and charge them with minor infractions. Adding to their frustrations, users felt increasingly dispirited by the technical shortcomings of the cameras and the backend storage system provided by the vendor. At the same time, administrators were vexed by the financial and logistical burden of the program, ultimately leading to project abandonment and a search for a new system. Our findings have important implications for policymakers and future research.

Linking body worn camera activation with complaints: The promise of metadata

With the introduction of body worn cameras, new data types have emerged, including activation metadata, which is information on the extent of the implementation of body worn cameras, by whom, and under what conditions. In this paper, we propose an avenue of methodological interest: linking activation metadata with police-recorded behaviour. We take the case of complaints to examine the use of these data for investigations of officers’ misconduct. We used an observational approach, analysing 1.73 million body worn camera activations by more than 3900 frontline officers, juxtaposed with professional conduct data. We find a heterogeneous distribution of implementation, despite a ‘blanket’ body worn camera policy requiring activation. Specifically, distinct types of officers disproportionally under-activate body worn cameras. We show that body worn cameras activation rates are inversely correlated with complaints, although minimally when observed at the population level. We discuss the use of metadata for research as well as for policy.

Understanding the Adoption and Implementation of Body-Worn Cameras among U.S. Local Police Departments

The national debate about police use of force against racial minority residents has led to increased attention to body-worn cameras (BWCs) as tools for increasing police accountability. Although researchers have documented the effectiveness of BWCs, little research has been done to examine why police departments decide to use them in the first place. Based on an innovation framework, the current study aims to explain what factors determine police departments’ decisions to implement BWCs. By examining 139 U.S. police departments using event history analyses, I find that the police departments with a higher severity of police-involved deaths of minority residents and a higher strength of social movements protesting police brutality are more likely to implement BWCs. In addition, some organizational and environmental factors, including the availability of federal grants and the council-manager form of government, have significant associations with BWC implementation. Findings also suggest that different patterns of BWC implementation are demonstrated according to environmental context.

Police Unions and the Implementation of Body-Worn Cameras in a Small Island Developing State: The Case of the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service

AbstractWithin the past two decades, body-worn cameras (BWCs) have developed as an evidentiary tool to determine the outcomes of contentious police–citizen contacts as well as a method of enhancing the accountability of both groups. While there have been numerous studies conducted on BWCs, the research has focused primarily on police officer perceptions and follow-up analyses of their usage subsequent to implementation and/or during controlled, randomized trials. However, there is a dearth of academic literature on police union members’ perceptions of BWC technology prior to implementation within their departments. This article contributes to the body of literature on BWCs by providing an analysis of data on the attitudes and perceptions towards the implementation of BWC technology into the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service that were collected from Central Committee representatives of the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service Social and Welfare Association, the representative body for police officers of the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service. The findings indicate that the respondents were generally amenable to the introduction and implementation of BWCs into the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service; however, this is premised on a phased implementation preceded by a controlled trial of the BWCs, as well as the creation of internal policies prior to implementation.

The influence of body-worn cameras, minority threat, and place on police activity.

Police practices evolve and are often shaped by technological innovation, such as the adoption of body-worn cameras (BWCs). While initial research on their impact is evergrowing, researchers have neglected to examine if their use is influenced by neighborhood characteristics. This study examines the influence of a BWC implementation on police activity and enforcement practices across neighborhoods, using minority threat hypothesis and place theory to explain the relationship. We used pre- and postimplementation enforcement data to examine the influence of BWCs and community characteristics on the actions taken by Louisville Metro Police Department officers. Ten ordinary least squares models were used to analyze the enforcement changes including self-initiated activity, total enforcement, felony arrests, low-level arrests, and low-level citations. Our findings indicate BWCs implementation was associated with a decrease in low-level citations; however, self-initiated activity and felony and low-level arrests were unaffected. Also, concentrated disadvantage was associated with a decrease in self-initiated activity. We also examined the moderating effects between BWCs and neighborhood characteristics and found BWCs were correlated with a decrease in low-level citations. The implications of the findings are discussed.

Body-Worn Cameras and Internal Accountability at a Police Agency

Existing research on body-worn cameras have primarily focused on certain policing outcomes (e.g., citizen complaints and use-of-force), however, only a handful of research to date has considered how the implementation of body-worn cameras have impacted internal organizational processes at police departments. Using semi-structured interviews, a survey, and ride-along observations, we examined how body-worn cameras impacted the way police officers were held or felt accountable for their behavior. The study was conducted at the Sunnyvale Police Department (pseudonym), a small city agency in the United States that had been using cameras for two and a half years. Particularly, we describe how body-worn cameras impacted accountability at Sunnyvale within different organizational contexts that included reporting, citizen interactions, training, and supervision. Consistent with the hopes of reformers, body-worn cameras did seem to raise the general sense of accountability as they became a part of training, citizen encounters, reporting, and supervision. However, these changes were not like reformers would have imagined, as the department did not intently use cameras in a way to hold officers any more accountable for their conduct and performance on the street.

Measuring the Direct and Spillover Effects of Body Worn Cameras on the Civility of Police–Citizen Encounters and Police Work Activities

Existing research on the effects of body-worn cameras (BWCs) have found largely consistent results regarding direct significant reductions in citizen complaints and often also report reductions in use of force reports. However, few studies have examined possible spillover effects onto untreated officers. This study explicitly tests for direct and spillover effects of BWCs on the civility of police-citizen encounters and police work activities. This study assesses the direct effects of BWCs on citizen complaints, police use of force, and police proactivity and discretion during a 1-year randomized controlled trial in the Boston Police Department. Through a simultaneous quasi-experimental design, this study also investigates whether BWC deployment results in spillover effects onto control officers in treated districts as compared to comparison officers in untreated districts. Findings indicate that the use of BWCs reduces citizen complaints and police use of force but has no appreciable impact on officer activity or discretion. Furthermore, results indicate significant spillover reductions in citizen complaints for control officers in treated districts. The results of this study suggest that a limited BWC adoption may generate spillover deterrent impacts as officers and citizens perceive an increased threat that inappropriate and illegal behaviors will be captured on video even when BWCs are not actually present during an encounter. Partial BWC implementation seems like a cost-effective alternative to full implementation. However, police executives and policy makers need to think carefully about possible negative externalities generated by uneven BWC coverage.

Information Technology on the Beat: The Impacts of Body-Worn Camera and Facial Recognition Technology on Public Safety

Body-worn cameras (BWCs) have transformed the criminal justice system by facilitating information gathering and thereby enhancing public safety. Despite the promise of this technology, there is also much skepticism about its efficacy. This study examines the effect of BWC implementation on the likelihood of a suspect being arrested and on the overall crime rate. In addition, we delve into whether and how the BWC, an information gathering tool, interacts with facial recognition technology, a data analysis tool. To identify the impacts of BWC implementation, we exploit a quasi-experimental setting, in combination with a matching technique, by using a federal grant program for BWC implementation as a natural shock. Using granular crime incident–level data during the period 2010–2016, we find that the adoption of BWCs is positively associated with the probability of apprehension under its jurisdiction, especially on-view (warrantless) arrests based on a probable cause. Furthermore, machine learning–powered facial recognition technology appears to augment the effectiveness of BWC in apprehension. Using police agency–level data, the implementation of BWCs is found to be negatively associated with overall crime rates. This study sheds new light on the societal value of IT and machine learning in the public sector, beyond its business value, providing meaningful implications for policymakers and researchers.

Police Officer and Supervisor Perceptions of Body-Worn Cameras Pre- and Postimplementation: The Importance of Officer Buy-in

Body-worn cameras (BWCs) are increasingly more common in their use among police officers. Research on BWCs is the focus of an increasing number of studies seeking information on stakeholder perceptions and the impact of the technology on behavior and other related outcomes. Although the emerging research is mixed, several studies find that officers have concerns about the use of BWCs and may not fully support their use. The current study utilizes survey data from two Southern police departments. Police officers and supervisors were surveyed on their perceptions of BWCs prior to the implementation of BWCs, then again after their implementation. The analysis focuses on changes in perceptions before and after BWC implementation and examines the impact of respondent rank on perceptions. Overall, perceptions became more positive toward BWCs after the implementation; however, differences emerged when considering rank. Respondents at the supervisor rank expressed significantly less concern and more support for BWCs than those at the officer level after implementation. These results are discussed in the context of the importance of officer support and buy-in for BWCs. Policy suggestions and future directions are also discussed.

Police Body-Worn Cameras: Development of the Perceived Intensity of Monitoring Scale

Body-worn cameras (BWCs) are the latest and perhaps most tangible answer to complex social questions regarding the use of force, state legitimacy, and the proper role of police in a liberal democracy. How do officers experience heightened monitoring? This article pursues two objectives via two studies. In the first study, we establish a valid and reliable scale to measure police officer perceptions of the risks posed to them by the recording and distribution of BWC footage, conceptualized as Perceived Intensity of Monitoring (PIM). Based on a survey of 617 police officers, we evaluate an 11-item questionnaire and assess internal consistency and construct validity, perform exploratory factor analysis, and derive a PIM Scale composed of three factors measuring officer perceptions of discretion, disapproval, and distribution effects. In the second study, we evaluate the PIM Scale’s ability to predict officer emotional exhaustion, discriminating between BWC and non-BWC equipped officers. This study contributes to evolving work in BWC research by developing a useful measure for police administrators and practitioners charged with making decisions related to BWC implementation and policy. Further, the PIM Scale is applicable across professions other than policing, as surveillant workplace monitoring and technologies of accountability continue to expand to other contexts.