Police Body-worn Cameras Research Articles

Do body-worn cameras reduce eyewitness cooperation with the police? An experimental inquiry

The current research adds to the literature addressing police body-worn cameras (BWCs) by experimentally evaluating their effect on an interaction that has, to date, received relatively little systematic, empirical attention: police–eyewitness interactions. Although research suggests that BWCs generally have positive effects, legal scholars and media professionals have long argued that deploying cameras in this context may backfire, especially by chilling public willingness to speak with police. The current study utilized an online national convenience sample (N = 508) to test the effect of four factors that were varied across seven mock interview video conditions on participants’ willingness to cooperate, the amount of information provided, accuracy and confidence in an eyewitness identification task, and perceptions like procedural fairness and trust. We hypothesized that the presence and activation of the camera would have positive effects on the interaction. Regarding the factors, the manipulated presence of a recording camera had the most consistent positive impact. Whether the camera was present, and the participant’s awareness of the camera and the fact that it was recording were also tested, but these comparisons were less likely to reach statistical significance. Regarding the conditions, the best outcomes were associated with officers who turned on the camera and did not explain why. Conversely, the worst outcomes were associated with officers who turned off the cameras without explanation. Our results suggest that the positive effects of BWCs may extend to police–eyewitness interactions and reveal no evidence of a chilling effect on eyewitness-relevant outcomes.

Points of View: Arrestees’ Perspectives on Police Body-Worn Cameras and Their Perceived Impact on Police–Citizen Interactions

Entirely absent from debates about the desirability and potential impacts of police body-worn cameras (BWCs) are the views of a significant group on the other side of the lens—individuals who have recently experienced arrest by a police officer. In a bid to redress this significant gap, this article reports findings from the first study to examine arrestee views and experiences of police BWCs. Data from interviews with 907 police detainees reveal that they are largely in favour of officers wearing cameras, believing that they can provide greater accountability and improve the behaviour of both law enforcement officers and members of the public. Importantly, however, this support is contingent on a number of operational and procedural policies regulating the use of BWCs.

When no one is watching: evaluating the impact of body-worn cameras on use of force incidents

ABSTRACT Outcomes associated with police body-worn cameras (BWCs) and their influence on use of force is chiefly known from large-scale implementation studies and randomised controlled trials. While these studies provide valuable insight, there is concern that these studies are susceptible to the Hawthorne effect. Using an interrupted time series analysis, this study examines whether the implementation of BWCs had an effect on use of force incidents within a United States department that independently adopted BWCs and did not participate in a collaborative research trial. Results show that while there was a non-significant drop in use of force incidents at the month of BWC implementation, there was a steady, significant increase in use of force incidents for every month following implementation. The number of incidents reaches pre-BWC implementation frequencies after three years. These findings indicate that BWCs may influence police behaviour immediately following implementation, though this influence weakens over time as BWCs become normalised with daily police use.

Preventing treatment spillover contamination in criminological field experiments: the case of body-worn police cameras

ObjectivesA central issue in experiments is protecting the integrity of causal identification from treatment spillover effects. The objective of this article is to demonstrate a bright line beyond which spillover of treatment renders experimental results misleading. We focus on a highly publicized recent test of police body cameras that violated the key assumption of a valid experiment: independence of treatment conditions for each unit of analysis.MethodsIn this article, we set out arguments for and against particular units of random assignment in relation to protecting against spillover effects that violate the Stable Unit Treatment Value Assumption (SUTVA).ResultsComparisons to methodological solutions from other disciplines demonstrate several ways of dealing with interference in experiments, all of which give priority to causal identification over sample size as the best pathway to statistical power.ConclusionsResearchers contemplating which units of analysis to randomize can use the case of police body-worn cameras to argue against research designs that guarantee large spillover effects.

Citizens' perceptions of body-worn cameras (BWCs): Findings from a quasi-randomized controlled trial

PurposeThis study examines citizens' perceptions of police body-worn cameras (BWCs) and whether the exposure to BWCs impacts citizens' perceptions of BWCs. MethodA quasi-randomized controlled trial was conducted. Drivers assigned to the experimental group encountered the traffic police officers wearing BWCs whereas those assigned to the control group encountered with the traffic police officers without BWCs. A survey that also included an open-ended question was administered on the drivers after the traffic stop. The answers to the open-ended question were coded first, and then analyzed. FindingsAlmost all of the respondents reported that they would support the use of BWCs. They also reported that BWCs would improve evidence, transparency, quality of treatment, police behavior, police lawfulness, compliance, and both police and citizen behavior, and decrease corruption and complaints. The results of the chi-square test for bivariate analysis and the logistic regression test for multivariate analysis showed that the exposure to BWCs significantly improved just citizens' perceptions of BWCs including quality of treatment, police behavior, police lawfulness, and corruption. ConclusionCitizens have positive views about the effects of BWCs, and the exposure to BWCs has positive impact on citizens' perceptions of the effects of BWCs.

Contextual Determinants of Observed Negative Emotional States in Police–Community Interactions

Researchers universally agree that interactions between police and community members have the propensity to be emotionally charged. However, to date, there is limited research investigating situational and dynamic factors that make an interaction between a police officer and citizen more or less emotionally charged. Analyzing unedited police body-worn camera footage, associated with 287 criminal code violations, this research explores the individual, behavioral, and environmental factors that affect police officers’ and citizens’ emotional states during a police–citizen interaction. Results show clear variations at the situational, organizational, and environmental levels influencing the observed emotional state of the suspect and police officer.

Being held to account: Detainees’ perceptions of police body-worn cameras

Police organisations across the world are embracing body-worn video camera technology. The justification for this is to enhance public trust in police, provide transparency in policing activity, increase police accountability, reduce conflict between police and public, and to provide a police perspective of incidents and events. However, while the corpus of research into the efficacy and operational practicalities of police use of body-worn video cameras is developing, questions on some elements of their impact remain. The majority of scholarship has hitherto been evaluations focused on the impact of the cameras on police use of force and on the numbers of complaints against the police. Alternatively, this article explores body-worn video cameras from the perspective of police detainees, and specifically, detainees’ perceptions of the capacities of body-worn video cameras to deliver promised increased levels of accountability in policing. The article draws on a survey and research interviews with 907 police detainees across four Australian jurisdictions. While respondents largely support the use of body-worn video cameras they also identify a number of caveats. We conclude by suggesting that there are still impediments in body-worn video cameras to achieving the level of accountability promised by advocates and expected by the respondents.

Body-worn cameras and officer perceptions: a mixed-method pretest posttest of patrol officers and supervisors

ABSTRACTThe adoption of police body-worn cameras (BWCs) is likely inevitable. This technology has significant implications for police–community relations, enhanced trust and transparency, and complaint investigation. Little is known about officer, or supervisor, attitudes toward BWCs. These dimensions are critical as officer investment and agency policy influence BWC usage and effectiveness. This research uses a mixed-method approach, pairing officer surveys with focus groups of patrol officers and focus groups of supervisors. University police officers participated in the survey using a census approach with near full participation. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected pre- and post-implementation to address attitudinal changes toward BWCs. Results indicate officer and supervisor support for BWCs. Many of the concerns that officers raised in the pretest, including fear of negative evaluations, internal investigations, and technology issues, were not realized. Connecting officer and supervisor perspectives provides guidance for agencies considering adoption and/or implementation of BWCs.

Police Body-Worn Cameras: Effects on Officers’ Burnout and Perceived Organizational Support

Police departments in the United States are rapidly adopting body-worn cameras (BWCs). To date, no study has investigated the effects of BWCs on police officers themselves, despite evidence suggesting negative effects of electronic performance monitoring on employee well-being. Police officers already experience higher levels of burnout than other professions. We hypothesize that the intense surveillance of BWCs will manifest in how police officers perceive the organizational support of their departments and will increase burnout. We test these hypotheses using data from patrol officers ( n = 271) and structural equation modeling. We find BWCs increase police officer burnout, and this effect is statistically different from zero. We also find that BWCs decrease officers’ perceived organizational support, which mediates the relationship between BWCs and burnout. Greater perceived organizational support can blunt the negative effects of BWCs. Our study is the first to situate effects on officers at the center of BWC literature.

The importance of external stakeholders for police body-worn camera diffusion

PurposeThe diffusion of innovations paradigm suggests that stakeholders’ acceptance of a police innovation shapes how it spreads and impacts the larger criminal justice system. A lack of support by external stakeholders for police body-worn cameras (BWCs) can short-circuit their intended benefits. The purpose of this paper is to examine the perceptions of BWCs among non-police stakeholders who are impacted by the technology as well as how BWCs influence their daily work processes.Design/methodology/approachThe authors conducted interviews and focus groups (n=41) in two US cities where the police department implemented BWCs. The interviewees range from courtroom actors (e.g. judges, prosecutors) to those who work with police in the field (e.g. fire and mental health), city leaders, civilian oversight members, and victim advocates.FindingsExternal stakeholders are highly supportive of the new technology. Within the diffusion of innovations framework, this support suggests that the adoption of BWCs will continue. However, the authors also found the decision to implement BWCs carries unique consequences for external stakeholders, implying that a comprehensive planning process that takes into account the views of all stakeholders is critical.Originality/valueDespite the recent diffusion of BWCs in policing, this is the first study to examine the perceptions of external stakeholders. More broadly, few criminologists have applied the diffusion of innovations framework to understand how technologies and other changes emerge and take hold in the criminal justice system. This study sheds light on the spread of BWCs within this framework and offers insights on their continued impact and consequences.

Privacy and Cybersecurity Lessons at the Intersection of the Internet of Things and Police Body-Worn Cameras

Prepared for the North Carolina Law Review symposium on police body-worn Cameras (“BWC”s), this Article shows that BWCs can be conceptualized as an example of the Internet of Things (“IoT”). By combining the previously separate literatures on BWCs and IoT, this Article shows how insights from each literature applies to the other. Part I adopts the IoT definition of (1) a sensor connected to the Internet that (2) stores and/or processes data remotely, typically in the cloud. Applied to BWCs, the camera is a sensor, and the video footage and related data are stored outside of the original camera, often in the cloud. Building on this equivalence of BWCs and IoT, Part II examines lessons from the substantial IoT literature for BWC privacy and cybersecurity. Part II systematically examines leading industry standards and Federal Trade Commission guidance for applicable criteria for good practice for BWCs. Analysis of this literature suggests three themes for operationalizing these best practices. First, police departments can and should learn from the IoT literature to improve privacy and cybersecurity for BWCs. Second, police departments should use their bargaining power to demand security and privacy best practices from their vendors. Third, where departments lack the in-house expertise to handle BWC security and privacy they should seek it from outside institutions or consultants, including from outside experts in IoT security and privacy. Part III examines two areas where study of BWCs might offer lessons for the broader domain of IoT. First, to protect police officer privacy during breaks and for other reasons, BWCs are not always on. By contrast, IoT best practices to date have not emphasized the implications of toggling the sensor on and off. Second, an important debate for BWCs is how to promote transparency—to provide accountability while protecting individual privacy. In this respect, BWCs are an application of technology where public disclosure of the entire data feed is a higher priority than for most other IoT applications to date. Studying this debate can inform other IoT debates about when to open full data feeds to the public, consistent with privacy and cybersecurity concerns.

Racial disparities in police use-of-force: a state-of-the-art review

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to systematically and comprehensively review the extant literature on racial disparities in police use of force.Design/methodology/approachThe current study uses a narrative meta-review of racial disparities in police use of force through a systematic and exhaustive search of several academic databases (e.g. Criminal Justice s; EBSCO Host, PsychInfo, etc.).FindingsThe current meta-review identified 41 studies that matched the selection criteria. These studies examined public and police officer perceptions of use of force, rates of use of force, types of force used, neighborhood contextual correlates of use of force, and severity of force used. The relationship between race and use of force remains unclear after an examination of these studies. This indicates a need for high-quality research focusing on comparable operationalization of variables and stronger methodologies.Research limitations/implicationsThe research implications derived from this meta-review indicate a need for increased research to better understand the intersections of race and police use of force (and the factors that increase the likelihood of force being used more broadly).Practical implicationsThe practical implications derived from this meta-review indicate the need for monitoring techniques, such as the use of police body-worn cameras that could serve to deter inappropriate use of force.Originality/valueThe state-of-the-art review on racial disparities in police use of force is the first of its kind. This study comprehensively reviews the literature on racial disparities in police use of force. This study will be useful for those who wish to further explore racial disparities and use of force issues in policing, and for police managers and administrators who want to address concerns related to racial disparities in use of force in their organization.

Design Considerations in the Proliferation of Police Body-Worn Cameras

More and more police departments are equipping their officers with body-worn cameras. To maximize the utility of body cams, designers have considered issues such as camera-mounting position, camera-mount stability, methods of activation, and data transfer methods. The human factors/ergonomics community can make important contributions to the design of body-worn cameras and identify and address issues that could arise from the introduction of new technologies (e.g., biometric identification and automatic detection of concealed weapons). Engaging with this ever-expanding technology will benefit law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve and protect.

Captured on Camera: Louisiana's Public Records Law Hindering Civil Liberties

On July 5, 2016, Alton Sterling was shot by two Baton Rouge police officers after an altercation in a convenience store parking lot. Bystanders in the area caught the actual shooting on camera, but unfortunately missed events surrounding and leading up to the shooting. After the Alton Sterling shooting, Baton Rouge faced turmoil and riots that came close to tearing Louisiana apart. The chaos that surrounded the Alton Sterling shooting is directly attributable to the lack of clarity in understanding the circumstances of the event. Specifically, in the Sterling case two bystander videos gave the public a look at the shooting. Instead of bringing clarity to the situation, the bystander videos seemed to create more confusion. The rise in social media and recording devices at the disposal of virtually everyone in the country makes it easy for facts to be misconstrued. As with any major crisis, the public wants to know what actually happened in that exact moment. Permitting the public to receive easier access to police body-worn camera footage would allow them to see a recording of the situation from the officer’s point of view. In excessive-force cases, the officers’ point of view is paramount. Making Louisiana’s public record law more specific would make police body-worn camera footage easier to obtain in certain situations. While also allowing public civil liberties to thrive instead of being weakened. The individual viewing the recording will then be placed in the shoes of the officer who ultimately made the final decision to use deadly force. This improvement will shed light on the circumstances surrounding tragic events and open perspectives to diminish negativity throughout the community. Thus, it is essential that the public records statute be improved regarding the disclosure of police body-worn camera footage to the public in Louisiana. This Article focuses on police body-worn camera footage becoming public record by exploring the benefits and drawbacks of body cameras, along with solutions to the perceived drawbacks of police body-worn cameras. It discusses Louisiana public records law as it stands along with changes that need to be made in order to better serve the citizens of Louisiana and provide access to police body-worn camera footage.

Paradoxical effects of self-awareness of being observed: testing the effect of police body-worn cameras on assaults and aggression against officers

ObjectivesRecently, scholars have applied self-awareness theory to explain why body-worn cameras (BWCs) affect encounters between the public and police, with its most immediate manifestation being a reduction in the use of force by and complaints against police. In this study, we report on the paradoxical effects of BWCs in the context of assaults on officers.MethodsA multisite randomized controlled trial in ten departments, with officers wearing (or not wearing) BWCs based on random assignment of shifts. Odds ratios are used to estimate the treatment effect on assaults, along with “one study removed” sensitivity analyses. Further subgroup analyses are performed in terms of varying degrees of officers’ discretion, to enhance the practical applications of this multisite experiment. Finally, before-analyses are applied as well, including Bootstrapping and Monte-Carlo simulations to further validate the results under stricter statistical conditions, to illustrate the overall effects.ResultsA total of 394 assaults per 1000 arrests occurred during 3637 treatment shifts (M = 39.35, SD = 17.89) compared with 284 assaults per 1000 arrests during 3697 control shifts (M = 28.38; SD = 15.99), which translate into 37% higher odds of assault in treatment shifts than in control conditions. The perverse direction and relative magnitude in each experimental site in eight out of ten sites were consistent. The backfiring treatment effect was substantially more pronounced in low discretion sites, i.e., where officers strongly followed the experimental protocol (OR = 2.565; 95% CI 1.792, 3.672). At the same time, before–after analyses show that assaults were overall reduced by 61% in the participating police departments, thus suggesting paradoxical effects.ConclusionsWe explain these findings using self-awareness theory. Once self-aware that their performance is being observed by BWCs, officers become at risk of being assaulted. Results suggest that under some circumstances, self-awareness can lead to excessive self-inspection that strips power-holders of their ability to function under extreme situations. This mechanism is potentially a function of “over-deterrence”. The study further demonstrates the benefits of applying psychosocial theories to the study of social control and deterrence theories more broadly, with a robust and falsifiable mechanism that explains the conditions under which being observed stimulates either appropriate or perverse consequences.

Visibility is a Trap: The Ethics of Police Body-Worn Cameras and Control

The growing use of body-worn cameras (BWCs) in law enforcement poses ethical and privacy threats to be considered by policy makers. Law enforcement adoption of surveillance technology often outpaces the laws and regulations that would ensure their appropriate use, and the negative consequences are rarely anticipated, particularly as they relate to privacy concerns. To date, the BWC policy narrative in the United States frames the technology as a method to increase transparency in police–community interactions and build legitimacy. However, irrespective of how noble the original intent, technologies tend to morph from beneficence to overt control in the absence of countervailing friction. This article critiques the increased transparency brought about by BWCs to broadly explore the impact of increased exposure on victims, and concludes by proposing ethical policy principles to limit the harms the new technology could pose to vulnerable victims of domestic and sexual violence.

Post-experimental follow-ups—Fade-out versus persistence effects: The Rialto police body-worn camera experiment four years on

PurposeUnder certain conditions, experimental treatment effects result in behavioral modifications that persist beyond the study period, at times, even after the interventions are discontinued. On the other hand, there are interventions that generate brief, short-term effects that “fade out” once the manipulation is withdrawn or when the in-study follow-up period is completed. These scenarios are context specific. MethodsThis study reports the results from a three-year post-experimental follow-up from the world's first randomized controlled trial of police body-worn cameras. ResultsThe results show that initial falls in rates of complaints against police and police use of force during arrest were sustained during the four years following the cameras being introduced. ConclusionsThe findings suggest that police officers do not become habituated to the effect of the body-worn cameras, and that persistence rather than fade-out effects may characterize this emerging technology.

Police Officers’ Perceptions of Body-Worn Cameras in Buffalo and Rochester

Police body-worn cameras have been advanced as a solution to disparate perceptions among the citizenry, public officials, community leaders, and the police themselves in the highly contested arena of police-citizen encounters. As with previous innovations in policing it is important that programs or policies developed for street-level application be planned in advance, and the opinions of police officers should be understood prior to implementation. This study provides survey responses from police officers in Buffalo and Rochester regarding their perceptions of body-worn cameras. Survey items were borrowed from prior research in Phoenix and Los Angeles. It also included items intended to measure the officer’s opinions about examining camera images prior to writing a report, an issue that is the subject of some disagreement among policy makers. Findings suggest similar attitudes toward body cameras not only among Buffalo and Rochester police officers, but also with police officers in other agencies. Almost all respondents agree or strongly agree that police officers should have the ability to review body camera images prior to writing a report. The policy implications of this finding are discussed.

Show Me What Happened

Objectives: Using temporal sequencing of unedited police body-worn camera (BWC) footage of use of force incidents, we test four hypotheses to understand how incident-characteristics influence use of force, duration of that force, and the type and severity of force used by police. Method: We code and analyze using data visualization techniques and regression analysis unedited BWC footage involving use of force in a single police agency in the United States. Results: Use of force occurs relatively early in most interactions, though gender, race, and behavioral factors partially explain when and how much force is used. Regression results indicate that force is used more quickly against Black suspects and males. Suspect resistance predicts both time to force (TtF) and the duration of force applied. Finally, police are more likely to use greater levels of force in longer, more drawn-out interactions. Conclusions: Our results appear to support existing theories for disproportionate use of force, though we caution restraint in generalizing our results. We find support only at our temporal level (TtF) and do not find support for the duration or severity of that force used. These temporal variables provide additional context toward better understanding and further contextualizing use of force by police.

Big Budget Productions with Limited Release: Video Retention Issues with Body-Worn Cameras

Since 2013, there has been growing support for police body-worn cameras in the wake of several high profile and controversial encounters between citizens and law enforcement. The federal government has justified budgetary measures funding body-worn camera programs as a means to facilitate trust between law enforcement and the public through the objectivity of video footage — a sentiment supported by many lawmakers advocating for implementation of this technology. These policy goals, however, are stymied by a deficiency of police department policies and state statutes regulating the retention of footage, and close adherence of states to the precedent of Arizona v. Youngblood, which holds that the destruction of potentially exculpatory evidence by the government not committed in “bad faith” does not violate due process. This Note analyzes the current landscape of body-worn camera video retention, and argues for reform at the judicial and statutory level on how footage is preserved. It argues that courts should interpret Youngblood as allowing judges to impose the sanction of “missing evidence instructions” — even in the absence of “bad faith” — as a remedy against the destruction of body-worn camera footage that occurs because of police policies and practices that limit protection of such footage. This Note also argues that states should move quickly to create statutes regulating the time periods in which body-worn camera footage must be retained, while also balancing the logistical burden that widespread video storage imposes on police departments.