This study mined officers’ perspectives on whether body-worn cameras (BWCs) could change the behaviour of citizens and police. Officers reinforced themes from prior studies on the professionalizing effect of BWCs, the potential for passivity, and the concern with ‘second-guessing’. Officers also stressed the theme of ‘it depends’, where behaviour change is contingent on the citizen, the situation, and the officer. Findings resonated with the concept of police encounters as two-way social interactions and related insights from regulation scholarship on ‘motivational posturing’. Results underscore the need for more observational studies (including ethnographies and systematic social observations) that identify the variety of encounters and settings where BWC activation might alter behavioural norms and encounter dynamics. Relatedly, BWC footage could be mined to inform reviews of everyday police work that identify the unique ways in which BWC activation could be leveraged to change behaviour in a variety of situations with different posturing dynamics. Policymakers should emphasize the complexity of the implementation environments surrounding the uptake of BWCs and other technology, with a view to encouraging research that measures the many dimensions of officers’ perceptions. Understanding the place and role of BWCs within the contexts of officers’ holistic experiences should help policymakers understand both the limits and potential of cameras to change everyday policing.
One area of significant concern for researchers of domestic violence is identifying the utility of objective risk assessment tools on diverse samples. This study included a sample of predominately African American women ( n = 57) living in a domestic violence shelter. The study compared the Danger Assessment (DA) and the Ontario Domestic Assault Risk Assessment (ODARA) to evaluate their responses of their risk for re-abuse. Results revealed a moderate to strong correlation between the DA and ODARA ( r = .73). Offender’s age, habitation, and pregnancy status were not related to the victim’s perceptions of risk for future abuse. Implications of these findings are discussed.
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