Body-Worn Cameras and the Law of Unintended Consequences: Some Questions Arising from Emergent Practices

Rowe, Mike; Pearson, Geoffrey; Turner, Elizabeth

doi:10.1093/police/pax011

Cited by 34 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 17 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…These mixed findings occur within both randomized controlled experiments as well as quasi-experimental research. In their ethnographic research, Rowe et al (2018) reported officers with BWCs feeling constrained in their discretion to not arrest, especially when there is evidence of an assault (i.e., they felt that had to carry out the arrest).…”

Section: Impact Of Bwcs On Arrest and Citation Behaviorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Research on body‐worn cameras

Lum

Stoltz

Koper

et al. 2019

Criminology & Public Policy

265

175

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Research Summary In this article, we provide the most comprehensive narrative review to date of the research evidence base for body‐worn cameras (BWCs). Seventy empirical studies of BWCs were examined covering the impact of cameras on officer behavior, officer perceptions, citizen behavior, citizen perceptions, police investigations, and police organizations. Although officers and citizens are generally supportive of BWC use, BWCs have not had statistically significant or consistent effects on most measures of officer and citizen behavior or citizens’ views of police. Expectations and concerns surrounding BWCs among police leaders and citizens have not yet been realized by and large in the ways anticipated by each. Additionally, despite the large growth in BWC research, there continues to be a lacuna of knowledge on the impact that BWCs have on police organizations and police–citizen relationships more generally. Policy Implications Regardless of the evidence‐base, BWCs have already rapidly diffused into law enforcement, and many agencies will continue to adopt them. Policy implications from available evidence are not clear‐cut, but most likely BWCs will not be an easy panacea for improving police performance, accountability, and relationships with citizens. To maximize the positive impacts of BWCs, police and researchers will need to give more attention to the ways and contexts (organizational and community) in which BWCs are most beneficial or harmful. They will also need to address how BWCs can be used in police training, management, and internal investigations to achieve more fundamental organizational changes with the long‐term potential to improve police performance, accountability, and legitimacy in the community.

show abstract

Section: Impact Of Bwcs On Arrest and Citation Behaviorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Research on body‐worn cameras

Lum

Stoltz

Koper

et al. 2019

Criminology & Public Policy

265

175

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Furthermore, McClure et al (2017) and Peterson et al (2018) observed significant reductions in arrests for officers wearing cameras. The varied spectrum of inconsistent outcomes across trial contexts could be due, at least in part, to the interaction between BWV cameras and police discretion (Rowe et al 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The results of a randomized controlled trial of police body-worn video in Australia

et al. 2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Objectives We report the results of a randomized controlled trial of police body-worn video (BWV) cameras in an Australian context, with a focus on how cameras influence evidence gathering, court processes/outcomes, and police/public behavior. Methods The 6-month trial undertaken by the Western Australia Police Force involved a sample of officers (N = 498) acting as their own controls with camera use ("treatment") randomly allocated across shifts. A range of parametric and non-parametric tests were conducted to explore the influence of BWV on interview efficiency, rate/timing of guilty pleas, conviction rates, sanction rates, police use-of-force, assaults against police, and citizen complaints against police. Results The trial generated mixed results in support of this technology within this Australian context. BWV recordings did result in evidence-gathering benefits by producing cost/time efficiencies when taking field interviews. BWV footage had limited impact on court processes/outcomes, with indication that camera evidence encouraged earlier guilty pleas but no corresponding increase in the rate of guilty pleas or convictions. BWV did influence police operational decision-making, with increased sanction rates and use-of-force on treatment days. The extent to which officers engaged with the trial compounded these patterns. There was no evidence that BWV prevents problem behavior, with citizens' complaints increasing on treatment days and no influence of BWV on rates of assaults against police. Conclusions These findings highlight the need for additional context-specific clarity about why police use BWV cameras. In particular, BWV users should clearly specify the causal mechanisms through which cameras will achieve administrative, evidentiary, operational, and/or problem-prevention goals.

show abstract

“…Similar concerns have been raised in the policing literature, with some recognition that officer safety may be at risk if officers who are equipped with a BWC are hesitant to use force even in appropriate circumstances, due to the fear of being reprimanded for the inappropriate or excessive use of force (Rowe et al, 2017). This represents a concern if rather than increasing officer safety, BWCs, instead, endanger correctional officers who hesitate to use force against unruly individuals.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 84%

Cameras in Corrections: Exploring the Views of Correctional Officers on the Introduction of Body-Worn Cameras in Prisons

Dodd

Antrobus

Sydes

2020

Criminal Justice and Behavior

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In this article, we present the findings of a mixed-methods study of correctional officers’ views on the introduction of body-worn cameras (BWCs) within prisons. Using a statewide survey and in-depth interviews with correctional officers in Queensland, Australia, this study explored officer support for BWCs and the relationship between officer support and several key variables. We found widespread support for the use of BWCs among correctional officers. Female officers and those who held more positive views about the perceived functionality of BWCs and the implementation and training process were most supportive. However, the introduction of BWCs also raises some important considerations for prison management that may impact officer support, including whether to allow officers to access BWC footage for report writing or officer training. Consideration must also be made regarding turn-on policies for BWCs given concerns that more frequent recording has the potential to damage rapport with incarcerated individuals.

show abstract

Body-Worn Cameras and the Law of Unintended Consequences: Some Questions Arising from Emergent Practices

Cited by 34 publications

References 17 publications

Research on body‐worn cameras

Research on body‐worn cameras

The results of a randomized controlled trial of police body-worn video in Australia

Cameras in Corrections: Exploring the Views of Correctional Officers on the Introduction of Body-Worn Cameras in Prisons

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About