Body Worn Cameras
Headley, Andrea M, Rob T Guerette, and Auzeen Shariati. “A Field Experiment of the Impact of Body-Worn Cameras (BWCs) on Police Officer Behavior and Perceptions.” Journal of Criminal Justice 53 (2017): 102–109. Web.
The article findings state that there is no significant difference in officer outcomes for individuals, whether using body-worn cameras or not. The body-worn cameras do not have a statistically significant effect on officer’s behaviors. The researchers noted that some factors, including calculations for officer compliance, officer perception, and the general trends and percentage change for other outcomes that were surveyed, did not change.
In the research, a couple of errors were made. A conclusion on how the body-worn cameras affect citizens and police officers’ behavior was, however, made for each result, regardless of the error. The first error was a typographical error. The number of police in the field with the BWCs in the experiment that was measured was 24 and 26, whereas the 25 officers were analyzed. This shows that the data collectors might have been nervous while experimenting. There was also a data management error in transferring data in the statistical software packages. This shows that the data used to conclude was tampered with, and therefore, deciding that there was a medium effect on complaints might be a biased answer. Finally, there was a codding error. There were missing patches of data with some arrests recording null. The results were, therefore, biased and unreliable.
Wallace, Danielle, et al. “BODY‐WORN CAMERAS AS A POTENTIAL SOURCE OF DEPOLICING: TESTING FOR CAMERA‐INDUCED PASSIVITY.” Criminology 56.3 (2018): 481–509. Web.
The research was aimed at finding out whether the body-worn cameras have an effect of de-policing and whether they have a decreasing impact on proactive police work. It involved investigating the effect of body-worn cameras on several measures, including officer-initiated calls, police apprehending suspects, reaction time, and the time on the scene. It was, nonetheless, distinguished that there was no huge measurable camera that prompted detachment. The cameras were found to be more profitable since they had more pros than cons.
Since the 2014 crisis that leads to the Fergerson effect, there was an increased doubt on how the police officers were performing their duties. Body-worn cameras (BWC) were introduced as an idea brought out in the final report of the Task Force as they tried to come up with the solution to alleviate the crisis on police legitimacy. They were found to be useful in that they could reduce the use of force and citizen complaints, and produce better evidence for cases.
However, different people and organizations had different ideas on the effect of BWCs. There were questions about the officer and citizen privacy. There were significant concerns where it was proposed that BWCs were just another form of technological scrutiny over police publicly. It was therefore clear that the BWCs would affect police and citizen behavior, limiting certain extremes. There were, therefore, speculations on if the BWCs would lead to de-policing like surveillance of employees has negative motivational effects on them. However, the researchers concluded that BMWs had a positive impact on police work. It increased the police 911 call response rate. Still, there was no significant statistical change in police performance with and without BWCs.
Crow, Matthew S et al. “Community Perceptions of Police Body-Worn Cameras: The Impact of Views on Fairness, Fear, Performance, and Privacy.” Criminal Justice and Behavior 44.4 (2017): 589–610. Web.
The BWCs are a technology that was introduced as a means to curb the police brutality that was increasing in 2013. There was a reported case where the grand jury decided not to indict officer Daren Wilson with the murder of Michael Brown, a teenager. It was among the six pillars and 62 recommendations that were formed to enhance the collection of data on officer-involved shooting. Although the technology was found helpful, the publicized police use-of-force encounters led to an assumption that BWCs could lead to a change in police behavior when at their work, and this could reduce their efficiency.
The Rialto study proved that there was a great change in police behavior while using BWCs as compared to when they were not wearing them. There was a significant reduction in use-of-force incidents. When the BWCs were used, the citizens had less reported cases on negative treatment by the police officers. This indicated that there was a change in the behavior of the officers. While not using the cameras, they had a negative perception of people, thereby using force in their suspect encounters. The research found that the use of the BWCs led to a resulted adherence to the protocol by the police officers. There was also a 37% fall in the use-of-force cases on camera shifts. The police could have to face the consequences if they forcefully executed the law, and there was evidence on it. They were therefore given early warnings to create awareness on that they were under observation, and the BWCs were worn to make them more compliant. The shifts that had no BWCs and the ones that the officers were given the right to turn the BWCs on and off had a 71% rise in use-of-force. Therefore, there is a significant change in the police work, the perception of police and citizens, and the implementation of justice.
Jennings, Wesley G, Mathew D Lynch, and Lorie A Fridell. “Evaluating the Impact of Police Officer Body-Worn Cameras (BWCs) on Response-to-Resistance and Serious External Complaints: Evidence from the Orlando Police Department (OPD) Experience Utilizing a Randomized Controlled Experiment.” Journal of Criminal Justice 43.6 (2015): 480–486. Web.
Media and anecdotal evidence show that both the police and the citizens have a liking for the use of BWCs. The BWCs have a positive effect on police accountability and community relations. The NY court ruling led to a discussion that was based on the novel policy recommendations on the legal and ethical responsibilities of both the police an the citizens. The BWCs are quite helpful in that they can give evidence to cases with unclarity about Michael Brown’s case. It is noted that the use of BWCs has a great impact on both the citizen and the police. For the citizens, there is a controlled and reduced report of cases relating to harassment from the officers. On the other hand, the officers have different behavior on controlled shifts. They were found to be twice as violent during shifts that they did not use the BWCs in research in Rialto.
A study with 50officers from Mesa, Arizona, noted that the cameras had a significant effect on officers that wore them. For a start, there was a significant rise in the amount of time the officers came into contact with suspects. The officers also commented on the BWCs being helpful for them as they could perform their duties well without the thought that they would be wrongly accused in case of an incident. They also offered more citations on the ordinance, and they also had fewer arrests in the stop-and-frisk instances.
Opinion
The BWCs have a great effect on the citizen’s and police officer’s behavior. The research shows that there is a significant change in how the officers treat the suspects in a condition where BWCs are involved. The officer’s perception tends to change, and they act less violently when they are under surveillance. However, they become more active, more motivated, and do their work in a better way. The citizens, however, do not show their maximum reactions when they are aware of the situation is under surveillance. Although some research tries to prove that there is no significant change in the behavior of the police and citizens in using BWCs, it is evident that a few factors such as the police activeness will eventually change in an aim to fulfill the law’s requirements rather than just performing their duties how they best see fit.