Thousands of law enforcement agencies have expanded their use of body-worn cameras (BWCs) to officers in specialty assignments, but some agencies have been reluctant to equip their K-9 handlers with BWCs. Our training and technical assistance team interviewed the following four subject matter experts to get their perspectives on the issue:

• Lt. Ari Morin, Fairfax County (VA) Police Department
• Major Mark Flynn, Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services
• Sgt. Mike Murphy, El Cajon (CA) Police Department
• Mike McGuinness, City Attorney, Escondido (CA)

In this infographic and accompanying text, we go over the points they discussed.

ASU, CNA, and CSU Long Beach, in an effort to characterize the prevalence and direction of BWC policy changes among BWCPIP sites, obtained 160 current BWC policies for PIP-funded agencies (current as of September 2023), and for each agency, compared the current policy to the original policy submitted during the initial grant award (one or more years prior). 

The results of their study can be found here.

This in-view commentary highlights the benefits and considerations of using BWC footage in After-Action Reports (AARs) and provides recommendations for incorporating them in organizational reviews of future significant events. We provide examples of how BWCs were used in AARs from the 2020 protests to support our recommendations.

Read the In-View here.

This webinar, held on April 18th, 2024, explored how BWCs have affected courtroom procedures, evidence sharing between prosecutors, public defenders and defense attorneys, and law enforcement partners. The discussion focused on how BWCs have impacted processes within the judiciary system at different stages of the criminal justice process as a whole – from charging and preliminary hearings to plea bargaining and criminal trials. CNA was able to bring in a wide range of perspectives on the topic. Discussion was facilitated by Damon Mosler (ret.) of the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office, and the panel included Judge Ricardo Rigual of the 15th Judicial District Court of Virginia; and Joel Madero and Peter Will, a Deputy District Attorney and a Senior Public Defender from the San Diego County District Attorney’s office.

Watch the webinar here.