ICMA released a fact sheet highlighting best practices for implementing body-worn cameras in local police departments, from the Body-Worn Camera Policy and Implementation Program of the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), U.S. Department of Justice. The development of the fact sheet was supported by a grant awarded by BJA and implemented by CNA and ICMA. For more resources developed by ICMA and BWC TTA, please visit the ICMA BWC project page.
Author (s) Abstract: In 2016, nearly half (47%) of the 15,328 general-purpose law enforcement agencies in the United States had acquired body-worn cameras (BWCs) (figure 1). By comparison, 69% had dashboard cameras and 38% had personal audio recorders. Findings are based on the 2016 Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics - Body-Worn Camera Supplement (LEMAS-BWCS) from the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). The LEMAS-BWCS was administered for the first time in 2016.
Police legitimacy is generally regarded as a view among community members that police departments play an appropriate role in implementing rules governing public conduct. Placing body-worn cameras (BWCs) on police officers has been suggested as a potentially
In late August, a Texas jury convicted former Balch Springs police officer Roy Oliver of the murder of 15-year-old Jordan Edwards. The uncommon verdict largely rested on footage of the incident captured on Oliver’s body camera, technology the city’s police department implemented in 2015. As more law enforcement agencies nationwide use police body-worn cameras, states are developing and refining policy guidance.
The Milwaukee Police Department’s body-worn camera (BWC) program began in October 2015 as a response to strained police relations in the city’s communities of color that were exacerbated by several highly public police shootings of black men in Milwaukee and across the country. The Urban Institute surveyed Milwaukee community members in April 2016, September 2017, and July 2018 about their attitudes toward the police department and its BWC program, as part of a rigorous, independent evaluation.
The purpose of this paper is to review the extant of the published literature on body-worn cameras (BWCs) in policing, specifically in the context of how BWCs affect both citizens and officers.The current study is a narrative review of the impact of BWCs on police and citizens generated through a search of four repositories (Google Scholar, Criminal Justice Abstracts, EBSCO Host, PsychInfo). The current narrative review identified 21 articles that matched the selection criteria.
Body-worn cameras (BWCs) have become a central topic of policing reforms within the past few years. In the wake of recent high-profile use-of-force cases, many police departments accelerated their plans to implement BWCs. Conservative estimates suggest up to one-third of police departments in the U.S. are using BWCs, with that count increasing rapidly. The rapid adoption of BWCs has outpaced research into the impact that this technology has had on policing. Most studies of BWCs to date focus on two main outcomes, namely officer use of force and citizen complaints against officers.
Despite relatively little extant research, efforts to expand the use of body-worn cameras (BWCs) in policing are increasing. Although recent research suggests positive impacts of BWCs on reducing police use-of-force and citizen complaints, little is known about community members’ perceptions of BWCs. The current study examined perceptions of residents of two Florida counties and found a large majority of respondents supported the use of BWCs. Structural equation modeling was utilized to examine factors that influence views of BWCs.
Many have suggested that placing body-worn cameras (BWCs) on police officers improves the civility of police-citizen encounters and enhances citizen perceptions of police transparency and legitimacy. In response, many police departments have adopted this technology to address public concerns over the quality of policing in their communities. The existing program evaluation evidence on the intended and unintended consequences of outfitting police officers with BWCs is still developing, however.
The research base on the impact of police body-worn cameras (BWCs) has grown rapidly, and, over time, the results have become increasingly mixed. This development poses two problems:
