Research Resource

It is generally precieved that the benefits of BWCs include the ability to increase transparency and police legitimacy, improve behavior among both police officers and citizens, and reduce citizen complaints and police use of force. Less established in the literature, however, is the value of BWCs to aid in the arrest, prosecution, and conviction of intimate partner violence (IPV) offenders.This article examines the effect of pre- and post-camera deployment on a number of outcomes related to arrest, prosecution, and conviction of intimate partner violence offenders.

The National Institue of Justice has released its 2016 Primer and market survey on BWC's. The paper provides background context for BWC, methodology for developing the market survey, compiled results from the market survey, and considerations for implementing BWCs.

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The Clarksville police department is asking for help. The police department is asking the residents of Clarksville to complete a survey on if they support the use of body-camera's. Clarksville is currently in the process of applying for a government grant that will be used to fund body worn camera's for the city's police officers.

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This document is an updated version of CAST's Body-Worn Video Technical Guidance published in May 2014. It not only reflects the improvements in BWV technology, but is also influenced by the experience of UK police forces committed to large scale deployment of BWV devices and through consultation with industry.

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The aim of this document is to provide a practical understanding on the wide range of information that Body Worn Video (BWV) devices are able to capture and what safeguards can be implemented to avoid losing this data. 

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The CNA Corporation, Arizona State University (ASU), and Justice and Security Strategies, Inc. (JSS) provide training and technical assistance (TTA) to law enforcement agencies who have received funding for body-worn cameras (BWCs) through the US Department of Justice (DOJ) Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) BWC Policy and Implementation Program (PIP). Administrative policy review is a central feature of the TTA provided to the PIP sites. The TTA team developed a policy review process and BWC Policy Review Scorecard to assess the comprehensiveness of BWC policies.

A voluminous body of research across various disciplines has shown that when humans become self-conscious about being watched, they often alter their conduct. Accumulated evidence further suggests that individuals who are aware that they being-observed often embrace submissive or commonly-accepted behavior, particularly when the observer is a rule-enforcing entity. What is less known, however, is what happens when the observer is not a “real person”, and whether being videotaped can have an effect on aggression and violence.

Human eyes and camera lenses see, process, and recall information differently. It is important to understand the differences before using camera footage in use-of-force (UOF) or officer-involved shooting (OIS) investigations. The ramifications for not understanding the differences include inappropriate or unfair disciplinary actions, increased liability, and potential wrongful incarceration. Body cameras are the wave of the future in law enforcement and are already showing their many positive contributions. As with all new technologies, there will be growing pains and learning curves.

You can read this article online here. 

The Albuquerque department has been the subject of a Justice Department investigation in which body cameras were adopted in 2012 in the wake of controversy over police shootings, along with a requirement that officers use them to document civilian encounters.However, the cameras have hardly proven to be a solution to the department's problems. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of New Mexico has been leading the way in pushing for reform of the Albuquerque police department, with its advocacy having for example played a key role in prompting the Justice Department's investigation. 

You can read this article online here.

In an effort to address these questions and produce policy guidance to law enforcement agencies, the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF), with support from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office), conducted research in 2013 on the use of body-worn cameras. Drawing upon feedback from the conference, the survey results, and information gathered from the interviews and policy reviews, PERF created this publication to provide law enforcement agencies with guidance on the use of body-worn cameras.