Stakeholders

Resources about Stakeholders & Stakeholder Engagement

Prosecutor Review of BWC’s for Evidentiary Consideration and Ways that Prosecutors Manage Digital Evidence

The webinar included presentations and guidance from three Prosecuting Attorney Offices (Mahaska County, IA; Shelby County, TN; Orange County, CA) on how BWC footage can be used as evidence across the workflows for which prosecutors are responsible, including charging decisions, support for grand jury and preliminary hearings, and eventual use in trial. We also heard how they manage all digital evidence received from their law enforcement partners, followed by Q&A moderated by retired DA Damon Mosler.

Watch the recording here.

Webinar: Lessons Learned from Critical Incident Investigations

Webinar: Lessons Learned from Critical Incident Investigations

The webinar explored the overall management of critical incidents and the role that BWCs have within that incident management. The main purpose of the webinar was to provide guidance on the essential aspects of managing a critical incident and share insight on how agencies work with each other throughout the aftermath of a critical incident.

“Culture eats strategy for breakfast”: An in-depth examination of police officer perceptions of body-worn camera implementation and their relationship to policy, supervision, and training

Abstract
Research Summary: This study uses interviews with 23 police officers from a small police department to conduct an in-depth examination of their perceptions of three critical but understudied areas related to body-worn camera programs: the implementation and policy-making process, supervision, and training. The focus is on understanding the factors which contribute to, or undermine, body-worn camera integration and acceptance.

Body Worn Camera Site Spotlight: Jonesboro, AR

Jonesboro, Arkansas, is a city of 75,000 in the northeastern corner of the state, approximately 70 miles from Memphis, Tennessee. Located within one of the fastest growing counties in Arkansas, Jonesboro is home to Arkansas State University and its 13,000 students. In 2018, Jonesboro PD received a grant from the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) Body-Worn Camera Policy and Implementation Program (BWCPIP).

External Factors that Impact BWC Program Staffing

Two challenging aspects of implementing or expanding a body-worn camera (BWC) program are ensuring projecting staffing is sufficient to support the program as well as anticipating the impacts on existing staff. Several variables make staffing challenging—some of which an agency can control while others are imposed. Ideally, agencies could simply use a staffing formula based on deployed BWC units, but the complexity of BWC issues makes that impractical.

The BJA BWC PIP: The Past, the Present, and Future Directions

This webinar provided an overview of the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) Body-Worn Camera (BWC) Policy and Implementation Program (PIP) after six years of operation, drawing on the experiences of grant program personnel, public safety executives whose agencies have received funding, and training and technical assistance providers who have helped guide the program from its inception. The discussion highlighted how agencies have used BWC funding and TTA to build successful and comprehensive BWC programs.

BWC Impacts on Staffing and Workload: Voices from the Field

Implementing, expanding, or updating a body-worn camera (BWC) program comes with important considerations and a number of challenges. One particular challenge is that BWCs increase workloads and, thus, staffing needs. When it comes to BWC programs, agencies frequently ask, “Are additional personnel going to be required, and, if so, how do I determine the level of increase and justify the associated expense?”

Is There a Civilizing Effect on Citizens? Testing the Pre- Conditions for Body Worn Camera-Induced Behavior Change

The cause(s) of reduced use of force and complaints following police body-worn camera (BWC) deployment remain unclear, though some argue that BWCs generate a civilizing effect on citizen behavior. This potential effect rests on four pre-conditions:

(1) BWC presence and citizen awareness;

(2) BWC activation;

(3) Escalated citizen behavior or the potential for escalation;

(4) Citizen mental capacity for BWC awareness.