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:
The Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD) is statutorily authorized to undertake criminal and juvenile justice planning, coordination, and policy analysis. PCCD serves as the State Administrating Agency (SAA) that provides the state with a central source of planning, statistical analysis, and program development for the improvement of the state’s justice system. As the SAA, PCCD administers state and federal grant programs.
Body-worn cameras (BWCs) are effective at providing agencies with an additional layer of accountability and transparency. In turn, BWCs help address community concerns, mitigate liability, and often provide the primary evidence to determine whether an officer’s actions were justified in the moment. Not surprisingly, the level of BWC adoption in police departments continues to grow, both because the technology offers many benefits and also because many states now require agencies to use them.
The Body-Worn Camera (BWC) Training and Technical Assistance (TTA) Program offers several means of supporting the Bureau of Justice Assistance’s (BJA) BWC Policy and Implementation Program (BWCPIP) grantees to achieve their BWC program goals and desired outcomes. TTA is also available to agencies that are not BWCPIP grantee when the topic is relevant and resources are available to address those agencies’ needs.
Access this resource here.
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.
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.
Many departments use body-worn camera (BWC) footage for administrative purposes, such as investigating community member complaints and officer use of force. BWC footage can also capture and measure important aspects of officers’ interactions with community members. This one-page resource provides just a few examples of the types of questions an agency can answer with BWC footage in this regard.
The introduction of body-worn camera (BWC) technology has given law enforcement agencies an opportunity to enhance officer safety through different methods. As the technology evolves, so do the ways in which BWC footage is used for training and tactical purposes focusing on officer safety. This resource highlights ways in which agencies have used BWCs to promote officer safety via tactical awareness, training, FTO-recruit feedback, and real-time decision-making.
Over the last few years, thousands of law enforcement agencies in the United States have adopted body-worn cameras (BWCs), and those agencies immediately had to deal with the tremendous amount of digital evidence generated by the technology. Digital evidence management (DEM) is the process by which an agency manages, stores, and transmits the data generated by BWCs and other devices (e.g., other types of cameras, cell phones). DEM is a critically important feature of a successful BWC program.
