The Quarterly keeps our law enforcement partners, their agencies, and supporters informed of developments, trends, and news within the body-worn camera (BWC) field, and is meant to encourage involvement in our ongoing activities.
The Quarterly describes the most up-to-date tools and technical assistance (TTA) materials for your continued success in navigating and implementing a long-lasting, successful BWC program.
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In this Issue:
- BWC TTA Team Spotlight
- Spotlight on BWC Resource: The BJA BWC PIP: The Past, the Present, and Future Directions
- Featured BWC TTA Resources
- Latest Research on BWCs
- Special Feature: Key-Trends in Body-Worn Camera Policy and Practice
- In Case You Missed It!
- Practices from the Field
- BWCs in the News
Quick Links
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The BWC TTA Team Spotlight
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Brittany Cunningham, PhD
BWC TTA Analyst
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The BWC TTA team consists of CNA, Arizona State University (ASU), Justice and Security Strategies (JSS), and a network of experts in BWCs. Our TTA includes a wide variety of topics, such as use of force, policy and procedures, technology, community collaboration, prosecution, crime prevention, and justice research.
Dr. Brittany Cunningham is a Research Scientist with CNA’s Institute of Public Research. Dr. Cunningham is an expert in scientific research and analysis and has more than a decade of experience designing, implementing, and managing rigorous research studies and evaluations at the local-, state- and national-level. Dr. Cunningham has led and supported grants and projects from several federal agencies including the Department of Justice, Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Education, and the National Science Foundation. Currently, Dr. Cunningham serves as the Project Director for the Using Analytics to Improve Officer Safety study, funded by BJA, using police incident data to develop a risk assessment model intended to help officers assess risk and take appropriate safety protocols in real time when responding to incidents. She also serves as Project Manager for the National Institute of Justice (NIJ)-funded randomized controlled trial (RCT) of the impact of BWCs in the Loudoun County Adult Detention Center, which is one of the first RCTs of BWCs in a correctional setting.
Learn more about BWC TTA analysts here.
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Spotlight on BWC Resource
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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. Discussion focused briefly on the origins of BWC PIP, its evolution, and directions for the future.
BJA’s Acting Director, Kristen Mahoney, provided and overview of the program, the rationale for its establishment, and its impact in terms of funded agencies, BWCs funded, and geographic coverages. This webinar featured law enforcement executives from the Los Angeles and Wichita (KS) Police Departments, and a representative of the Regional Justice Information Service (REJIS) in the St Louis area. Participants discussed how their agencies leveraged BWC PIP funding and TTA to build and refine their BWC programs.
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Featured BWC TTA Resources
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Directories of Outcomes
The research on the impact of police body-worn cameras (BWCs) has grown rapidly, yielding mixed findings. Inconsistent conclusions presents two problems:
- It is difficult to keep up with the quickly growing body of evidence.
- It is difficult to make sense of the findings that are at odds across studies.
The Directories of Outcomes provide a comprehensive, up-to-date overview of the existing research by outcome. Access the directories here.
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In View: Commentary from BWC Experts
In View Commentaries feature commentary from BWC experts, including researchers, practitioners, and policy makers.
Read the recent In View here:
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BWC TTA Podcasts
The Body-Worn Camera TTA Podcasts provide a unique opportunity for law enforcement officers, researchers, and the law enforcement community to learn about a variety of topics related to body- worn cameras. The podcasts are available for you to listen to at your convenience on our website and on various podcast channels. Please don't hesitate to contact us with questions, requests for additional information, or to suggest additional podcast topics.
To subscribe to our podcast, visit the BWC TTA website or click on one of the images to the left for the various channels.
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Latest Research on Body-Worn Cameras
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Abstract: Controversial police use-of-force incidents have eroded police legitimacy, and body-worn cameras (BWCs) have received extensive attention as a key reform. I study the causal effects of BWCs on the use of force and law enforcement outcomes. Previous studies that randomized BWC deployment at the officer level within a single agency faced empirical challenges as (1) the control group officers are also indirectly affected by BWCs due to interactions with the treatment group officers (spillover), (2) there may be fundamental differences between agencies that agree to be researched and agencies that do not (site-selection bias), and (3) researchers could not directly examine agency-wide variables such as crime rates and public opinion. I overcome these limitations by conducting the first nationwide study of BWCs across more than 1,000 agencies. I find that BWCs lead to substantial decreases in the use of force, both against whites and minorities. Nationwide, they reduce police-involved homicides by 43%. In contrast to previous studies on police accountability, I find no evidence of an association between police oversight through BWCs and reduction in policing efforts. By examining social media usage from Twitter as well as engagement with the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, I find that BWC adoption has improved public opinion toward the police. These findings imply that BWCs can be an important tool for improving police accountability without sacrificing policing capabilities.
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Abstract: Recent incidents between police and people of color have further strained police–community relationships. Scholars, practitioners, activists, policy makers, and several police departments have advocated for the implementation of body-worn cameras (BWC), a technological adoption promoted to address growing mistrust in the United States. This article examines perception of this technological adoption through 40 in-depth interviews in Washington, D.C. Furthermore, this article uses the context of police BWC to explore how the integration of technological advancements impacts the relationships between communities and local governments—namely police departments. The evidence suggests that residents believe BWC should improve officer behavior and increase police legitimacy, but cameras will not increase trust between police and the community. Based on the findings, this research identifies the limitations of BWC technology and assesses potential collaborative strategies available for police organizations related to the adoption and use of BWC.
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Abstract: 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. Prior research has not established the civilizing effect’s existence, or how often these pre-conditions are met; this study aims to fill that gap. Data was collected during systematic social observation (SSO) of 166 encounters between citizens and officers in the Tempe, Arizona Police Department. The results tell a simple story. Two preconditions (activation, citizen mental capacity) are consistently met; awareness and escalated behavior are not. Overall, 1.2% of encounters saw all pre-conditions met. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications for research on BWCs.
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Abstract: Research finds that the public generally supports the use of Body-Worn Cameras (BWC) by police. Much of the support for BWCs is attributed to the technology’s ability to promote police accountability and enhance perceptions of law enforcement transparency, while also providing support to uniformed personnel. However, we do not really know why the public supports BWC usage by police because research on the technology’s potential benefits and related deployment issues is still in its infancy. The few studies that have sought to unravel the predictors of public support for BWC have focused their attention on the benefits the public perceives will accompany the use of BWC to the virtual exclusion of the concerns they may have with the technology. Using survey data collected from 431 residents of a mid-size city in Southern California, this study expands our knowledge of the influences of public support for BWC by including a comprehensive measure of the public’s perceived concerns, including privacy, cost, technology limitations, and the possible manipulation of BWC footage. Findings revealed that public support was significantly influenced by respondents’ perceived benefits and their perceived concerns about BWC, while controlling for demographic characteristics.
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Special Feature:
Key-Trends in Body-Worn Camera Policy and Practice:
A Five-Year Policy Analysis of US Department of Justice-Funded Law Enforcement Agencies
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CNA, ASU, and JSS provide TTA to law enforcement agencies that receive funding through the US Department of Justice (DOJ) 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. This report summarizes analysis of 405 policies from fiscal year (FY) 2015–2019 grantees. Assessment of the policies identified key BWC policy trends across 11 important BWC issues. Several of the trends involve substantial policy differences between agencies funded in different years.
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Body-Worn Camera Footage: What do we do with all of that evidence? (Part I)
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This webinar focused on BWC footage as a form of digital evidence and how agencies are leveraging and managing large volumes of digital evidence media (DEM) being generated by BWCs.
BWC TTA Senior Advisor, Dr. Shellie Solomon, facilitated a conversation with representatives from three police agencies:
- Sgt. Armand Lemoyne, Los Angeles, CA, Police Department
- Mr. Mian Saladeen, Rochester, NY, Police Department
- Ms. Michelle Stern, Fort Lauderdale, FL, Police Department
Dr. Solomon asked specific questions about how agencies are managing large volumes of DEM data; what metrics are being used to measure DEM impact; how tagging and categorizing of footage is being done; how footage is used within a police agency for investigation and training; and how requests for footage from the media and the public are handled.
This was the first in a companion webinar series. A follow-up webinar will focus on how law enforcement agencies are collaborating with prosecutors in sharing and leveraging BWC footage to better inform prosecution practices, including charging decisions and when presenting digital evidence in court.
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Tampa, FL, Police Department
Managing digital evidence & public records requests
The City of Tampa, FL, is located in Hillsborough County and has a population of 385,430 residents. Comprised of a melting pot of different cultures and ethnicities, the population is approximately 46% Caucasian, 24% African American, 23% Hispanic, 4% Asian, 2% Mixed Race and 1% other. In 2019, the Tampa Police Department (TPD) was awarded a Body-Worn Camera Policy and implementation Program (PIP) grant to deploy the technology using evidence-based and problem-solving approaches.
Once TPD had achieved their full rollout of the cameras, they began focus on the best way to provide evidence to their State Attorney’s office and manage public records requests. The TPD and State Attorney's office worked to ensure their software systems were compatible to share footage, and noticed the pre-planning, advice, and consultation with other agencies made the difference in ability to roll out their program. TPD worked with other agencies in Florida, such as Miami, Miami-Dade, and Jacksonville, who helped them with the initial policy and implementation for their public records request portal, by sharing data they had compiled, and their experiences in operating their public records request portal.
The TPD technology and innovation team (T&I) conducted a trial period with the State Attorney's office to test out their methods of sharing footage, and determined that the best path forward would be to provide a data-dump twice a week, based on BWC footage and arrest reports. The portal that the TPD and State Attorney's office shares facilitates the ability to receive requests and share footage.
To learn more about managing public records requests, please contact [email protected]
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If your agency would like to be featured in the next issue of The Quarterly, please contact us.
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Body-Worn Cameras in the News
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We can capture almost any moment with the push of a button. That’s not the case for all Wisconsin law enforcement agencies. Not all of them use recording devices, which means critical incidents can go undocumented. A Wisconsin Department of Justice survey conducted in December 2020 found that 37% of Wisconsin law enforcement agencies aren’t using body cameras. The DOJ survey found cost was a barrier for 87% of agencies without recording devices.
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The Greenville, SC, Police Department could soon implement new body camera technology that would automatically start recording when an officer unholsters their gun. This comes from a recommendation on behalf of the Citizen’s Advisory Committee. According to the city’s website, the purpose of the panel is to improve communications between the department and the community. Greenville Police Chief Howie Thompson said the new technology is aimed at creating trust with the community.
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Correctional guards at the Dauphin County, PA, Prison are expected to begin wearing body cameras Monday, adding a new layer of protection for employees and inmates. For the past month, supervisors have been wearing them to work out technical issues or questions that arise. Guards generally are instructed to turn on the cameras any time they interact with an inmate and if a situation is escalating, according to Brett Hambright, Dauphin County’s new spokesman. Guards also “must oblige” and turn their body cameras on if an inmate asks them to, he said.
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Dayton, OH, Police Department plans to acquire body-worn cameras for police officers early this year, and police officials say video footage will be audited to try to ensure officers are complying with department policies and code of conduct rules. A Dayton police reform committee recently recommended police and community members develop a new program to document and correct low-level policy violations, which may be caught on camera and discovered during supervisors’ video audits.
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Points of view or opinions in this content are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the US Department of Justice.
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This project was supported by Grant No. 2019-BC-BX-K001 awarded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance. The Bureau of Justice Assistance is a component of the Department of Justice's Office of Justice Programs, which also includes the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the National Institute of Justice, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, the Office for Victims of Crime, and the SMART Office. Points of view or opinions in this document are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
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