The Quarterly
keeps our law enforcement agencies and their partners and supporters informed of developments, trends, and news within the body-worn camera (BWC) field and encourages involvement in our ongoing activities.
The Quarterly
provides the most up-to-date tools and technical assistance 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
- Featured BWC TTA Resources
- Latest Research on BWCs
- Special Feature: LE Tech Talks Podcast Series
- 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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Elliot Harkavy
Elliot Harkavy has nearly 30 years’ experience in homeland security, strategic planning, market strategy, competitive intelligence, IT planning and operations improvement. Mr. Harkavy spent 4 years with the Washington Metropolitan Council of Governments (MWCOG) coordinating law enforcement across the National Capital Region (NCR) and 8 years with the Department of Homeland Security as part of FEMA’s Operations directorate and Office of Disability Integration and Coordination. In his capacity with MWCOG, he worked with over 1700 public safety officials across the NCR to identify, plan for, respond to and recover from public safety threats. He convened over 27 regional public safety committees, subcommittees and working groups, including the Regional Police Chiefs and Corrections Chiefs Committees and subcommittees addressing training, special operations units, technologies, including Communications, Body Worn Cameras, Drones and numerous other issues central to modern law enforcement.
Meet the rest of the BWC TTA team
here.
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Spotlight on BWC Resource
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Digital Evidence Integration Webinar, 2019
Digital evidence integration is a process which optimally compiles videos, photographs, electronic files, and other digital data into a common repository or system so that the evidence can be viewed holistically, in one place, for a common evidentiary view of a given case. Digital evidence may include, but is not limited to, the following: body-worn camera video, in-car video, automated license plate reader images, etc. During this webinar, participants heard from BWC site representatives who discussed their experiences with digital evidence integration, the challenges they faced, the benefits they have experienced, and lessons learned for other agencies looking to do the same. Deputy District Attorney and BWC TTA Lead, Damon Mosler, discussed how digital evidence management impacts the prosecutor's office. Participants gained a better understanding of digital evidence integration as well the potential best practices to follow when using this approach.
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Featured BWC TTA Resources
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Key Trends in BWC Policy and Practice
CNA, ASU, and JSS developed a BWC policy review process to assess the comprehensiveness of BWC policies, which is assessed through a BWC Policy Review Scorecard. This report describes the results of an analysis of 212 policies from FY 2015 (n=54), FY 2016 (n=75), and FY 2017 (n=83) grantees.
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Site Requested TTA Meeting Summaries
As a part of the Body-Worn Camera (BWC) Training and Technical Assistance (TTA) Program, funded sites can request an on-site TTA meeting. During these meetings, sites receive assistance and presentations from CNA’s cadre of subject experts on topics relevant to their departments.
Read the report
here
and request your own TTA meeting
here
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BWC Community Presentation Template
The community presentation template contains a series of PowerPoint™ slides covering several issues pertaining to Body-Worn Cameras (BWCs). The BWC technical assistance team prepared these slides for use by representatives from local jurisdictions who have the need or desire to make presentations on BWCs (e.g., to their police department, to local government officials, to local justice system agencies, to community members or groups).
View the presentation template
here.
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Latest Research on Body-Worn Cameras
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Abstract:
In this article, we provide the most comprehensive narrative review to date of the research evidence base for body-worn cameras (BWCs). Seventy empirical studies of BWCs were examined covering the impact of cameras on officer behavior, officer perceptions, citizen behavior, citizen perceptions, police investigations, and police organizations. Although officers and citizens are generally supportive of BWC use, BWCs have not had statistically significant or consistent effects on most measures of officer and citizen behavior or citizens’ views of police. Expectations and concerns surrounding BWCs among police leaders and citizens have not yet been realized by and large in the ways anticipated by each. Additionally, despite the large growth in BWC research, there continues to be a lacuna of knowledge on the impact that BWCs have on police organizations and police–citizen relationships more generally.
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Abstract:
The current research adds to the literature addressing police body-worn cameras (BWCs) by experimentally evaluating their effect on an interaction that has, to date, received relatively little systematic, empirical attention: police–eyewitness interactions. Although research suggests that BWCs generally have positive effects, legal scholars and media professionals have long argued that deploying cameras in this context may backfire, especially by chilling public willingness to speak with police. The current study utilized an online national convenience sample (N = 508) to test the effect of four factors that were varied across seven mock interview video conditions on participants’ willingness to cooperate, the amount of information provided, accuracy and confidence in an eyewitness identification task, and perceptions like procedural fairness and trust. We hypothesized that the presence and activation of the camera would have positive effects on the interaction. Regarding the factors, the manipulated presence of a recording camera had the most consistent positive impact. Whether the camera was present, and the participant’s awareness of the camera and the fact that it was recording were also tested, but these comparisons were less likely to reach statistical significance. Regarding the conditions, the best outcomes were associated with officers who turned on the camera and did not explain why. Conversely, the worst outcomes were associated with officers who turned off the cameras without explanation. Our results suggest that the positive effects of BWCs may extend to police–eyewitness interactions and reveal no evidence of a chilling effect on eyewitness-relevant outcomes.
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Abstract:
As Cynthia Lum, Megan Stoltz, Christopher Koper, and Amber Scherer (2019, this issue) point out, the amount of research on police body-worn cameras (BWCs) has dramatically increased in the last 5 years. This upsurge culminated in the President's Task Force on 21st Century Policing's (2015) focus on BWCs and increased funding for research. And although politics and money definitely played a role, another factor driving the increase in the number of studies was the air of skepticism surrounding the technology. Critics warned that any benefit of BWCs might be outweighed by costs, such as loss of privacy, excessive financial burden, tension between officers and management, and reduced police activity. This tone of caution continues to pervade police and academic discussions of BWCs.
The rush of research opportunities has run counter to traditional academic caution. This caution originates in scientific skepticism, where claims lacking sufficient empirical evidence are subject to rigorous scrutiny, tested, and re-tested using the scientific method. This is not a bad thing—scientific skepticism has fueled progress and debate, and it has led to groundbreaking discoveries throughout history. Even the most ardent promoters of the scientific method, however, have argued that too much skepticism can hinder progress;
Too much openness and you accept every notion, idea, and hypothesis—which is tantamount to knowing nothing. Too much skepticism […] and you're not only unpleasantly
grumpy, but also closed to the advance of science. A judicious mix is what we need.
(Sagan, 1995: 30)
Finding that “judicious mix” has been the challenge to date. In their comprehensive narrative review, Lum et al. (2019) state that, “BWCs have not had statistically significant or consistent effects on most
measures of officer and citizen behavior or citizens’ views of police,” and they go on to illustrate the inconsistent results and research gaps. It may be worth examining the potential reasons for these results in greater depth.
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Abstract:
Since the summer of 2014, community members, politicians, and police executives across the country have called for greater police accountability and improvements in police-community relations. Body-worn cameras (“BWCs”) are widely seen as serving both ends. Today, thousands of police agencies are exploring, adopting, and implementing body-cam programs. BWCs are here, and more are coming. Legal scholars have largely responded to this burgeoning new technology by addressing it through the framework of traditional discussions about privacy, police accountability, or the rules of evidence. Relatively few articles have gone further by identifying the potential benefits of BWCs and critically examining whether the adoption of this technology by police agencies can truly do what many proponents claim. This Article falls solidly into the latter camp.
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Special Feature:
LE Tech Talks Podcast Series
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The “LE Tech Talks” podcast series, developed by the BWC TTA team, consists of both interviews and audio resources. The first five episodes of the series include an interview with a Captain in the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority Police Department, an audio resource on creating a crisis communication plan, an overview of BWC resources, tips for overcoming BWC technological issues, and a discussion of BWC successes and challenges. Future podcasts will cover such topics as training and management, BWC implementation strategies, and communication. Look for more episodes in this exciting series soon!
To listen to the LE Tech Talks podcasts, click
here.
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2019 Body-Worn Camera Training and Technical Assistance National Meeting Summary
On April 9-10, 2019, the BWC TTA team, in partnership with BJA, held the 2019 Body-Worn Camera Training and Technical Assistance National Meeting in Arlington, Virginia. This meeting was intended for the designated FY 2018 BWC Policy and Implementation Program (PIP) sites, members of the BWC Training and Technical Assistance (TTA) Team, subject matter experts (SMEs), and representatives from BJA.
To view the meeting materials, including summary report, attendee guide, and session slides, clic
k
here
.
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Body-Worn Camera Program:
Pemberton Township, New Jersey, Police Department
The Pemberton Township Police Department received a fiscal year 2018 Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) BWC Policy and Implementation Program (PIP) grant. Since the grant was awarded, the agency has successfully completed its policy review scorecard, confirming it completed a comprehensive and deliberate BWC policy development process. BJA reviewed and approved Pemberton Township's scorecard in June 2019.
At the time of the grant award, the Pemberton Township Police Department had three Police Chaplains of various religious denominations that are sworn and considered members of the police department. The Pemberton Township Police Department has leveraged the interaction with their respective congregations, the local ministerium (council of churches) and other community stakeholders to convene several presentations on BWC implementation, show different variations of the equipment, discuss best practices and policy and ultimately incorporate the realistic ideas and concerns of these community stakeholders into their policy and implementation plan.
BWC implementation has enhanced transparency and accountability. The Pemberton Township Police Department delivered training to all sworn officers on how this technology is to be utilized and the purposes for its use. Externally, the BWC project has given the community another level of confidence and legitimacy towards the agency.
During the policy development process, the department worked closely with its community to gather feedback on the development and deployment of their BWC program including a community forum on March 26, 2019. The presentation included information on why the Pemberton Township Police Department decided to implement BWCs, how they will train officers on BWCs, and how they will develop policies on BWCs. The presentation is available as a resource on the BWC TTA website
here
and an example of how agencies can engage their community on these important topics around BWCs.
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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After nearly two years of planning, research and testing, every uniformed officer in the Cedar Rapids Police Department has been outfitted with a body-worn camera and trained how to use it. The project, which began nearly two years ago as a pilot program with a few officers, has grown into one that involves all uniformed officers and integrates the department’s entire video tool kit.
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The Syracuse Police Department has started a mandatory four-week campaign to collect community input on its body-worn cameras, and released a survey. A federal grant requires that the city collect the information to receive money for the cameras. The city has been awarded state and federal grants in recent years that can be used to buy and manage body-worn cameras.
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Incredible footage from a police officer's body camera showed a harrowing rescue of four people from two cars involved in a crash that were eventually engulfed in flames. The officers from the Camden County Police Department and Delaware River Port Authority, as well as civilian motorists, helped to free the victims by shattering the windows of the vehicles to pull out two men before the car was completely engulfed in flames.
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Almost every interaction between Schenectady police and the public will now be captured on camera. Schenectady Police are finalizing their new body camera program. They just started rolling out their new models in January, after almost a year of looking for the right fit.
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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. 2015-DE-BX-K002 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 US Department of Justice.
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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