Body-worn Cameras’ Effects on Police Officers and Citizen Behavior

By Cynthia Lum, Christopher S. Koper, David B. Wilson, Megan Stoltz, Michael Goodier, Elizabeth Eggins, Angela Higginson and Lorraine Mazerolle

Law enforcement agencies have rapidly adopted body-worn cameras (BWCs) in the last decade with the hope that they might improve police conduct, accountability, and transparency, especially regarding use of force. Overall, there remains substantial uncertainty about whether BWCs can reduce officer use of force, but the variation in results over studies suggests there may be conditions in which BWC could be effective. BWCs also do not seem to affect other police and citizen behaviors in a consistent manner, including officers’ self-initiated activities or arrest behaviors, dispatched calls for service, or assaults and resistance against police officers. BWCs can reduce the number of citizen complaints against police officers, but it is unclear whether this finding signals an improvement in the quality of police-citizen interactions or a change in reporting.

Research has not directly addressed whether BWCs can strengthen police accountability systems or police-citizen relationships. Overall, the way BWCs are currently being used may not substantially affect most officer or citizen behaviors. The use of BWCs does not have consistent or significant effects on officers’ use of force, arrest activities, proactive or self-initiated activities, or other measured behaviors. Nor do BWCs have clear effects on citizens’ calls to police or assaults or resistance against officers. Analysis suggests restricting officer discretion in turning on and off BWCs may reduce police use of force, but more assessment is needed.

Oslo, Norway: Campbell Collaborative, 2020. 40p.