By Taeho Kim

Body-worn cameras (BWCs) have received extensive attention as a key reform to restore police legitimacy. I study the causal effects of BWCs on law enforcement outcomes by conducting a nationwide study of BWCs across 947 agencies that adopted BWCs between 2014 and 2016 in the US. I find that BWCs led to decreases in the use of force but the increased oversight did not reduce crime control activities. By examining social media usage from Twitter, I also find suggestive evidence that BWC adoption has improved public opinion toward the police.

Unpublished paper, 2019. 84p.

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

Body-worn cameras do not have clear or consistent effects on most officer or citizen behaviors, but different practices need further evaluation. 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.

Campbell Systematic Review, 2020. 40p.

By The International Association of Chiefs of Policy (IACP)

As part of our long-standing commitment to advancing the profession of law enforcement and the practice of policing, eleven leading law enforcement leadership and labor organizations continued their work to provide guidance to the law enforcement profession on de-escalation techniques, less-lethal force, and deadly force. The extensive work of the participating organizations resulted in the development of a companion Discussion Paper to supplement the Consensus Policy on Use of Force that was originally published in 2017 and updated in 2020. The combined document represents our collaborative efforts to advance the law enforcement profession, while upholding our commitment and duty to serve the public and preserve all human life. The National Consensus Discussion Paper on Use of Force is designed to provide essential background material and supporting documentation to promote greater understanding of the developmental philosophy and implementation guidelines for the Consensus Policy. Law agencies are encouraged to utilize the Discussion Paper and the information contained therein to better inform their decisions on whether to implement the various elements found in the Consensus Policy in their own agencies.

Alexandria, VA: IACP, 2020. 16p.

By Li Sian Goh

Despite the widespread implementation of new policies intended at reducing police officers’ use of force in encounters with civilians, evidence about these policies remains patchy. Consisting of a series of three papers, my dissertation seeks to contribute to the body of knowledge on measures to reduce police use of force. The first paper considers the effect of consent decrees and other forms of federal intervention on fatalities resulting from citizen encounters with the police. Using a panel dataset of deaths caused by the police between the years 2000 and 2016, a difference-in-differences analysis found that court-appointed monitorships reduced fatalities by 29.1%. The second paper examines the effect of departmental oversight over body-worn cameras on officer-involved shootings. Using a panel dataset of police departments in 36 large departments across the United States, a difference-in-differences analysis finds that while the presence of body-worn cameras alone did not reduce shootings, restricting officer discretion on when cameras should be activated reduced shootings by 33.3%. The final paper evaluates the effect of a de-escalation training program. A difference-in-differences analysis of individual officers revealed no significant changes in serious force levels between officers who had been trained and officers who had not been trained. However, an analysis comparing the department which implemented the training with other law enforcement agencies in the same state suggested that serious force rates declined by approximately 40%. In totality, the dissertation

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  provides evidence about the effectiveness of contemporary measures to reduce use of force.

Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania, 2020. 171p.

By Julie Ciccolini, Ida Sawyer and Madeline de Figueiredo

On June 4, 2020, New York City police carried out a planned assault and mass arrests of peaceful protesters in the Mott Haven neighborhood of the South Bronx, a low-income Black and brown community that has long faced systemic racism and police brutality. The operation was among the most aggressive police responses to protests across the United States following the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota on May 25. About 10 minutes before the 8 p.m. curfew, scores of police officers surrounded and trapped the roughly 300 protesters, not allowing them to disperse. Just after 8 p.m., the police, unprovoked and without warning, advanced on the protesters, whaling their batons, beating people from car tops, and firing pepper spray into people’s faces before rounding up about 250 of them for arrest. Clearly identifiable legal observers and street medics were also targeted. “Kettling” Protesters in the Bronx, based on interviews or written accounts from 81 protesters and observers and analysis of 155 videos recorded during the protest, reveals how the police action in Mott Haven was deliberate, planned and in violation of international human rights law. The operation illustrates a culture within the New York police force, modeled by top commanders, that encourages and condones violence and abuse. The report describes the government’s ineffective accountability mechanisms that protect police officers, shows the shortcomings of incremental reforms, and makes the case for structural change.

New York: Human Rights Watch and the American Civil Liberties Union, 2020. 114p.

By Brice Terpstra; Michael D. White; Aili Malm; Janne E. Gaub; Craig Uchida

This examination of the management of digital evidence captured by body-worn cameras (BWCs) pertains to “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).” An earlier study of seven jurisdictions (Uchida et al., 2021) examined the way in which BWC footage flowed through policing agencies and in the criminal justice system. The report provided an understanding of the key challenges and issues faced by law enforcement agencies and prosecutor offices as they use BWCs routinely. To further our knowledge, we conducted an online survey of agencies receiving federal funds for BWC through the Bureau of Justice Assistance Policy and Implementation (PIP) BWC funding program to address this gap. We asked agencies approximately 30 questions related to digital evidence management (DEM), including basic program management, internal uses of footage, external sharing, challenges, and future developments. Sixty-eight agencies completed our survey, and this report details those results. The most common challenges identified were cost/staffing/resources (28 percent); storage/infrastructure requirements (25 percent); and video redaction (14 percent). Agencies also cited Freedom of Information Act public requests for BWC evidence footage. Perceptions of future developments were also discussed.

CNA Corporation with Justice & Security Strategies, Inc. (JSS) and Arizona State University (ASU):  2022. 17p.

By Thomas Woodmansee, John Markovic

As more police agencies have adopted BWCs on their own initiative, and at least seven states have recently moved to mandate their use, BWCs are becoming a permanent fixture for the majority of police agencies. As BWCs continue to garner widespread support across varied segments of the public and of law enforcement, the benefits of this technology are becoming firmly established and agencies are demonstrating novel ways to use BWCs to improve policing. The context in which agencies implement BWCs is important, and police understand that BWCs are quickly becoming another component of the required “toolbelt” that they take into the field every day. Command staff now realize that BWCs are part of the fabric of their policing operations, i.e., BWCs are affected by and are affecting many other dimensions of policing. BWCs have, for instance, added to police workload by generating public and media requests for footage that must be painstakingly reviewed and redacted before release. On the positive side, departments have realized some areas where BWCs serve to streamline existing practices, such as the investigation and resolution of citizen complaints. At the same time agencies also recognize some previously unidentified and unintended benefits of this technology. BWCs provide police with opportunities to enhance their patrol responses and investigations. In this article written by CNA's Thomas Woodmansee and BJA's John Markovic, we discuss these two applications and other unique benefits of BWCs.

2022. 9p.

By Craig D. Uchida; Shellie E. Solomon, Christine Connor, John McCluskey, Charles M. Katz, Michael D. White, Quin Patterson, Allie Land, John Markovic, with Kyle Anderson & Jennifer Schmitz

Digital Evidence Management (DEM) encompasses a wide variety of devices, technologies, tools, and data, particularly as they relate to the criminal justice system (Goodison, Davis, and Jackson, 2015). This report is about body-worn cameras (BWCs) and the digital evidence (footage) created by the technology. The main purpose of the study is to understand and explain the key challenges faced by law enforcement agencies and prosecutor offices as they use BWCs routinely. Taking a case study approach, we examine the process for managing BWC footage in seven agencies: Two large police departments (Phoenix, AZ and Los Angeles, CA); two mid-size police agencies (Glendale, AZ and Rochester, NY); a Sheriff's Office (Harris County, TX), and a collaborative effort in South Florida (Broward County State Attorney's Office and Fort Lauderdale Police Department).

Silver Spring, MD: Justice and Security Strategies, 2022. 83p.

By Michael D. White and Carlena Orosco

The Tempe Smart Policing Initiative is a straightforward project: design, deliver, and evaluate a de-escalation training program. The Tempe team believed an “off-the-shelf” training would not be sufficient for their needs, or the needs of their community. As a result, the team customized their own training to fit the Tempe officers and their community. Design: The Tempe team devoted 18 months to curriculum development, centered on three activities. First, they sent officers to nearly two dozen de-escalation trainings, including several of the most popular trainings such as T3 (https://www.polis-solutions.net/t3) and ICAT (https://www.policeforum.org/icat-training-guide, and trainings of specific police departments (e.g., LAPD). Officers completed an evaluation form for each training. Second, the ASU researchers spent five months shadowing peer-nominated (peers within the Tempe Police Department) top de-escalators to “watch them in action” and harness their local expertise. This included dozens of ride-alongs, one-on-one interviews, and focus groups. Third, the ASU researchers conducted a departmentwide survey to gather perspectives about de-escalation from all officers. A curriculum subcommittee reviewed all the information gathered in the design phase, and they worked with professional curriculum developers to create the training content....

Tempe: Arizona State University Center for Violence Prevention and Community Safety, 2021. 63p.

By Luis V. De la Torre

Police officers working in countries plagued by drug trafficking are often offered a choice between "plata o plomo" ("silver or lead"). Given this option, it is not surprising that levels of police corruption are high in these nation-states. Significantly, however, levels of police corruption do differ radically between those countries where the levels of drug production and trafficking are similar. This thesis examines the case of Mexico, where corruption has been historically high and has increased in recent times; and the case of Colombia, where levels of police corruption have been relatively low and might even be said to be on the decline. Specialists in police reform and anticorruption typically look at administrative factors such as ethics, salary levels, the purging of corrupt officials, and the recruiting and training of "clean" officers as essential elements in the prevention of police corruption. While these factors explain some of the differences in levels of corruption, this thesis fills an important gap in the existing literature by moving beyond these conventional explanations. In particular, it introduces a country-specific approach to drug-related police corruption, including factors such as the organizational structure of the police force (centralized or decentralized), the legacy of the "political criminal nexus" in the country concerned, and both the size and "ideology" of the drug trafficking organizations involved.

Monterey, California:. Naval Postgraduate School, 2008. 142p.

By Paul Stott, Richard Ekins & David Spencer

‘Just Stop Oil’ protests: A legal and policing quagmire sets out how the police can more effectively tackle the chaos that disruptive protests are bringing to our streets. Over the last month ‘Just Stop Oil’ protestors have brought London to a standstill – causing Criminal Damage, obstructing the highway, blocking ambulances and fire engines, disrupting Londoners from going about their daily lives. These protests are also eating into police time, with 8,000 frontline police shifts diverted from fighting crime in local communities to deal with the protests

London: Policy Exchange, 2022. 37p.

By Samuel Peterson, Dionne Barnes-Proby, Kathryn E. Bouskill, Lois M. Davis, Matthew L. Mizel, Beverly A. Weidmer, Isabel Leamon, Alexandra Mendoza-Graf, Matt Strawn, Joshua Snoke, et al.

RAND Corporation researchers studied deputy subgroups within the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD) to help LASD and the county learn more about how these subgroups are formed, why they exist, and what actions might be taken if it is determined that these subgroups have a significant impact on LASD's mission. The research team formulated questions for an anonymous survey, confidential interviews, and focus groups with a range of LASD personnel and community stakeholders. The team collected interview and focus group data from 141 community leaders and members; interview data from 57 individuals, including members of LASD and other county stakeholders; and responses from 1,608 LASD survey participants. Sixteen percent of LASD survey respondents acknowledged that they had been asked to join a subgroup, with one-quarter of those being invited in the last five years (the survey did not directly ask whether participants belonged to a subgroup). Personnel had a wide array of views on the structure, function, risks, and value of the subgroups, but many recognized that the potential risks outweighed any functional value or other purported benefits. This matter negatively impacts community trust, and community members wanted to see that LASD was taking the matter seriously. Deputies expressed mixed opinions as to what actions they felt the department should take. Thirty-seven percent of respondents agreed that subgroups should be prohibited. These results suggest that this subject is divisive within LASD and that efforts for such

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  change could be met with some resistance.

Santa Monica, CA: RAND, 2021. 230p.

By Emily Owens and Jaclyn Rosenquist

In order to better understand the role that race or ethnicity may play in who is stopped by their officers, the California Highway Patrol (CHP) provided the California Policy Lab (CPL) with a data set of 2,141,817 enforcement stops made by the CHP from January to December of 2019. The data was collected pursuant to California’s Racial and Identity Profiling Act of 2015 (RIPA). In order to extend the statistical analysis presented in the 2021 Annual RIPA Board Report, we evaluated enforcement stops in combination with non-enforcement stops using two generally accepted approaches to measure racially disparate policing: benchmarking and a hit rate analysis.

Los Angeles: California Policy Lab, 2021. 59p.

By Chris Jones, Jane Kilpatrick, Yasha Maccanico

Attempts by the EU and its member states to step up identity controls by equipping police and immigration authorities with new biometric technologies are likely to see both ethnic minority citizens and non-citizens subjected to unwarranted intrusions into their everyday activities, argues a report published today by Statewatch. Building the biometric state: Police powers and discrimination looks at the gradual development and deployment of biometric technologies by EU institutions and member states over the last two decades. It finds that the EU has provided at least €290 million in public research funding to projects aiming to advance biometric techniques and technologies, and that policy development and implementation has been propelled by secretive police and policy networks that operate with little to no democratic scrutiny. It also provides case studies examining the deployment of biometric technologies in France, Italy and Spain, highlighting some of the issues that are likely to  arise as such technology becomes more widely used.

London: Statewatch, 2022. 34p.

By Jane Kilpatrick, Chris Jones

The new rules governing Europol, which came into force at the end of June, massively expand the tasks and powers of the EU’s policing agency whilst reducing external scrutiny of its data processing operations and rights protections for individuals, says a report published today by Statewatch. Given Europol’s role as a ‘hub’ for information processing and exchange between EU member states and other entities, the new rules thus increase the powers of all police forces and other agencies that cooperate with Europol, argues the report, Empowering the police, removing protections. New tasks granted to Europol include supporting the EU’s network of police “special intervention units” and managing a cooperation platform for coordinating joint police operations, known as EMPACT. However, it is the rules governing the processing and exchange of data that have seen the most significant changes.

London: Statewatch, 2022. 55p.

By Mike McConville and Dan Shepherd

From the early 80s community policing has been held up as a new commitment to the ideals of service and the rejection of coercive policing styles. The idea was to encourage a partnership between the public and police in which community needs would be met by officers on local beats. Today, Government ministers and senior police officers depict Neighbourhood Watch, the centrepiece of the scheme, as a great success. However, Watching Police, Watching Communities reveals that most schemes are dormant or dead. The authors trace the causes of scheme failure to the lack of commitment to community policing by police forces. Most importantly, they find a police rank-and-file culture which celebrates aggression, machismo and the assertion of authority especially against areas occupied by ethnic minorities and other disadvantaged groups.

London; New York: Routledge, 2005, 284p.

By Mike Brodgen and Preeti Nijhar

Community policing has been a buzzword in Anglo-American policing for the last two decades, somewhat vague in its definition but generally considered to be a good thing. In the UK the notion of community policing conveys a consensual policing style, offering an alternative to past public order and crime-fighting styles. In the US community policing represents the dominant ideology of policing as reflected in a myriad of urban schemes and funding practices, the new orthodoxy in North American policing policy-making, strategies and tactics. But it has also become a massive export to non-western societies.

Cullompton, UK: Willan Publishing, 2005. 259p.

Edited by Mahesh K. Nalla and Graeme R. Newman

Indigenous communities are typically those that challenge the laws of the nation states of which they have become—often very reluctantly—a part. Around the world, community policing has emerged in many of these regions as a product of their physical environments and cultures. Through a series of case studies, Community Policing in Indigenous Communities explores how these often deeply divided societies operate under the community policing paradigm. Drawing on the local expertise of policing practitioners and researchers across the globe, the book explores several themes with regard to each region:

How community policing originated or evolved in the community and how it has changed over time The type of policing style used—whether informal or formal and uniformed or non-uniformed, whether partnerships are developed with local community organizations or businesses, and the extent of covert operations, if any The role played by community policing in the region, including the relative emphasis of calls for service, the extent to which advice and help is offered to citizens, whether local records are kept of citizen movement and locations, and investigation and arrest procedures.

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  The community’s special cultural or indigenous attributes that set it apart from other models of community policing Organizational attributes, including status in the "hierarchy of control" within the regional or national organization of policing The positive and negative features of community policing as it is practiced in the community Its effectiveness in reducing and or preventing crime and disorder. The book demonstrates that community policing cannot be imposed from above without grassroots input from local citizens. It is a strategy—not simply for policing with consent—but for policing in contexts where there is often little, if any, consent. It is an aspirational practice aimed to help police and communities within contested contexts to recognize that positive gains can be made, enabling communities to live in relative safety.

Boca Raton, FL: London; New York: CRC Press, 2013. 396p.

Edited by Peter Grabosky with the assistance of Christine Nam

In modern industrial societies, the demand for policing services frequently exceeds the current and foreseeable availability of public policing resources. Conversely, developing nations often suffer from an inability to provide a basic level of security for their citizens. Community Policing and Peacekeeping offers a fresh overview of the challenges of community policing in advanced societies and peacekeeping in weak nations, demonstrating how going beyond traditional models of police work can provide solutions in troubled communities. Responding to the needs of the community Featuring contributions from world-class scholars, this volume emphasizes the importance of cultural and political sensitivities in police work. Offering comparative perspectives from the United Kingdom, Australia, the United States, South Africa, and China, it explores the paradigm of community policing that involves consultation with community members, responsiveness to their security needs, collective problem-solving to identify the most appropriate means of meeting these needs, and mobilization of police services.

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  Exploring the challenges and pitfalls of these collaborative efforts, the book examines how traditional models of police work have evolved to embrace the needs of communities. Keeping peace at home and abroad The second part of the book focuses on police peacekeeping efforts in countries torn apart by civil strife. It includes chapters on police collaboration with the United Nations, Australian and Canadian efforts abroad, CIVPOL (civilian police peace operations), and programs in Papua New Guinea and Cambodia. The book shows how expanding the role of the police beyond the limits of fighting crime can help contribute to safer, more stable communities.

Boca Raton, FL; London; New York: CRC Press, 2019. 392p.

By Wesley G. Skogan , Susan M. Hartnett

In describing successes and limitations of the CP program in Chicago and experimental districts where the CP program was first employed, the authors trace the CP program from its inception to its application in the field and examine the roots of CP and the implementation of CP in the context of political, racial, and fiscal realities. The first chapter of the book defines CP and describes some of the obstacles to making it work in practice. The second chapter discusses the conditions leading to the adoption of CP in Chicago, while the third chapter details the planning process and the eventual deployment of police officers to carry out the CP program. The fourth chapter discusses Chicago's CP program, known as CAPS (Chicago Alternative Policing Strategy). Other chapters explore the public's vital role in CP, linkages between the police and other city agencies, the impact of CP on the quality of life, and lessons learned from Chicago's experience. The authors conclude the CP program has resulted in substantial benefits for most Chicago residents.

New York: Oxford University Press, 1997. 268p.