The Effects of Body-worn Cameras on Policing and Court Outcomes: Evidence from Virginia

• In Event: Evaluating Modern Policing: Cameras, Crisis Teams, and Racial Discrimination

Abstract

Body worn cameras monitor police interactions and provide a new source of evidence for court cases, but do so at a cost of attorney time. Using data on criminal charges and the staggered adoption of body worn cameras in Virginia state court jurisdictions from 2006-2020, I test whether body-worn cameras affect policing and court outcomes. I find that body worn cameras reduced new case filings for offenses initiated during a police interaction, like resisting arrest, by ten percent, suggesting improved interactions between police and the public. However, I do not find evidence that body worn cameras changed case outcomes on average.

Author

• Kathryn M Bollman, Oregon State University
  Presenting Author