The body-worn camera perspective bias: an experimental study

• In Event: Studies of Body Worn Cameras in Policing

Abstract

Body-worn cameras (BWCs) have been adopted by many police organizations at an unprecedented fast pace in part to provide a video account of police interventions from a point of view closer to what officers perceive in action. While there is an increasing body of research testing the impact of BWCs on the behavior and perceptions of those who are filmed, much less is known on how footage might affect the assessment of police interventions by courts and the public. This presentation reports a study that investigated how a point of view might influence one’s perception of an intervention. 433 respondents were randomly assigned to one of two videos showing a controversial police intervention during which lethal force was used against a subject. Both versions showed exactly the same intervention, but one was filmed with a BWC and the other one with a surveillance camera. Results suggest that the intervention was judged more harshly by respondents who viewed it through a BWC, compared to a typical surveillance camera. The bias does not appear to be generalized; participants with little or no experience of police work nor prior detailed knowledge of laws and procedures were not significantly affected by the perspective.

Authors

• Annie Gendron, École nationale de police du Québec

• Rémi Boivin, Université de Montréal

• Camille Faubert, Université de Montréal

• Bruno Poulin, École nationale de police du Québec