Understanding the Impacts of Body-Worn Cameras on Accountability

• In Event: Police Misconduct, Control, and Accountability

Abstract

Proponents of body-worn cameras claim that this technology can be used to hold police officers more accountable for their actions. Existing research on body-worn cameras have found that they are associated with reductions in citizen complaints and use-of-force, however, much research on body-worn cameras have only examined outcomes. While outcomes are important, such research can overlook important details about how body-worn cameras change organizational structures and practices. The purpose of this paper is to provide a detailed explanation of how body-worn cameras have impacted the way officers were held accountable for their behavior at one police agency. Findings are based on a mixed methods study conducted at a small, city-level police agency in the mid-Atlantic United States. Data was collected via a survey, semi-structured interviews, and field observations that included members at all levels of the organization. With this paper I explain that although body-worn cameras were used to hold officers more accountable, they were not used to hold officers accountable in ways that proponents would have imagined.

Author

• Marthinus Christoffel Koen, University of Southern Indiana