Video Data Analysis for Policing Research: Innovations and Next Steps

Session Submission Type: Complete Thematic Panel

Abstract/Description

Objectives:
The rise of video cameras enables researchers to analyze human behavior in ways previously impossible. In policing, body-worn cameras provide detailed recordings of officer-citizen interactions. Video data analysis (VDA) offers a systematic approach to studying these behaviors by leveraging large collections of video data.

Data/Methods:
Four studies demonstrate VDA’s use in systematic social observations of policing. Each paper uses VDA to explore an under-researched aspect of police-citizen interactions or advances a novel method to improve the rigor of VDA.

Results:
The first study examines how priming influences police decision-making and measures both its frequency and effects during officer-citizen interactions. The second study investigates the impact of ad-hoc co-responses between police and emergency medical technicians (EMTs) on citizen interaction outcomes. The third study addresses the issue of sampling in VDA social science research and develops a decision-tree method to identify effective sampling strategies. The fourth study compares the accuracy and interpreted meaning of video transcriptions created by humans and artificial intelligence.

Conclusions/Implications:
VDA contributes significantly to policing research. These studies showcase how novel application of this methodology could help take advantage of, and navigate challenges associated with, the “big-data” generated by video recording devices.

Sub Unit

• Area XI. Methodology / 81. Advances in Qualitative Methods

Individual Presentations

• The Nature and Impact of Police Officer Priming in the Field: A Systematic Social Observation of Body-Worn Camera Video in Kansas City, MO - Ciela C. Capage, Northeastern University; Dale Dan-Irabor, Northeastern University; Eric L. Piza, Northeastern University; Savannah A. Reid, Northeastern University; Victoria A. Sytsma, Queen's University

• The Impact of Ad-Hoc Co-Responding on Police-Citizen Interactions: A Video Data Analysis - Victoria A. Sytsma, Queen's University; Savannah A. Reid, Northeastern University; Dale Dan-Irabor, Northeastern University; Ciela C. Capage, Northeastern University; Eric L. Piza, Northeastern University

• From Pixels to Patterns: Strengthening Sampling in Video-Based Criminology - Nicolas M. Legewie, University of Münster; Anne Nassauer, University of Erfurt; Simon Kühne, Bielefeld University

• AI vs. Human Transcription: Evaluating Accuracy and Meaning in Police Body-Worn Camera Footage - Savannah A. Reid, Northeastern University; Stephen Abeyta, New York University; Eric L. Piza, Northeastern University; Nathan Connealy, University of Tampa; Victoria A. Sytsma, Queen's University

Chair

• Savannah A. Reid, Northeastern University

Organized by a Division or external group?

Division of Policing