Body worn cameras in law enforcement agencies: final results from the qualitative research in Poland

• In Event: POLWG Panel 1: The Role of Police Body-Worn Cameras in Contemporary Criminal Justice

Abstract

The purpose of this presentation is to present the results of the quantitative research conducted as part of the project "Body-Worn Cameras in Policing and Criminal Justice." (NCN OPUS 2021/41/B/HS5/02988). This study explores the impact of body-worn cameras on complaints filed against police officers by employing a multilevel model and interrupted time series analysis. We analysed data from 12 police units over 120 months, using variables such as the number of cameras, hours of recordings, and duration of camera use. Two approaches were undertaken: a multilevel model measuring the overall impact and an interrupted time series analysis for individual units.
In the multilevel model, random slopes were applied to account for unique unit characteristics, assessing both the general and unit-specific influences of the cameras. Although adding camera-related variables appeared to improve model fit slightly, no significant fixed effects were found related to camera usage. Comparisons between models with and without camera-related data suggested sample size limitations might obscure detectable effects.
Individual unit analysis via Prais-Winsten regression detected some statistically significant impacts of camera deployment, however, these were deemed coincidental or influenced by external factors, as seen in Warsaw's units where complaint rates independently declined around the camera introduction period. This heterogeneous impact suggests cameras do not function in isolation, underscoring the need to consider external variables and localised contexts in future research.
Overall, the findings indicate that while body cameras could potentially affect complaint rates, their influence is neither straightforward nor globally uniform across police units.

Authors

• Magdalena Tomaszewska-Michalak, Faculty of Political Science and International Studies

• Paweł Waszkiewicz, University of Warsaw, Faculty of Law and Administration

• Łukasz Kuliński, University of Warsaw

• Michal Gorski, University of Warsaw