Police Body-Worn Camera Acceptance and Integration: Assessing Attitudes among Officers, Citizens, and External Stakeholders

• In Event: Police Body-Worn Cameras: Perceptions and Outcomes

Abstract

Police body-worn cameras (BWCs) are one of the most important technological innovations in 21st century policing. Though BWCs have diffused rapidly in policing, the level of acceptance by line officers and their police unions has been mixed. Moreover, BWCs touch numerous stakeholder groups outside of the police department, most notably citizens whose encounters with police are recorded and downstream criminal justice actors (prosecutors, defense, and judges). The level of BWC acceptance among these other groups is not well understood. The authors address this research gap through a comprehensive examination of attitudes about BWCs among officers, citizens, and external stakeholders in Tempe, Arizona. In 2015-2016, the Tempe Police Department conducted a six-month randomized controlled trial with BWCs. The authors surveyed Treatment and Control line officers (n=205) on five different occasions pre- and post-BWC deployment; conducted phone interviews with 279 citizens who had recent encounters with Tempe Treatment and Control police officers; and conducted interviews with 17 different external stakeholders including representatives from the prosecutor, defense, judiciary, school administration, city council, fire rescue, local business, and victim’s advocacy. The authors reflect on the degree of BWC acceptance across groups and discuss implications for BWC program planning and implementation.

Authors

• Michael White, Arizona State University

• Janne Gaub, Arizona State University

• Natalie Todak, University of Alabama, Birmingham