Police Officers' Opinions about Some Effects of the Use of Body Worn Cameras
Keywords:
body worn cameras, police reform, officer safety, community policing, police officers, police organizations.
Abstract
In the last ten years, many police organizations around the word have been approaching the implementation of cameras that can be placed on the body of a police officer. By implementing these cameras, police organizations strive to prevent and suppress crime, to improve officer safety, officers’ performance and police - community relationship. In September 2023, the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs started with the pilot project of implementing body worn cameras (BWC) in two organizational units of the traffic police. The research presented in this paper was carried out before the idea of implementation BWC in Serbian police practice was born. The research included police officers from five organizational units of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The aim of the research was to explore the views and opinions of police officers related to implementation of BWC. Research results and the authors' conclusions may help the decision-making process related to the BWC implementation in Serbian police practice.
References
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Hansen Löfstrand, C., & Backman, C. (2021). Control or protection? Work environment implications of police body‐worn cameras. New Technology, Work and Employment, 36(3), 327-347.
Ellis, T., Jenkins, C., & Smith, P. (2015). Evaluation of the introduction of personal issue body worn video cameras (Operation Hyperion) on the Isle of Wight: Final report to Hampshire Constabulary.
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Ready, J. T., & Young, J. T. (2015). The impact of on-officer video cameras on police–citizen contacts: findings from a controlled experiment in Mesa, AZ. Journal of Experimental Criminology, 11(3), 445-458.
Risse. M., & Zeckhauser R. (2003). Racial Profiling. John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.
Rojek, J., Rosenfeld, R., & Decker, S. (2012). Policing race: The racial stratification of searches in police traffic stops. Criminology, 50(4), 993-1024.
Stoughton, W. S. (2018). Police Body-Worn Cameras, 96 N.C. L. Rev
Yokum, D., Ravishankar, A., & Coppock, A. (2019). A randomized control trial evaluating the effects of police body-worn cameras. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 116(21), 10329-10332.
Vuković, S. (2020). Prevencija kriminala. Beograd
Wallace, D., White, M. D., Gaub, J. E., & Todak, N. (2018). Body‐worn cameras as a potential source of depolicing: Testing for camera‐induced passivity. Criminology, 56(3), 481-509.
Wright, J. E., & Headley, A. M. (2021). Can technology work for policing? Citizen perceptions of police-body worn cameras. The American Review of Public Administration, 51(1), 17-27.
Ariel, B. (2016). Police body cameras in large police departments. The Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology (1973-), 729-768.
Arlov, D., & Popović, М. (2016). Kvalitet utvrđivanja opravdanosti i pravilnosti upotrebe sredstava prinude u funkciji jačanja odnosa policije i drugih građana. Zbornik radova 5. međunardone znanstveno-stručne konferencije „Istraživački dani Visoke policijske škole u Zagrebu, Unapređenje sigurnosne uloge policije primjenom novih tehnologja i metoda, (str. 456-467).
Braga, A. A., Sousa, W. H., Coldren, J. R., Jr., & Rodriguez, D. (2018). The effects of body-worn cameras on police activity and police-citizen encounters: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology.
Coudert, F., Butin, D., & Le Métayer, D. (2015). Body-worn cameras for police accountability: Opportunities and risks. Computer law & security review, 31(6).
Hansen Löfstrand, C., & Backman, C. (2021). Control or protection? Work environment implications of police body‐worn cameras. New Technology, Work and Employment, 36(3), 327-347.
Ellis, T., Jenkins, C., & Smith, P. (2015). Evaluation of the introduction of personal issue body worn video cameras (Operation Hyperion) on the Isle of Wight: Final report to Hampshire Constabulary.
Headley, A. M., Guerette, R. T., & Shariati, A. (2017). A field experiment of the impact of body-worn cameras (BWCs) on police officer behavior and perceptions. Journal of Criminal Justice, 53, 102–109.
Jennings, W. G., Lynch, M. D., & Fridell, L. A. (2015). Evaluating the impact of police officer body-worn cameras (BWCs) on response-to-resistance and serious external complaints: Evidence from the Orlando police department (OPD) experience utilizing a randomized controlled experiment. Journal of criminal justice, 43(6), 480-486.
Jennings, W. G., Fridell, L. A., Lynch, M., Jetelina, K. K., & Reingle Gonzalez, J. M. (2017). A quasi-experimental evaluation of the effects of police body-worn cameras (BWCs) on response-to-resistance in a large metropolitan police department. Deviant behavior, 38(11), 1332-1339.
Yokum, D., Ravishankar, A., & Coppock, A. (2019). A randomized control trial evaluating the effects of police body-worn cameras. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 116(21), 10329-10332.
Kampfe, K. (2015). Police-worn body cameras: Balancing privacy and accountability through state and police department action. Ohio St. LJ, 76, 1153.
Katz. C. M., Kurtenbach, M., Choate, D. E., & White, M. D. (2015). Phoenix, Arizona, smart policing initiative: Evaluating the impact of police officer body-worn cameras. Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Assistance.
Lehmann, L. (2020). Bodycam–Argumentationslinien in Deutschland. In Polizeiarbeit zwischen Praxishandeln und Rechtsordnung (pp. 23-37). Springer, Wiesbaden.
Lum, C., Koper, C.S., Wilson, D.B., Stoltz, M., Goodier, M., Eggins, E., Higginson, A., & Mazerolle, L., (2020). Body-worn cameras' effects on police officers and citizen behavior: A systematic review. Campbell Systematic Reviews, 16(3).
Meyer, M. (2020). Rapport d’évaluation Essai-pilote des caméras-piétons (bodycam) dans le canton de Vaud et en ville de Lausanne. https://www.vd.ch/fileadmin/user_upload/organisation/dse/polcant/fichiers_pdf/2020/Polcant/Rapport_d_%C3%A9valuation_bodycams_.pdf, (available 23.03.2023.).
Milic, N., & Milidragovic, D. (2016). Measuring the performance of police in repressive treatment: current state and possible improvements. In Archibald Reiss days: Thematic conference proceedings of international significance (pp. 112-123).
Milidragović, D., Milić, N., & Dragović, N. (2020). Community policing implementation in the Republic of Serbia: A view from the managers's perspective. NBP: Journal of criminalistics and law= Žurnal za kriminalistiku i pravo, 25(1), 31-52.
Mohler, M. H. (2018). Körperkameras bei der Polizei – Anforderungen an die Rechtsgrundlagen.
Nowacki, J. S., & Willits, D. (2018). Adoption of body cameras by United States police agencies: An organisational analysis. Policing & Society: An International Journal of Research and Policy, 28, 841–853.
Peterson, B. E., & Lawrence, D. S. (2019). Body cameras and policing. In Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Criminology and Criminal Justice.
Peterson, B. E., Yu, L., La Vigne, N., & Lawrence, D. S. (2018). The Milwaukee Police Department’s body-worn camera program. Washington, DC: Urban Institute.
President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing. (2015). Final report of the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing. Washington, DC: Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, https://cops.usdoj.gov/RIC/Publications/cops-p341-pub.pdf, (available 10.08.2023.).
Ready, J. T., & Young, J. T. (2015). The impact of on-officer video cameras on police–citizen contacts: findings from a controlled experiment in Mesa, AZ. Journal of Experimental Criminology, 11(3), 445-458.
Risse. M., & Zeckhauser R. (2003). Racial Profiling. John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.
Rojek, J., Rosenfeld, R., & Decker, S. (2012). Policing race: The racial stratification of searches in police traffic stops. Criminology, 50(4), 993-1024.
Stoughton, W. S. (2018). Police Body-Worn Cameras, 96 N.C. L. Rev
Yokum, D., Ravishankar, A., & Coppock, A. (2019). A randomized control trial evaluating the effects of police body-worn cameras. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 116(21), 10329-10332.
Vuković, S. (2020). Prevencija kriminala. Beograd
Wallace, D., White, M. D., Gaub, J. E., & Todak, N. (2018). Body‐worn cameras as a potential source of depolicing: Testing for camera‐induced passivity. Criminology, 56(3), 481-509.
Wright, J. E., & Headley, A. M. (2021). Can technology work for policing? Citizen perceptions of police-body worn cameras. The American Review of Public Administration, 51(1), 17-27.
