User:Lucashodges/Police misconduct

In the police misconduct article doesn't talk about body cameras I want to write about the research that I have found about police misconduct and the impact body cameras have on police interactions/ attitudes towards citizens while wearing body cameras.

Police misconduct and body cameras.

Studies on effects of police body cameras and whether they prevent police misconduct.

Many police cars are now equipped with recording systems, which can deter, document or rebut police misconduct during traffic stops. Usually, the recordings have rebutted claims of police misconduct according to a 2004 study by the International Association of Chiefs of Police and Community Oriented Policing Service; future innovations in recording equipment could allow an officer's entire workday to be recorded. Some transparency advocates believe that such cameras should be installed in all police cruisers to ensure accountability.Some police departments have experimented with Taser cameras that automatically begin recording when the Taser is deployed. The Cato Institute recommends that police record all no-knock raids. In recent times, police departments have been trying to implement the body camera as a step to fixing misconduct. The police departments in Pittsburgh have been trying body cameras on their officers to see both the positive and negative aspects of using body cameras.

Studies on body cameras toward police misconduct advantages and disadvantages

Although body worn cameras(BWCs) can record several situations involving law enforcement misbehavior, the key question is whether they're able to also prevent it. In an effort to enhance interactions between the police and the community, several police departments are beginning to use BWCs. What agencies are implementing them and what police agencies are not? In this article, the authors highlight how not all police departments around the nation are utilizing video recording technology. In order to supplement survey data gathered in 2016 from a nationally representative sample of general-purpose law enforcement agencies, the authors used law enforcement management and administrative statistics of BWCs. The present analysis identified some of the factors more likely to predict interagency differences in the intention to adopt BWCs. The results demonstrated that law enforcement agencies who do not believe the new technology is necessary, who indicate a lack of support for BWC adoption from the agency's leadership and from patrol personnel, and who have privacy and cost-related concerns, report resistance to the use of BWCs. Police departments that registered a higher percentage of complaints for the excessive use of physical force are significantly more likely to be against the adoption of BWCs, even though the authors' discussion of the perceived lack of public support for the adoption of BWCs does not distinguish between agencies that intend to acquire BWCs and agencies that do not. Police agencies who have already purchased other types of recording technology have a substantially higher level of support for the use of BWC. Results showed that law enforcement agencies located in US states with strong police unions are more likely to show resistance to the adoption of BWCs soon, even though recent state level legislative changes related to BWCs do not have a significant impact on BWC adoption decisions at the organization level.

Studies on BWC toward police misconduct

There are numerous studies that illustrate the effects of officers wearing BWCs Some studies suggest that body-worn cameras may offer benefits while others show either no impact or possible negative effects when it comes to police misbehavior and many police agencies choosing whether to use BWCs in hopes of reducing police misconduct or strengthen the police and community ties. As an example, The authors in this article discuss the claimed benefits of BWCs, including the ability to reduce citizen complaints and police use of force.Early research claimed that using BWCs lowered both outcomes significantly, but several subsequent investigations have failed to find similar results. This research looks at data from a randomized controlled trial conducted by the Spokane (WA) Police Department. BWCs were issued to about 82 patrol officers in May 2015, with the remaining 67 receiving them in November of the same year. This research evaluates the influence of BWCs on use of force, complaints against police, and officer injuries using more than three years' worth of official department data, both before and after the deployment of BWCs.

In another study, Douglas looks at how BWCs are marketed as a technological improvement that will result in more pleasant interactions between police and residents. There have been attempts to explain how BWCs impact various policing outcomes, but little research has been done on how BWCs influence assaults on police. Current study is limited to a few jurisdictions and has minimal relevance to a broader spectrum of police organizations. This study explores the relationship between BWCs and police victimization by focusing on total assaults and attacks with guns against police officers using data from a sample of 516 police organizations. The data show that BWC usage is negatively associated with police victimization.This shows that BWCs can help prevent the occurrence of both moderate and severe violence against police in a variety of circumstances and among a wide spectrum of law enforcement organizations.

Although there are many studies on why implementing BWCs to police agencies to reduce police misconduct and the use of force from law enforcement toward citizens there are many studies that also show the challenges that come with implementing BWCs. For example in this study about challenges of visibility, procedural justice and legitimacy of BWCs they state BWCs may enhance public trust and confidence in police. However, techno-fixes by themselves will not resolve underlying issues of fractured community–police relations, including ongoing issues of racial and ethnic antagonism and colonialism, and may even exacerbate these tensions. True reform requires establishing bonds of trust between communities and police that acknowledge the importance of procedural treatment, which may be supported by but are not dependent on BWCs.