Preliminary results from eight UK and US police forces reveal rates of assault against officers are 15% higher when they use body-worn cameras. The latest findings, from one of the largest randomised-controlled trials in criminal justice research, highlight the need for cameras to be kept on and recording at all stages of police-public interaction — not just when an individual officer deems it necessary — if police use-of-force and assaults against police are to be reduced.
New evidence from the largest-yet series of experiments on use of body-worn cameras by police has revealed that rates of assault against police by members of the public actually increased when officers wore the cameras.
The research also found that on average across all officer-hours studied, and contrary to current thinking, the rate of use-of-force by police on citizens was unchanged by the presence of body-worn cameras, but a deeper analysis of the data showed that this finding varied depending on whether or not officers chose when to turn cameras on.
If officers turned cameras on and off during their shift then use-of-force increased, whereas if they […]
One hypothesis in the report indicates that the use of cameras appears to reduce violence when the police announce that the camera is on at the beginning of an interaction. If they say so in the middle of an interaction, it may provoke violence.
““The combination of the camera plus the early warning creates awareness that the encounter is being filmed, modifying the behaviour of all involved,” said principle investigator Barak Ariel from the University of Cambridge’s Institute of Criminology.
“If an officer decides to announce mid-interaction they are beginning to film, for example, that could provoke a reaction that results in use-of-force,” Ariel said. “Our data suggests this could be what is driving the results.”
My hope is that the use of cameras will not only curb violence on both sides, but rudeness as well, leading to more respect between the police and citizens, innocent or otherwise.
Frankly the use of the body cameras should be turned on at all times. If everyone knew that, I believe the incidents of abuse from both the police and suspects involved would be reduced.