A randomized controlled trial of the impact of body-worn camera activation on the outcomes of individual incidents
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A randomized controlled trial of the impact of body-worn camera activation on the outcomes of individual incidents Jessica Huff 1
& Charles
M. Katz 1 & E. C. Hedberg 2
Accepted: 28 September 2020/ # Springer Nature B.V. 2020
Abstract Objectives Evaluate the impact of body-worn cameras (BWCs) on officer-initiated activity, arrests, use of force, and complaints. Methods We use instrumental variable analysis to examine the impact of BWC assignment and BWC activation on the outcomes of individual incidents through a randomized controlled trial of 436 officers in the Phoenix Police Department. Results Incidents involving BWC activations were associated with a lower likelihood of officer-initiated contacts and complaints, but a greater likelihood of arrests and use of force. BWC assignment alone was unrelated to arrests or complaints; however, incidents involving officers who were assigned and activated their BWC were significantly more likely to result in an arrest and less likely to result in a complaint. Conclusions Future researchers should account for BWC activation to better estimate the effects of BWCs on officer behavior. To maximize the effects of BWCs, police agencies should ensure that officers are complying with activation policies. Keywords Arrest . Body-worn cameras . Complaints . Compliance . Instrumental variable
analysis . Officer-initiated activity . Policing . Use of force Body-worn cameras (BWCs) are being deployed at an accelerated rate in police agencies across the US. The expansion of this technology has been promoted to increase police effectiveness through enhanced ability to capture evidence and to reduce police use of force and citizen complaints against the police as a result of
* Jessica Huff [email protected]
1
Center for Violence Prevention and Community Safety, School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Arizona State University, 411 N. Central Ave, Suite 680, Phoenix, AZ 85004-0685, USA
2
NORC at the University of Chicago, Boston, MA, USA
J. Huff et al.
increased self-awareness or a civilizing effect (Ariel et al. 2015; White 2014). However, some researchers have raised concerns that additional external review of officer behaviors can lead to depolicing or officer passivity (Rushin and Edwards 2017). Though a growing body of research has assessed the impact of BWCs on outcomes including officer passivity, arrests, use of force, and citizen complaints, the findings are far from conclusive (Lum et al. 2019). Further, the studies examining the impact of BWCs on officer behavioral outcomes have often focused on either officer-level or agency-level change, as opposed to examining the impact of BWCs on the outcomes of individual incidents. The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of BWCs on officer-initiated activity, arrests, officer use of force, and citizen complaints against officers using data collected as part of a randomized controlled trial (RCT) of BWCs in the Phoenix Police Department. We advance prior research by examining both the impact of being assigned to wea
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