The Effect of Police Body Worn Cameras on Perceptions of Trust in Law Enforcement

Sherri L. Tschida, B.A. & Kristine M. Jacquin, Ph.D.

• The use of police body worn cameras (BWC) in recent years has grown.

• Public outcry and media pressure surrounding claims of police brutality, racism, profiling, and misuse of deadly force following publicized police-involved shootings have led to changes in how police work is accomplished (Crow, Snyder, Crichlow & Smykla, 2017; Kyle & White, 2017).

• The need for increased deadly force protocols and public perception of police misuse of authority, racism, and profiling have contributed to the increased use of BWC.

• Disagreement in the recent literature suggested that the perception of police BWC remains a controversial topic.

• Smykla and colleagues (2016) suggested that police use of BWC increases feelings of safety and trust in law enforcement officers (LEO), while Braga and colleagues (2014) countered that relatability to police and the personal associations felt between an individual and officer contributed more to increased confidence in LEO than BWC.

• Additional studies by Crow and colleagues (2017) and Maskaly and colleagues (2017), support Braga and colleagues (2014) by identifying that people feel an increased sense of accountability when LEO utilize BWC. However, an increased sense of accountability does not necessarily indicate increased trust.

• Overall, police use of BWC does increase trust perception of LEO, but those feelings can be attributed to the perception of accountability, and not trust in the officers themselves.

• Ultimately, relatability to LEO appears to be at the heart of public perception. Fostering community relationships remains the best way to mitigate negative views.

• Community outreach designed to build relationships should remain the primary focus for increasing positive perception and trust in LEO (Braga et al., 2014).

• Does police use of BWC increase perceptions of public safety? Several studies have begun to ask that question.

• Do people feel safer when BWC use is implemented in the local law enforcement department?

Introduction Discussion

ConclusionStatement of the Problem

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Relevant Research

• When polled, LE officers reflect the same contradictions regarding BWC as seen in the literature examining public perceptions.

• While the research on LEO perception is limited, the consensus view is pro-BWC, despite some expressed feelings of invasion of privacy (Adams & Mastracci, 2017; Crow et al., 2017; Jennings, Fridell & Lynch, 2014). LEO share concerns regarding oversight and accountability, believing that BWC may positively affect the behavior of people they interact with during routine responses (Braga et al., 2014; Crow et al., 2017; Kyle & White, 2017; Jennings et al., 2014; Smykla, Crow, Crichlow & Snyder, 2016).

• The belief is that the camera will keep people on their best behavior—an opinion shared by the public and LEO, and recognized at the LE organizational level (Crow et al., 2017; Kyle & White, 2017; Smykla et al., 2016).

• Jones and colleagues (2017) provided an additional perspective on BWC. In their study, Jones and colleagues documented potential bias when participants were primed with misinformation followed by watching BWC footage of the relevant LEO-suspect interaction.

• Participants’ interpretation of the footage reflected their conceptualization of trust in LEO, which strengthens concepts reported by Crow et al., 2017, and Smykla et al., 2016.

• Specifically, individuals with higher trust and regard for LEO were more likely to interpret BWC footage in agreement with the LEO written account, despite the misinformation included (Jones, Crozier & Strange, 2017).

• Pre-existing negative feelings towards LEO resulted in interpretations that favor the suspect (Jones et al., 2017), highlighting the potential subjectivity of BWC footage when used in legal proceedings.

So, where does that leave police use of BWC?

• If positive public perception of LEO is only partially mediated by the implementation of BWC (Braga et al., 2014), and BWC footage interpretation is subjective (Jones et al., 2017), can BWC footage be reliably used as evidence?

• One interpretation is that BWC footage may provide a limited scope of the situation and is vulnerable to subjective interpretation; thus, BWC footage should not be used in isolation, but rather presented as one piece of a more substantial evidence pool.

• Likewise, the existing literature suggests that all parties believe that BWC footage will affect the nature and direction of the police-suspect interaction, and will mitigate threat escalation on either side.

• After additional review, it is clear that BWC technology will only continue to grow in popularity among police departments, both for the safety of the LEO and safety of the public.

• The implementation of standardized policies for the use of BWC should include public education regarding how the footage is used and evaluated in legal settings, privacy, and victim rights (Adams & Mastracci, 2017; Masklay et al., 2017).

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Please contact Sherri Tschida for more information, stschida@email.fielding.edu