Yes, police body cameras do reduce use of force by the police. While the bulk of the studies in this list for which we identified answers agrees with this conclusion, some studies came to different conclusions. We encourage you to consider each of the studies for yourself to understand why they differ. Note that some of the studies in this list have been critiqued. (Links to critiques appear on the corresponding study summaries below).
There are an additional 27 studies that may also examine this question.
"One of the most compelling perceived benefits of body-worn cameras (BWCs) involves the potential for reductions in citizen complaints and police use of force. A handful of early studies reported significant reductions in both outcomes following BWC adoption, but several recent studies have failed to document such effects. The current study explores this question using data from a randomized controlled trial conducted in the Spokane (WA) Police Department.
Approximately half of patrol officers (n = 82) were assigned BWCs in May 2015, while the other half (n = 67) received their BWCs 6 months later (November 2015). The study explores the effects of BWCs on use of force, complaints against officers, and officer injuries, using more than three years of official department data pre- and post-BWC deployment. The outcomes of interest are rare in Spokane, which limited both statistical power and the results from significance testing.
However, the within-group trends are consistent with a positive effect, particularly for percent change. Following BWC deployment, the percentage of officers with a complaint in each group declined by 50% and 78% (Control and Treatment, respectively); the percentage of officers with a use of force declined notably (39%) for one group only. The reductions disappeared after 6 months for the Treatment group.
There was no relationship between BWCs and officer injuries. The authors discuss the implications of the findings for the ongoing dialogue on BWCs."
"© 2017 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. The current study provides a statistically rigorous program evaluation of the impact of police body-worn cameras (BWCs) on police response-to-resistance (e.g., use of force). Results indicate that BWC officers' mean frequency of response-to-resistance decreased by 8.4% from the 12 months pre-BWC implementation to the 12 months post-BWC implementation compared with a 3.4% increase observed for the matched sample of non-BWC officers. Police departments should consider adopting BWCs alongside other strategies to reduce police response-to-resistance, and to improve transparency and accountability. Study limitations and directions for future research are also discussed."
"This study aims to assess the effect of body-worn cameras (BWCs) on police use of force, in a British police force context. We tested the effect of BWCs with a large British force in a six-month randomised controlled trial. Police shifts (n = 430) were randomly assigned on a weekly basis into treatment and control conditions.
Odds ratios of use-of-force rates per arrests were used to estimate the causal impact of BWCs. Analyses of these odds for overall use of force and again within pre-specified force categories were conducted. Overall, we found a 50 percent reduction in the odds of force used when BWCs are present compared with control conditions.
Our estimates suggest a 35 percent reduction of overall weighted force in the treatment conditions compared with control conditions. However, the effect concentrates in open-hand tactics (physical restraints and non-compliant handcuffing), with no discernible effect on categories of more aggressive force responses (for example, dogs, Tasers, batons, pepper spray); 40 percent 'more force' was detected in treatment conditions for handcuffing non-combatant suspects. We conclude that BWCs deter officers, offenders or both into complaint behaviour.
Importantly, showing a conditional effect on force types can be further contextualised as enhanced transparency and accountability by the police, with greater reporting of use of force that would otherwise be concealed. Our findings illustrate the importance of analysing police use of force with and without compliant handcuffing of arrestees, which may or may not form part of the force continuum."
several cities, such as New York and Chicago. In this study, we investigate how the use of technology by the police affects deadly shootings of civilians. Drawing upon the criminology literature, we propose a simple, stylized model on a police officer's decision-making to shoot to explain how technology use for intelligence analyses and evidence gathering affects the use of lethal force. Our empirical analyses revealed both encouraging and surprising findings. We found that both the use of smartphones and the statistical analyses of crime data are associated with a decrease in deadly shootings. In contrast, the use of wearable body cameras is related to an increase in fatal shootings by the police. We also found that the effect of technology use is more pronounced for armed suspects and among males, the youth, and minorities."
hypothesized to change as a result of the video-recording of the encounter.
findings as in the Rialto Experiment, not least in terms of effect magnitudes.
for a complaint against misconduct, when Body Worn Cameras are used.
use appropriate levels of force.
 BWV can contribute to use- of-force reviews and training."
future research projects are highlighted for each."
domestic violence case processing and outcomes.
appear, however, to have an impact on s"
"This study was conducted to determine whether body cameras worn by police officers would reduce the incidences of police-use-of-force. Findings from the study include the following: shifts in which officers did not use body cameras experienced twice as many incidents of police-use-of-force compared to shifts where officers used body cameras; and the number of complaints against the police for excessive use of force dropped from 28 complaints in the 12 months prior to the study to 3 during the study period. Researchers were unable to compute a treatment effect due to the large overall reduction in the number of complaints.
The study was conducted with the assistance of the Rialto Police Department. All 54 frontline officers in the department participated in the study. The officers were randomly assigned to either the control group – no use of body cameras, or the experimental group – use of body cameras. The officers in the experimental group were instructed to wear the body cameras during their entire shift and to record all public-police encounters. The content of the videotapes were analyzed to determine the effect of the camera on the incidences of police-use-of-force.
The findings from the analysis suggest that the presence of the cameras resulted in an almost 50 percent reduction in the total number of incidents of use of force, and that when cameras were not used (the control group), citizen complaints were almost 10 times higher compared to the experimental group. Suggestions for future research are discussed. Tables, figure, and references"
There has been a recent surge in the adoption of and media attention to the use of body-worn cameras in law enforcement. Despite this increase in use and media attention, there is little to no research on officer perceptions of body-worn cameras.
This study relies on baseline data of officer perceptions toward body-worn cameras collected from surveys administered to Orlando Police officers who are participants in a randomized experiment evaluating the impact of body-worn cameras (Taser AXON Flex) in law enforcement.
Results suggest that police officers are, by and large, open to and supportive of the use of body-worn cameras in policing, they would feel comfortable wearing them, and that they perceive a potential for benefits of body-worn cameras in improving citizen behavior, their own behavior, and the behavior of their fellow officers.
Officers are generally supportive of body-worn cameras, and they hold perceptions that these devices can be beneficial in positively affecting relevant outcomes. Study limitations and implications are also discussed."
"Body-worn video (BWV) is seen internationally as having the potential to reduce public complaints against police, police use of force, and attrition of prosecutions due to lack of physical evidence. Beyond the Cambridge trial in Rialto, California, however, no studies have tested the effects of BWV. The present study documents a Police leaders' implementation of a randomized controlled trial of the use of BWV.
The main objectives are to identify the challenges to implementing a trial and identify how they were overcome. The solutions to these challenges may provide key lessons for police leaders, not only as they undertake evidence-based testing, but also as they manage police operations and implement change. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]"
"Summary.-This experiment tests a prediction derived from social influence theories that increased awareness of self enhances normative behavior, specifically, that the frequency and duration of handwashing in a public restroom will be increased by the presence of an observer. When a second person was present, 24 of 31 female subjects washed their hands after using toilet facilities, while only 11 of 28 washed when they were alone. Among those who washed, no significant difference in duration of washing was observed.
The results are consistent with Wicklund's theory of obiective self-awareness and other theories of social influence."
"This chapter focuses on the theory of objective self-awareness. It presents the theory of objective self-awareness as it stands presently: Conscious attention is viewed as dichotomous, having the property of being directed either toward the self or toward the environment. The direction of attention is guided by events that force attention inward, such as reflections of the self, and events that pull attention outward, such as distracting stimuli outside the self.
Under objective self-awareness, the person will experience either negative or positive affect depending on whether attention is directed toward a negative or a positive discrepancy. The chapter illustrates the operation of a principle that is new to the theory. There are three studies relevant to this new proposition—two on self-esteem and one on attribution.
Escaping objective self-awareness has been highlighted. The evolved theory of objective self-awareness has ramifications for three conceptual phenomena: (1) The initial reaction to self-focused attention is self-evaluation, which can be either favorable or unfavorable, depending on the nature of the salient within-self discrepancy; (2) The onset of self-focused attention generates attempts to avoid mirrors and similar stimuli, given that salient discrepancies are negative, and in experimentation, attention can be taken from the self through passive diversions as well as through motor activities; (3) If there is no escape from self-focusing stimuli, discrepancy reduction will then follow. © 1975, Academic Press Inc."
"Over the past few years, several events have highlighted the strained relationship between the police and residents in many communities. Police officer body-worn cameras (BWCs) have been advocated as a tool by which police–community relations can be strengthened, while simultaneously increasing transparency and accountability of police departments. Support for BWCs from the public and federal government is strong, and some studies have examined police perceptions of BWCs. However, comparisons of officer perceptions of BWCs in different departments are lacking, as are assessments of officer attitudes pre- and post-BWC deployment. This study compares officer perceptions of BWCs in three police departments in the western United States between 2013 and 2015, both before and after BWC program implementation. The similarities and differences among officer perceptions across departments are examined, and the authors consider the implications of findings for police departments moving forward with BWC technology."
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