An Assessment Of The Data On Body-Worn Cameras
Abstract
Throughout history, citizens opinions of law enforcement have fluctuated between confidence and mistrust. This ebb and flow can coincide with many factors, such as historical events like 9/11, personal interaction with an officer, and media/social media reporting of the publics encounters with police. A citizens confidence and trust in law enforcement may also differ based on the persons gender, race, or socioeconomic status. Law enforcement has invested millions of dollars in research, new initiatives, equipment, and technology, such as body-worn cameras (BWCs), to regain the publics confidence and trust. Those who support BWCs suggest that their use corresponds with declining use of force and citizen complaints, which shows increased public trust in law enforcement. This paper seeks to determine, however, if these factorsuse of force and citizen complaintsare the proper metrics for measuring law enforcement transparency, accountability, and citizen trust. This thesis provides a comparative analysis of the quantity and quality of BWC information that police departments make easily accessible to the public and provides a recommendation for law enforcement to develop and implement a BWC incident-based reporting system.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 01, 2019
- Accession Number
- AD1073583
Entities
People
- Carole L. Allen
Organizations
- Naval Postgraduate School