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Adopting New Technology

Now becoming a new normal in policing, body-worn cameras can help make officers’ jobs easier. As an educational and investigative tool, they allow officers to review, articulate, and demonstrate evidence that officers would otherwise be without. Body-worn cameras can also be beneficial to departmental evaluation of training and policy. While some may be skeptical, this video presents body-worn cameras as useful tools for officers and suggests ways to navigate some of the challenges that body-worn cameras may pose.

Impact on Officers and the Department

This video focuses on the impact of body-worn cameras on police departments and on police officers’ discretion and workload. While the overall impact on the department will vary, it is anecdotally displayed in this video that although some departments have seen opposition to the implementation of body-worn cameras, many officers fully support the utilization of this tool. Officer discretion is discussed, and some officers express that their discretion is impacted by the consciousness of being on camera. Finally, the increased workload of body-worn camera implementation is a valid concern for departments. Implementing body-worn cameras requires a considerable about of time, labor, and money; however, the benefits often outweigh the costs.

Implementing BWCs

Implementing body-worn cameras is a large undertaking for any agency. This video presents some of the challenges of implementation such as the monetary and personnel resources required to implement body-worn cameras. Perspectives highlight that body-worn cameras are not to be a crutch for officers to lean on, but an additional tool to assist in investigations, report writing, and clarification. Despite some challenges, the potential benefits body-worn cameras can bring to police agencies are substantial.

Impact on the Community

This video focuses on camera activation, transparency, and accountability. The purpose of body-worn cameras is to capture police-community member interactions, and the footage captured can be an invaluable tool for officers, prosecutors, and others in processing evidence and in the ability to provide a level of transparency with outside parties that was previously unachievable. Camera activation is another important consideration when using body-worn cameras. It is discussed in this video that clear guidelines should be established so officers know exactly when their cameras should be turned on and when they should be turned off.

Legal Policy / Rights of Privacy

This video focuses on rights of privacy, notification and consent, and release of body-worn camera footage. Releasing body-worn camera footage to the public is arguably one of the most contested issues on this topic; departments should develop relevant policies carefully. Transparency in department practices is important to building community trust and also reflects one of the key purposes of using body-worn cameras. This video also discusses the need for situational awareness and sensitivity during certain types of activities, such as cases of sexual violence or crimes involving minors. However, departments should always defer to local and state laws concerning notification and consent issues for subjects being recorded.