‘It depends’: Officer insights on the potential for body-worn cameras to change police and citizen behaviour

Abstract

This study mined officers’ perspectives on whether body-worn cameras (BWCs) could change the behaviour of citizens and police. Officers reinforced themes from prior studies on the professionalizing effect of BWCs, the potential for passivity, and the concern with ‘second-guessing’. Officers also stressed the theme of ‘it depends’, where behaviour change is contingent on the citizen, the situation, and the officer. Findings resonated with the concept of police encounters as two-way social interactions and related insights from regulation scholarship on ‘motivational posturing’. Results underscore the need for more observational studies (including ethnographies and systematic social observations) that identify the variety of encounters and settings where BWC activation might alter behavioural norms and encounter dynamics. Relatedly, BWC footage could be mined to inform reviews of everyday police work that identify the unique ways in which BWC activation could be leveraged to change behaviour in a variety of situations with different posturing dynamics. Policymakers should emphasize the complexity of the implementation environments surrounding the uptake of BWCs and other technology, with a view to encouraging research that measures the many dimensions of officers’ perceptions. Understanding the place and role of BWCs within the contexts of officers’ holistic experiences should help policymakers understand both the limits and potential of cameras to change everyday policing.