Toward victim-sensitive body-worn camera policy: Initial insights

Research Summary

Despite constituting a substantial portion of police contacts, victims in general, and violence against women (VAW) survivors in particular, have received little attention in body-worn camera (BWC) research. As BWCs proliferate in policing, crafting victim-sensitive BWC policies is important. Drawing from qualitative interviews with 33 survivors of sexual assault and/or intimate partner violence, we identify themes that characterize victim-sensitive BWC policies: notification, consent, alternative recording options, procedural consistency, and data storage and access. These findings lay a foundation for further research that can assess the generalizability of these themes to other samples of survivors.

Policy Implications

VAW survivors are stakeholders who should be consulted in the production of victim-sensitive BWC policy for police services. This exploratory study suggests that BWC use will be more victim-sensitive when (1) officers notify victims of BWC use as soon as reasonably possible during an interaction, (2) officers ask victims if they consent to BWC recording, (3) officers deactivate the video recording function of the BWC (or reposition the BWC's lens away from the victim) if consent is not provided or if doing so would make the victim more comfortable, (4) police services ensure that BWCs are used consistently by frontline members, that BWC videos are regularly subject to supervisory review, and that videos are appropriately used in training to prepare for quality survivor-police interactions, and (5) officers and services provide victims with clear information regarding BWC footage access and data security.