The effect of perceived use of body-worn cameras on procedural justice, police legitimacy, police lawfulness, compliance, cooperation, and satisfaction

ABSTRACT The study examined the effect of perceived use of body-worn cameras (BWCs) on procedural justice, police lawfulness, police legitimacy, specific compliance, general compliance, cooperation with police, and satisfaction with police. Data for the study were obtained from a survey administered to randomly selected undergraduate students (N = 617). Independent samples t-test for bivariate analysis and structural equation modeling for unmediated and mediated analyses were conducted. The respondents believed that BWCs would significantly improve procedural justice, police lawfulness, and satisfaction with police; however, they were significantly less likely to believe that BWCs would increase cooperation and general compliance. Perceived use of BWCs, however, did not have a significant effect on police legitimacy and specific compliance. The results of the mediation analyses showed that the effect of perceived use of BWCs on compliance, cooperation, and satisfaction was mediated through procedural justice and police legitimacy. BWCs improve citizen perceptions of procedural justice, police lawfulness, and satisfaction with police, and procedural justice and police legitimacy mediate the effect of BWCs on compliance and cooperation.