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Assessing the Impact of Police Body-Worn Cameras on Arresting, Prosecuting, and Convicting Suspects of Intimate-Partner Violence

NCJ Number
306945
Journal
Police Quarterly Volume: 19 Issue: 3 Dated: 2016 Pages: 303-325
Date Published
2016
Length
23 pages
Annotation

This study of the effect of pre- and post-camera deployment provide initial evidence for the utility of body-worn cameras (BWCs) in intimate-partner violence (IPV) cases.

Abstract

The authors examined the effect of pre- and post-camera deployment of body-worn cameras (BWCs) on a number of outcomes related to arrest, prosecution, and conviction in intimate-partner violence (IPV) cases and found initial evidence for the utility of BWCs in such cases. When compared with posttest non-camera cases, posttest camera cases were more likely to result in an arrest, have charges filed, have cases furthered, result in a guilty plea, and result in a guilty verdict at trial. These results have several implications for policing, prosecuting, and convicting IPV cases. The perceived benefits that generally accompany body-worn cameras (BWCs) include the ability to increase transparency and police legitimacy, improve behavior among both police officers and citizens, and reduce citizen complaints and police use of force. Less established in the literature, however, is the value of BWCs to aid in the arrest, prosecution, and conviction of intimate partner violence (IPV) offenders.  (Published Abstract Provided) 

Date Published: January 1, 2016