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BWC_Dissertation_final_041719.pdf (1.9 MB)

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Evaluating impacts and defining public perceptions of police body-worn cameras (BWCs)

Mitchell, Susanne
http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1052-4345
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1555332027726849

Abstract Details

2019, PHD, Kent State University, College of Public Health.
Police body-worn cameras (BWCs) have been proposed as a technological solution to advance and illuminate policing efforts and strengthen the relationships between law enforcement agencies and the communities they protect and serve. Proponents of BWCs claim that the technology has numerous benefits, including improving evidentiary quality and providing opportunities for officer training, the ability to reduce police use of force and citizen complaints, as well as provide an objective view into the world of policing, thereby increasing transparency and accountability. This research explored the impact of police BWCs, as well as citizen perceptions of the technology, and of BWC video evidence. First, a quasi-experimental research study examined the impact of the BWCs on police use-of-force and citizen complaints in coordination with a mid-sized police department in the Midwest. Results indicated that the total number of use-of-force incidents and complaints filed against patrol officers declined from the year prior to BWC deployment and the year after, and that there were statistically significant effects detected when use-of-force data was modeled using Poisson regression analyses. The results from survey research found that public perceptions of police BWCs are generally positive, the majority of individuals support police wearing BWCs, and there was strong support for the notions that BWCs will improve transparency, reduce excess force by police, and that the technology will reduce other types police misconduct. Yet fewer participants agreed the technology can decrease racial tension, improve citizen trust in police, or improve police relationships with citizens. Lastly, while some individuals believe BWC video evidence can eliminate biases from influencing judgements about police-citizen interactions because the video should show viewers exactly what happened, results from this research challenge that notion. Results demonstrated that individuals’ opinions of what they view are shaped by demographic characteristics, contextual information and various biases, such as those measured by the Right Wing Authoritarianism, Social Dominance Orientation, and Identification with Police scales. BWCs indubitably allow individuals an additional view into an interaction beyond a police report and this may result in substantial changes in public opinions of police activity, in both positive and negative ways.
Eric Jefferis, PhD (Committee Chair)
Margaret Stephens, PhD (Committee Member)
Jeff Hallam, PhD (Committee Member)
Lauren Porter, PhD (Committee Member)
263 p.
Behavioral Sciences; Criminology; Public Health
body-worn camera, BWC, police, policing, perceptions, complaints, use-of-force, community

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Mitchell, S. (2019). Evaluating impacts and defining public perceptions of police body-worn cameras (BWCs) [Doctoral dissertation, Kent State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1555332027726849

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Mitchell, Susanne. Evaluating impacts and defining public perceptions of police body-worn cameras (BWCs). 2019. Kent State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1555332027726849.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Mitchell, Susanne. "Evaluating impacts and defining public perceptions of police body-worn cameras (BWCs)." Doctoral dissertation, Kent State University, 2019. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1555332027726849

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

kent1555332027726849
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This open access ETD is published by Kent State University and OhioLINK.