Program Goals
Body-worn cameras (BWCs) have been implemented by the Las Vegas (Nevada) Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD). BWCs are intended to increase transparency, improve police encounters, enhance evidence pertaining to an officer encounter, and provide opportunities for improvement through officer training. The LVMPD is a large police department, with approximately 2,600 sworn personnel (approximately 1,400 of whom are uniformed officers assigned to patrol division); the patrol division is divided geographically into eight “area commands” (Braga et al. 2018). The LVMPD began to use BWCs in 2011, because of a reform initiative in response to public criticism for the department’s use-of-force policies (Sousa 2016).
Program Components
Per LVMPD policy (at the time of a study conducted in 2014), participating patrol officers are to activate their cameras as soon as possible during certain occurrences, including vehicle stops, person stops, calls for service involving citizen contact, detentions/arrests, search warrants, and pursuits. Officers are not required to obtain consent for recording, though policy states that they should inform the individuals being recorded.
Once the event has concluded, officers must deactivate their cameras following an announcement that they are doing so. If a recording needs to be retained, officers are required to label the recording using the following categories: 1) felony arrests, 2) misdemeanor arrests, 3) misdemeanor citations, 4) traffic citation with violation, 5) misdemeanor DUI arrests, 6) adverse citizen contact, 7) use of force–no arrest, 8) pursuit–no arrest, or 9) officer-involved shooting (OIS) deadly force. Depending on the category, recordings are held between 45 days (uncategorized) and 7 years (OIS deadly force/homicide) (Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department N.d., p. 4–9).
As soon as possible following the event, or no later than the end of each shift, participating officers are to upload the recordings. To do so, they connect their BWCs to docking stations that are housed at four of eight command stations. This allows for seamless uploading of recordings and recharging of the device. Officers are permitted to view their own recordings in the following instances: 1) completing investigation and other official reports, 2) before a court appearance to refresh their memories, and 3) to provide a statement pursuant to an internal investigation. One caveat is that if an officer is involved in an OIS incident, the officer should upload the recording prior to viewing. Supervisors can view recordings for officers under their supervision in the following instances: 1) a use-of-force investigation, following the submission of a citizen complaint; 2) during an internal investigation; and 3) to assist in addressing a clearly documented performance issue (Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department N.d., p. 9–10).
Due to union agreements (at the time of the study conducted in 2014), LVMPD officers could not be forced to wear BWCs; therefore, officers did so only voluntarily (Braga et al. 2018).
Program Theory
Deterrence and self-awareness theories are commonly used to suggest that placing BWCs on officers will improve police–citizen interactions by deterring undesirable behaviors and stimulating desirable behaviors. Deterrence theory suggests that crimes can be prevented when the costs of committing the crime are perceived to outweigh the benefits (Paternoster 2010). Self-awareness theory states that when focused on oneself, individuals evaluate and compare their current behavior to internal standards and values. This may then cause them to alter their behavior because they are aware that they are being recorded potentially for others to see (Braga et al. 2018). Thus, BWCs should deter bad behavior from both citizens and officers alike.
