Evidence Rating: No Effects | One study
Date:
This program involves police use of video to improve evidence gathering and police and citizen behavior. The program is rated No Effects. There were no statistically significant differences in restraining orders issued or assaults on police between body-worn video treatment days and control days (when no officers wore body-worn video). Treatment days had statistically significantly higher rates of use of force, citizen complaints against police, and criminal charges, compared with control days.
A No Effects rating implies that implementing the program is unlikely to result in the intended outcome(s) and may result in a negative outcome(s).
This program's rating is based on evidence that includes at least one high-quality randomized controlled trial.
Program Goals
The use of body-worn video cameras by police is a rapidly emerging area of interest for public policy and police practice (Clare et al. 2021a). Body-worn videos may produce cost and time efficiencies for police, influence police operational decisions, and help prevent problems between citizens and police. A goal of police body-worn video cameras is to enhance police evidence gathering and improve both police and citizen behavior.
Program Components
The Western Australia Police Force is responsible for policing Western Australia’s 2.5 million square kilometers with more than 150 police stations across eight metropolitan and seven regional districts. Over a 6-month period beginning in April 2016, the Police Force began exploring the potential utility of body-worn video cameras (Clare et al. 2019). As of 2022, it has equipped all frontline police officers with body-worn video cameras, and there have been more than 1.4 million evidence-uploads from use of the video cameras (Western Australia Police Force 2022a).
Officers use the body-worn videos under the following guidelines:
- Wear cameras overtly and warn members of the public that they are being recorded, as soon as practicable.
- Ask permission to film in private situations (such as inside homes) and abide by any request to cease filming in such situations.
- Use mobile telephones linked to body-worn videos to record evidence of incidents and interactions with witnesses or victims of crime in the field (Clare et al. 2021a, 46).
Western Australia Police Force officers are directed to record interviews associated with all domestic violence incidents, all incidents involving aggression or violence, all incidents where evidence capture is possible, and all incidents involving use of force. When interviewing victims or witnesses, officers are directed to capture an audio record of interviews using a body-worn video-linked mobile phone, rather than a traditional, signed, written interview (or statement) wherever possible.
Officers are allowed to review their own body-worn video footage, but not that of other officers, unless shared. Non-evidentiary footage is retained for 90 days and then deleted, whereas footage that an officer marks as relevant to an offense or potential offense is stored and retained for 7 years (Clare et al. 2021a; Clare et al. 2021b; Clare et al. 2019).
As of June 2022, the Western Australia Police Force began the rollout of upgraded camera technology that is capable of live-streaming video footage to command centers and other staff (Western Australia Police Force, 2022b).
Clare and colleagues (2021a) found mixed results when examining the impact of police body-worn video in the Western Australia Police Force. There were no statistically significant differences between treatment days (when all participating officers starting the shift wore and used body-worn video) and control days (when no officers wore body-worn video) on time spent taking field interviews, assaults on police, criminal code infringement notices issued, or police-issued restraining orders. However, there were statistically significantly higher rates of use of force and citizen complaints against police on treatment days, compared with control days (these results were in the opposite-from-expected direction). There also were statistically significantly more field interviews, criminal charges, and move-on notices issued on treatment days compared with control days (these results were in the expected direction). Overall, the preponderance of evidence suggests the body-worn video did not have the intended effects on evidence-gathering or police or citizen behavior.
Study 1
Criminal Code Infringement Notices
There was no statistically significant difference in Criminal Code Infringement Notices issued on body-worn video treatment days, compared with control days.
Criminal Charges
Rates of criminal charges were higher on body-worn video treatment days, compared with control days. There were 139.2 criminal charges per 1,000 Computer-Aided Dispatch jobs on treatment days, compared with 125.5 criminal charges per 1,000 Computer-Aided Dispatch jobs on control days. This difference was statistically significant.
Assaults on Police
There was no statistically significant difference in the rate of assaults on police on body-worn video treatment days, compared with control days.
Use of Force Rates
Use-of-force rates were higher on body-worn video treatment days, compared with control days. There was 1 use-of-force incident per 1,000 Computer-Aided Dispatch jobs on treatment days, and 0.7 incidents per 1,000 Computer-Aided Dispatch jobs on control days. This difference was statistically significant and in the opposite-from-expected direction.
Time Spent Taking Field Interviews, Body-Worn Video Audio Record of Interview (Average Duration)
There was no statistically significant difference between the average duration of an audio record of an interview on body-worn video treatment days, compared with control days when body-worn videos were not used.
Restraining Orders
There was no statistically significant difference in police-issued restraining order rates on body-worn video treatment days, compared with control days.
Citizen Complaints Against Police
Citizen complaints against police were more frequent on body-worn video treatment days, compared with control days. There were 0.7 complaints per 1,000 Computer-Aided Dispatch jobs on treatment days, and 0.4 complaints per 1,000 Computer-Aided Dispatch jobs on control days. This difference was statistically significant and in the opposite-from-expected direction.
Number of Field Interviews (Rate per 1,000 Computer Aided Dispatch Jobs)
The rate of field interviews per 1,000 Computer-Aided Dispatch jobs was higher on body-worn video treatment days, compared with control days. There were 27.6 interviews per 1,000 Computer-Aided Dispatch jobs on treatment days, compared with 25.1 interviews per 1,000 Computer-Aided Dispatch jobs on control days. This difference was statistically significant.
Move-On Notices
There were more move-on notices issued on body-worn video treatment days, compared with control days. There were 42.4 move-on notices issued per 1,000 Computer-Aided Dispatch jobs on treatment days, compared with 38.2 move-on notices issued per 1,000 Computer-Aided Dispatch jobs on control days. This difference was statistically significant.
Study 1
Clare and colleagues (2021) conducted a randomized controlled trial to examine the impact of body-worn video on evidence gathering, court outcomes, and police–public behavior during a 6-month period in two Western Australian locations: Perth (the capital) and the regional town of Bunbury. The trial ran from June 13 to Dec. 16, 2016, and involved 498 officers.
Days were randomly designated by a random number generator as either treatment days (when all participating officers starting the shift wore and used body-worn video) or control days (when no officers wore body-worn video). Before 6:00 a.m. each day, all officers, supervisors, and district office hierarchy involved in the trial received emails advising them about the treatment or control status of the day. Any matter occurring between midnight and 6:00 a.m. was included in the treatment or control status of the previous day. During the 6-month period there were 86 treatment days and 101 control days.
The CrimeSolutions review of this study focused on evidence gathering and police–public behavior outcomes. Outcome data were obtained from numerous operational datasets. The Incident Management System contained data on criminal and noncriminal incidents since 2000. Incident reports recorded individuals who had committed offenses, and police actions taken and other entities such as locations, interviews, and property. Incident Management System data also were used to measure charges laid (including assaults against police, which in Australia may involve on- or off-duty officers), sanction rates, other enforcement activities, and information related to recorded interviews. Criminal Code Infringement Notices contained all notices issued for discretionary, proactive policing action issued to individuals ages 17 and older for prescribed minor criminal offenses such as antisocial behavior or liquor infringements. The Computer-Aided Dispatch database recorded public calls for service and internally generated tasking. These data were used to record participating officers’ attendance at calls for service, and to identify opportunities to record body-worn video, for a total of incidents that could have led to officers’ generating recordings on treatment days. The use of force dataset contained officer-generated use-of-force reports in line with Operational Safety and Tactical Training Unit policy; use of force included drawing and pointing/discharging a taser or firearm, or use of baton, handcuffs, police dog/horse, other weapons, or empty-hand tactics that resulted in bodily injury. Finally, Professional Standards Complaints included anonymized data about complaints against police, excluding low-level complaints that may have been resolved at the police station level without reporting to the Professional Standards Division.
A range of parametric and nonparametric tests were conducted to explore the influence of body-worn videos on interview efficiency, sanction rates (Criminal Code Infringement Notices, criminal charges, police-issued restraining orders, and move-on notices, the last of which were formal notices requiring adults or juveniles to leave a nominated public place to prevent a likely breach of the peace or commission of other offenses), police use of force, assaults against police, and citizen complaints against police. Subgroup analysis was conducted with officers who had high engagement with the trial, compared with officers who had low engagement with the trial.
Subgroup Analysis
Clare and colleagues (2021a) examined outcome differences for officers who had either high engagement (n = 70) or low engagement (n = 70) with the use of body-worn video cameras. There were no statistically significant differences between high- and low-engagement officers on Criminal Code Infringement Notices issued on treatment days. High-engagement officers had a statistically significantly higher rate of field interviews per 1,000 Computer-Aided Dispatch jobs, criminal charges, restraining orders, and move-on notices issued on treatment days, compared with low-engagement officers on treatment days.
These sources were used in the development of the program profile:
Study 1
Clare, Joseph, Darren Henstock, Christine McComb, Roy Newland, and Geoffrey C. Barnes. 2021a. “The Results of a Randomized Controlled Trial of Police Body-Worn Video in Australia.” Journal of Experimental Criminology 17:43–54.
These sources were used in the development of the program profile:
Clare, Joseph, Darren Henstock, Christine McComb, Roy Newland, and Geoffrey C. Barnes. 2021b. “The Results of a Randomized Controlled Trial of Police Body-Worn Video in Australia: Technical Appendix.” Journal of Experimental Criminology 17:A1–16.
Clare, Joseph, Darren Henstock, Christine McComb, Roy Newland, Geoffrey C. Barnes, Murray Lee, and Emmeline Taylor. 2019. “Police, Public, and Arrestee Perceptions of Body-Worn Video: A Single Jurisdictional Multiple-Perspective Analysis.” Criminal Justice Review 44(3):304–21.
Western Australia Police Force. 2022a. 2022 Annual Report. East Perth, Australia.
https://www.police.wa.gov.au/About-Us/Our-agency/Annual-reportWestern Australia Police Force. 2022b. Body-Worn Cameras’ Live-Streaming Capability. East Perth, Australia, June 17, 2022.
https://www.police.wa.gov.au/About%20Us/News/Body%20worn%20cameras%20live%20streaming%20capabilityFollowing are CrimeSolutions-rated programs that are related to this practice:
This practice involves the use of body-worn cameras by law enforcement. The aim of this practice is to record interactions from an officer’s point of view to improve accountability and positively affect police officer behavior. The practice is rated No Effects for its effects on officer use of force, officer injuries, officer-initiated calls for service, traffic stops, field interviews, and arrest incidents.
Evidence Ratings for Outcomes
Justice Systems or Processes - Use of force | |
Crime & Delinquency - Assault on officer/officer injuries/resistance | |
Crime & Delinquency - Multiple crime/offense types | |
Justice Systems or Processes - Officer-initiated calls for service | |
Crime & Delinquency - Traffic stops/traffic tickets | |
Justice Systems or Processes - Field interviews/stop and frisk |
Age: 18+
Gender: Male, Female
Geography: Suburban Urban Rural
Setting (Delivery): Other Community Setting
Program Type: Community and Problem Oriented Policing, Specific deterrence, Violence Prevention
Current Program Status: Active