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A randomized control trial evaluating the effects of police body-worn cameras

Author

Listed:
  • David Yokum

    (The Lab @ DC, Office of the City Administrator, Executive Office of the Mayor, Washington, DC 20004; The Policy Lab, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912)

  • Anita Ravishankar

    (The Lab @ DC, Office of the City Administrator, Executive Office of the Mayor, Washington, DC 20004; Executive Office of the Chief of Police, Metropolitan Police Department, Washington, DC 20024; Public Policy and Political Science Joint PhD Program, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109)

  • Alexander Coppock

    (Department of Political Science, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511)

Abstract

Police body-worn cameras (BWCs) have been widely promoted as a technological mechanism to improve policing and the perceived legitimacy of police and legal institutions, yet evidence of their effectiveness is limited. To estimate the effects of BWCs, we conducted a randomized controlled trial involving 2,224 Metropolitan Police Department officers in Washington, DC. Here we show that BWCs have very small and statistically insignificant effects on police use of force and civilian complaints, as well as other policing activities and judicial outcomes. These results suggest we should recalibrate our expectations of BWCs’ ability to induce large-scale behavioral changes in policing, particularly in contexts similar to Washington, DC.

Suggested Citation

  • David Yokum & Anita Ravishankar & Alexander Coppock, 2019. "A randomized control trial evaluating the effects of police body-worn cameras," Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 116(21), pages 10329-10332, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:nas:journl:v:116:y:2019:p:10329-10332
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Barbosa, Daniel AC & Fetzer, Thiemo & Soto, Caterina & Souza, Pedro CL, 2021. "De-escalation technology : the impact of body-worn cameras on citizen-police interactions," The Warwick Economics Research Paper Series (TWERPS) 1371, University of Warwick, Department of Economics.
    2. Kruse, Ulrike & Kaufmann, Jürgen M. & Seidel, Franka & Schweinberger, Stefan R., 2023. "The de-escalating potential of body-worn cameras: Results from six German police departments," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    3. Campbell, Travis, 2024. "Black Lives Matter’s effect on police lethal use of force," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).
    4. Lawrence, Daniel S. & Peterson, Bryce E. & White, Michael D. & Cunningham, Brittany C. & Coldren, James R., 2023. "Can body-worn cameras reduce injuries during response-to-resistance events in a jail setting? Results from a randomized controlled trial," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).

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