Critical annotated bibliography on academic research methods

Ariel, B. (). Police body cameras in large police departments. The Journal of Law and Criminology 106(4): 729-768.

Empirical evidence on the efficacy of police-worn body cameras remains surprisingly scant. In this study, Ariel (2017) uses the Maryland Scientific Methods Scale to test the efficacy of body-worn cameras on a large police department in Denver, Colorado, with several control group departments. While police body-worn cameras are presumed to improve police accountability and improve public perceptions of police, as well as drive down police incidents of unnecessary force, the results of this study showed that the greatest effect may be in that police-worn cameras reduce the likelihood of unjustified arrests. In the analysis of the Denver department, Ariel (2017) found an 18% higher odds of arrest when cameras were not worn versus worn: presumably because police officers are less likely to make spurious arrests without probable cause. This article is incredibly useful as part of a literature review on the usefulness of police body-worn cameras. It shows how and why departments may choose to employ the devices and how thtye can promote police legitimacy and procedural justice.

National Institute of Justice (2017). Research on Body-Worn Cameras and Law Enforcement. https://www.nij.gov/topics/law-enforcement/technology/pages/body-worn-cameras.aspx

This National Institute of Justice (2017) report provides an overview of research on police body-worn cameras. Only about a quarter of the nation’s police departments have employed body-worn cameras, in spite of the numerous perceived benefits they offer for increasing transparency and accountability, and improving the ability for law enforcement to create accurate records when compiling evidence for cases. Concerns about body-worn cameras include citizen and police privacy, data retention, and financial issues. Each of these concerns, especially those related to the financial costs of implementing body-worn cameras and maintaining the digital databases of footage, are of note to law enforcement leaders. The National Institute of Justice remains committed to promoting further research into how body-worn cameras can be most effectively and cost-effectively implemented to promote criminal justice goals. Therefore, this electronic resource is invaluable for including in a review of literature.

Pelfrey, W.V. & Keener, S. (2016). Police body worn cameras: a mixed method approach assessing perceptions of efficacy. Policing 39(3): 491-506.

This is a mixed methods research design combining focus group-style interviews as qualitative data with quantitative data gathered from surveys of patrol officers and their supervisors. The authors investigate police attitudes towards body-worn cameras among officers in a large university police department. Quantitative survey results showed that officers do perceive their using body-worn cameras positively in terms of improving the quality of evidence but did not believe that the devices would change their behavior significantly. The qualitative results showed that the use of body-worn cameras has helped law enforcement officials on the campus to more effectively address complaints, also improving the accuracy of reporting and reductions in use of force. Because of the comprehensive nature of the research and the data collected from this mixed-methods research, this is a valuable study for inclusion in a literature review.

Smylka, J.O., Crow, M.S., Crichlow, V.J. et al. (2015). Police-worn body cameras. American Journal of Criminal Justice 2016(41): 424-443.