Attitudes of Police Officers on the Implementation of Body Worn Cameras in the Police of Serbia
Keywords:
body-worn cameras, police organizations, police reform, police accountability.
Abstract
Police organizations in the United States were among the first to implement body-worn cameras more than a decade ago. Shortly thereafter, law enforcement agencies across Europe also started to adopted body-worn cameras as part of their operational practices. These devices have been widely regarded as effective tools for addressing specific challenges in policing and improving overall police performance. In line with global trends in modernizing policing practices, the Serbian Police launched a pilot project for the implementation of body-worn cameras in September 2023. Prior to the initiation of this pilot phase, a research study was conducted to examine the attitudes and perceptions of police officers toward body-worn cameras. The findings of this study are intended to provide valuable insights for planning and decision-making related to the implementation process.
References
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Ariel, B., Sutherland, A., Henstock, D., Young, J., Drover, P., Sykes, J., Megicks, S., & Henderson, R. (2017). “Contagious accountability” a global multisite randomized controlled trial on the effect of police body-worn cameras on citizens’ complaints against the police. Criminal justice and behavior, 44(2), 293-316.
Braga, A. A., Sousa, W. H., Coldren, J. R., Jr., & Rodriguez, D. (2018). The effects of body-worn cameras on police activity and police-citizen encounters: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology.
Buchzik, K. (2016). BodyCams im Einsatz der Polizei. https://www.landtag.ltsh.de/infothek/wahl18/umdrucke/6000/umdruck-18-6018.pdf.
Coudert, F., Butin, D., & Le Métayer, D. (2015). Body-worn cameras for police accountability: Opportunities and risks. Computer law & security review, 31(6).
Crow, M. S., Snyder, J. A., Crichlow, V. J., & Smykla, J. O. (2017). Community perceptions of police body-worn cameras: The impact of views on fairness, fear, performance, and privacy. Criminal justice and behavior, 44(4), 589-610.
Drover, P., & Ariel, B. (2015). Leading an experiment in police body-worn video cameras. International criminal justice review, 25(1), 80-97.
Ellis, T., Jenkins, C., & Smith, P. (2015). Evaluation of the introduction of personal issue body worn video cameras (Operation Hyperion) on the Isle of Wight: Final report to Hampshire Constabulary.
Goetschel, M., & Peha, J. M. (2017). Police perceptions of body-worn cameras. American journal of criminal justice, 42(4), 698-726.
Groff, E. R., Haberman, C., & Wood, J. D. (2020). The effects of body-worn cameras on police-citizen encounters and police activity: evaluation of a pilot implementation in Philadelphia, PA. Journal of experimental criminology, 16(4), 463-480.
Hansen Löfstrand, C., & Backman, C. (2021). Control or protection? Work environment implications of police body‐worn cameras. New Technology, Work and Employment, 36(3), 327-347.
Heumann, M., Kavin, R., & Chugh, A. (2018). In the eyes of the law: The effects of body-worn cameras on police behavior, citizen interactions, and privacy. Criminal Law Bulletin, 54(3).
Hedberg, E. C., Katz, C. M., & Choate, D. E. (2017). Body-worn cameras and citizen interactions with police officers: estimating plausible effects given varying compliance levels. Justice Quarterly, 34(4), 627–651.
Jennings, W. G., Lynch, M. D., & Fridell, L. A. (2015). Evaluating the impact of police officer body-worn cameras (BWCs) on response-to-resistance and serious external complaints: Evidence from the Orlando police department (OPD) experience utilizing a randomized controlled experiment. Journal of criminal justice, 43(6), 480-486.
Jennings, W. G., Fridell, L. A., Lynch, M., Jetelina, K. K., & Reingle Gonzalez, J. M. (2017). A quasi-experimental evaluation of the effects of police body-worn cameras (BWCs) on response-to-resistance in a large metropolitan police department. Deviant behavior, 38(11), 1332-1339.
Kampfe, K. (2015). Police-worn body cameras: Balancing privacy and accountability through state and police department action. Ohio St. LJ, 76, 1153.
Katz, C. M., Choate, D. E., Ready, J. R., & Nuño, L. (2014). Evaluating the impact of officer worn body cameras in the Phoenix police department. Phoenix, AZ: Center for Violence Prevention & Community Safety, Arizona State University.
Kersting, S., Naplava, T., Reutemann, M., Heil, M., & Scheer-Vesper, C. (2019). Die deeskalierende Wirkung von Bodycams im Wachdienst der Polizei Nordrhein-Westfalen: Abschlussbericht. Gelsenkirchen: Institut für Polizei-und Kriminalwissenschaft der Fachhochschule für öffentliche Verwaltung NRW.
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Lum, C., Stoltz, M., Koper, C. S., & Scherer, J. A. (2019). Research on body‐worn cameras: What we know, what we need to know. Criminology & public policy, 18(1), 93-118.
McClure, D., La Vigne, N., Lynch, M., Golian, L., Lawrence, D., & Malm, A. (2017). How body cameras affect community members’ perceptions of police. Results from a randomized controlled trial of one agency’s pilot. Washington, DC: Urban Instititue.
Meyer, M. (2020). Rapport d’évaluation Essai-pilote des caméras-piétons (bodycam) dans le canton de Vaud et en ville de Lausanne.
https://www.vd.ch/fileadmin/user_upload/organisation/dse/polcant/fichiers_pdf/2020/Polcant/Rapport_d_%C3%A9valuation_bodycams_.pdf.
Milidragović, D., Milić, N.(2024). Police Officers’ Opinions about Some Effects of the Use of Body Worn Cameras, NBP, Nauka, bezbednost, policija, Vol. 29, Issue 2, pp. 94–107. (https://doi.org/10.5937/nabepo29-48718).
Mohler, M. H. (2018). Körperkameras bei der Polizei – Anforderungen an die Rechtsgrundlagen.
Newell, B. C. (2016). Collateral visibility: A socio-legal study of police body-camera adoption, privacy, and public disclosure in Washington State. Ind. LJ, 92, 1329.
Owens, C., & Finn, W. (2018). Body-worn video through the lens of a cluster randomized controlled trial in London: Implications for future research. Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice, 12(1), 77-82.
Peterson, B. E., & Lawrence, D. S. (2019). Body cameras and policing. In Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Criminology and Criminal Justice.
Peterson, B. E., Yu, L., La Vigne, N., & Lawrence, D. S. (2018). The Milwaukee Police Department’s body-worn camera program. Washington, DC: Urban Institute.
Rankin, H. (2013). End of program evaluation and recommendations: On-officer body camera system. Mesa, AZ: Mesa Police Department.
Ready, J. T., & Young, J. T. (2015). The impact of on-officer video cameras on police–citizen contacts: findings from a controlled experiment in Mesa, AZ. Journal of Experimental Criminology, 11(3), 445-458.
Rowe, M., Pearson, G., & Turner, E. (2018). Body-worn cameras and the law of unintended consequences: Some questions arising from emergent practices. Policing: a journal of policy and practice, 12(1), 83-90.
Smykla, J. O., Crow, M. S., Crichlow, V. J., & Snyder, J. A. (2016). Police body-worn cameras: Perceptions of law enforcement leadership. American journal of criminal justice, 41(3), 424-443.
Стевановић, О. (2003). Руковођење у полицији, Београд: Полицијска академија.
Stoughton, W. S. (2018). Police Body-Worn Cameras, 96 N.C. L. Rev
Timan, T. (2016). The body-worn camera as a transitional technology. Timan, Tjerk, 145-149.
Verhage, A., Noppe, J., Feys, Y & Ledegen E.(2018). Force, stress and decision making within the Belgian police. The impact of stressful situations on police decision making. Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology, 33, p.345–357.
Vilić, D. (2014). Uloga znanja i obrazovanja u savremenom društvu, Politeia vol. 4, br. 8, str. 389-404.
Wooditch, A., Uchida, C. D., Solomon, S. E., Revier, L., Connor, C., Shutinya, M., ... & Swatt, M. L. (2020). Perceptions of body-worn cameras: Findings from a panel survey of two LAPD divisions. American Journal of Criminal Justice, 45(3), 426-453.
Wright, J. E., & Headley, A. M. (2021). Can technology work for policing? Citizen perceptions of police-body worn cameras. The American Review of Public Administration, 51(1), 17-27.
Ariel, B., Sutherland, A., Henstock, D., Young, J., Drover, P., Sykes, J., Megicks, S., & Henderson, R. (2017). “Contagious accountability” a global multisite randomized controlled trial on the effect of police body-worn cameras on citizens’ complaints against the police. Criminal justice and behavior, 44(2), 293-316.
Braga, A. A., Sousa, W. H., Coldren, J. R., Jr., & Rodriguez, D. (2018). The effects of body-worn cameras on police activity and police-citizen encounters: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology.
Buchzik, K. (2016). BodyCams im Einsatz der Polizei. https://www.landtag.ltsh.de/infothek/wahl18/umdrucke/6000/umdruck-18-6018.pdf.
Coudert, F., Butin, D., & Le Métayer, D. (2015). Body-worn cameras for police accountability: Opportunities and risks. Computer law & security review, 31(6).
Crow, M. S., Snyder, J. A., Crichlow, V. J., & Smykla, J. O. (2017). Community perceptions of police body-worn cameras: The impact of views on fairness, fear, performance, and privacy. Criminal justice and behavior, 44(4), 589-610.
Drover, P., & Ariel, B. (2015). Leading an experiment in police body-worn video cameras. International criminal justice review, 25(1), 80-97.
Ellis, T., Jenkins, C., & Smith, P. (2015). Evaluation of the introduction of personal issue body worn video cameras (Operation Hyperion) on the Isle of Wight: Final report to Hampshire Constabulary.
Goetschel, M., & Peha, J. M. (2017). Police perceptions of body-worn cameras. American journal of criminal justice, 42(4), 698-726.
Groff, E. R., Haberman, C., & Wood, J. D. (2020). The effects of body-worn cameras on police-citizen encounters and police activity: evaluation of a pilot implementation in Philadelphia, PA. Journal of experimental criminology, 16(4), 463-480.
Hansen Löfstrand, C., & Backman, C. (2021). Control or protection? Work environment implications of police body‐worn cameras. New Technology, Work and Employment, 36(3), 327-347.
Heumann, M., Kavin, R., & Chugh, A. (2018). In the eyes of the law: The effects of body-worn cameras on police behavior, citizen interactions, and privacy. Criminal Law Bulletin, 54(3).
Hedberg, E. C., Katz, C. M., & Choate, D. E. (2017). Body-worn cameras and citizen interactions with police officers: estimating plausible effects given varying compliance levels. Justice Quarterly, 34(4), 627–651.
Jennings, W. G., Lynch, M. D., & Fridell, L. A. (2015). Evaluating the impact of police officer body-worn cameras (BWCs) on response-to-resistance and serious external complaints: Evidence from the Orlando police department (OPD) experience utilizing a randomized controlled experiment. Journal of criminal justice, 43(6), 480-486.
Jennings, W. G., Fridell, L. A., Lynch, M., Jetelina, K. K., & Reingle Gonzalez, J. M. (2017). A quasi-experimental evaluation of the effects of police body-worn cameras (BWCs) on response-to-resistance in a large metropolitan police department. Deviant behavior, 38(11), 1332-1339.
Kampfe, K. (2015). Police-worn body cameras: Balancing privacy and accountability through state and police department action. Ohio St. LJ, 76, 1153.
Katz, C. M., Choate, D. E., Ready, J. R., & Nuño, L. (2014). Evaluating the impact of officer worn body cameras in the Phoenix police department. Phoenix, AZ: Center for Violence Prevention & Community Safety, Arizona State University.
Kersting, S., Naplava, T., Reutemann, M., Heil, M., & Scheer-Vesper, C. (2019). Die deeskalierende Wirkung von Bodycams im Wachdienst der Polizei Nordrhein-Westfalen: Abschlussbericht. Gelsenkirchen: Institut für Polizei-und Kriminalwissenschaft der Fachhochschule für öffentliche Verwaltung NRW.
Lehmann, L. (2020). Bodycam–Argumentationslinien in Deutschland. In Polizeiarbeit zwischen Praxishandeln und Rechtsordnung (pp. 23-37). Springer, Wiesbaden.
Lum, C., Koper, C.S., Wilson, D.B., Stoltz, M., Goodier, M., Eggins, E., Higginson, A., & Mazerolle, L., (2020). Body-worn cameras' effects on police officers and citizen behavior: A systematic review. Campbell Systematic Reviews, 16(3).
Lum, C., Stoltz, M., Koper, C. S., & Scherer, J. A. (2019). Research on body‐worn cameras: What we know, what we need to know. Criminology & public policy, 18(1), 93-118.
McClure, D., La Vigne, N., Lynch, M., Golian, L., Lawrence, D., & Malm, A. (2017). How body cameras affect community members’ perceptions of police. Results from a randomized controlled trial of one agency’s pilot. Washington, DC: Urban Instititue.
Meyer, M. (2020). Rapport d’évaluation Essai-pilote des caméras-piétons (bodycam) dans le canton de Vaud et en ville de Lausanne.
https://www.vd.ch/fileadmin/user_upload/organisation/dse/polcant/fichiers_pdf/2020/Polcant/Rapport_d_%C3%A9valuation_bodycams_.pdf.
Milidragović, D., Milić, N.(2024). Police Officers’ Opinions about Some Effects of the Use of Body Worn Cameras, NBP, Nauka, bezbednost, policija, Vol. 29, Issue 2, pp. 94–107. (https://doi.org/10.5937/nabepo29-48718).
Mohler, M. H. (2018). Körperkameras bei der Polizei – Anforderungen an die Rechtsgrundlagen.
Newell, B. C. (2016). Collateral visibility: A socio-legal study of police body-camera adoption, privacy, and public disclosure in Washington State. Ind. LJ, 92, 1329.
Owens, C., & Finn, W. (2018). Body-worn video through the lens of a cluster randomized controlled trial in London: Implications for future research. Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice, 12(1), 77-82.
Peterson, B. E., & Lawrence, D. S. (2019). Body cameras and policing. In Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Criminology and Criminal Justice.
Peterson, B. E., Yu, L., La Vigne, N., & Lawrence, D. S. (2018). The Milwaukee Police Department’s body-worn camera program. Washington, DC: Urban Institute.
Rankin, H. (2013). End of program evaluation and recommendations: On-officer body camera system. Mesa, AZ: Mesa Police Department.
Ready, J. T., & Young, J. T. (2015). The impact of on-officer video cameras on police–citizen contacts: findings from a controlled experiment in Mesa, AZ. Journal of Experimental Criminology, 11(3), 445-458.
Rowe, M., Pearson, G., & Turner, E. (2018). Body-worn cameras and the law of unintended consequences: Some questions arising from emergent practices. Policing: a journal of policy and practice, 12(1), 83-90.
Smykla, J. O., Crow, M. S., Crichlow, V. J., & Snyder, J. A. (2016). Police body-worn cameras: Perceptions of law enforcement leadership. American journal of criminal justice, 41(3), 424-443.
Стевановић, О. (2003). Руковођење у полицији, Београд: Полицијска академија.
Stoughton, W. S. (2018). Police Body-Worn Cameras, 96 N.C. L. Rev
Timan, T. (2016). The body-worn camera as a transitional technology. Timan, Tjerk, 145-149.
Verhage, A., Noppe, J., Feys, Y & Ledegen E.(2018). Force, stress and decision making within the Belgian police. The impact of stressful situations on police decision making. Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology, 33, p.345–357.
Vilić, D. (2014). Uloga znanja i obrazovanja u savremenom društvu, Politeia vol. 4, br. 8, str. 389-404.
Wooditch, A., Uchida, C. D., Solomon, S. E., Revier, L., Connor, C., Shutinya, M., ... & Swatt, M. L. (2020). Perceptions of body-worn cameras: Findings from a panel survey of two LAPD divisions. American Journal of Criminal Justice, 45(3), 426-453.
Wright, J. E., & Headley, A. M. (2021). Can technology work for policing? Citizen perceptions of police-body worn cameras. The American Review of Public Administration, 51(1), 17-27.
