The “Civilizing” Effect of Body-Worn Cameras on Police-Civilian Interactions: Examining the Current Evidence, Potential Moderators, and Methodological Limitations

Abstract

Past studies on the “civilizing” effect of body-worn cameras (BWC) on police and civilian behavior have yielded mixed results. Some studies have shown a reduction in the use of force reports (e.g., Ariel et al., 2015 ) and civilian complaints ( Hedberg et al., 2017 ) as a result of officers utilizing BWCs. However, other studies have found null effects (e.g., Yokum et al., 2017 ) or even the opposite findings (i.e., increases in use of force reports; Ariel et al., 2016a ). In the current review, we aim to reconcile these inconsistencies by discussing psychological factors (i.e., police attitudes toward BWCs, civilian attitudes toward the police, geographic psychology, officer perceptions of self-legitimacy, and civilian stress) that may moderate the civilizing effect of BWCs. We also highlight the methodological issues (i.e., contamination, unit of analysis, and low base rates) that have burdened past studies involving field experiments and advocate for the use of multiple methods to strengthen any existing weaknesses in the literature. Overall, we argue for a closer examination of individual-level psychological factors and the use of multiple methods to help elucidate the ambiguities concerning the “civilizing” effect found in the BWC literature.