Serving our communities, protecting them from harm West Midlands Police Body Worn Video Camera Experiment Rialto P.D. California T/Insp 3908 Darren Henstock

Serving our communities, protecting them from harm The public’s perception of police use of force continues to be a problem. “Too many” incidents in which officers resort to use of force. Misinterpretation of contact or aggressive behaviour? “High number” of citizen complaints against police officers. True officer misbehaviour or malicious complaints? The problem

Serving our communities, protecting them from harm The Challenges Reducing use of force and complaints without changing the frequency and nature of contact with the public Requires third-party systematic observation that would scientifically measure both the implementation and the outcome of the practice Cost effectiveness Leadership – can we implement this research

Serving our communities, protecting them from harm Cameras in Police Use 61% of police departments used video cameras in patrol cars in (U.S. Department of Justice 2010) Cameras are likely to: 1.Improve accountability 2.Reduce complaints of police misconduct 3.Save thousands of dollars in court costs 4.Lower overtime costs for investigations and court appearances 5.Improve ability to collect evidence for trial 6.Increase professionalism by forcing officers to give more attention to following agency rules. (International Association of Police Chiefs, 2004)

Serving our communities, protecting them from harm Evidence on Cameras Systematic review on CCTV – 44 studies show 16% reduction in crime compared to control conditions, but half accountable to car theft, not violent crime (Welsh and Farrington 2009). Systematic review on cameras on roads – 35 studies show 44% reduction in fatal accidents (Wilson et al. 2010). BWV – no formal evaluation.

Serving our communities, protecting them from harm Research Questions Will wearing body-worn video cameras reduce the number of complaints against officers compared to the control group? Will wearing body-worn video cameras reduce the number (instances) of use of force compared to the control group?

Serving our communities, protecting them from harm Research Design Random assignment of all front-line officers to shifts with or without cameras Taser Inc. HD cameras recording all police-public interactions for 12 months. Went live 13 th February 2012 after two weeks of Phase 1.

Serving our communities, protecting them from harm Results - complaints

Serving our communities, protecting them from harm Results – Use of force

Serving our communities, protecting them from harm Summary Reduction in use of force incidents from 61 to 25. Of the 25 use of force incidents, 17 were in control group and 8 in the experiment. Of the 8 use of force incidents on the experiment days, all 8 were recorded on video Reduction in complaints from 24 to 3. Contacts increased from the previous years – no backfiring effect. Survey of all officers before and during RCT shows no significant changes in officers’ self-legitimacy

Serving our communities, protecting them from harm Further work Randomised Control Trial in the West Midlands supported by Cambridge University in order to replicate Rialto project. Full Rialto presentation and wider implications can be found at: _tony_farrar.pptx