Understanding the Role of Race and Procedural Justice on the Support for Police Body-Worn Cameras and Reporting Crime

Abstract

Body-worn cameras (BWCs) among police officers have garnered mixed support among community members. On the one hand, proponents of BWCs contend that there are benefits of BWCs such as reduction of complaints, increase legitimacy, decrease unlawful shootings, and increase transparency. On the other, certain community members maintain less support for BWCs, citing that while police officers wear BWCs, it violates police–citizen interaction privacy. Although there is mixed support for BWCs among community members, little is known as to whether race plays a role in support for BWCs and whether confidence in the police relates to reporting crime/procedural justice, leading to support for BWCs. The current study used two mediation moderation analyses to examine whether race moderated the relationship between confidence in the police and reporting crime/procedural justice, leading to support for BWCs while controlling for police legitimacy and effectiveness. The first model suggests that race moderated the relationship between confidence in the police and reporting crime but not the relationship between reporting crime and support for BWCs. The second model revealed that race did not moderate the relationship between confidence in the police and procedural justice. Also, race did not moderate the relationship between procedural justice and support for BWCs. Implications are discussed.