By 2016, approximately one half of American police agencies had adopted body-worn cameras (BWCs). Although a growing body of research has examined the impact of BWCs on outcomes such as use of force, complaints, and perceptions of police, few have considered how and why some agencies adopted BWCs, while others have not. With guidance from the diffusion of innovations paradigm, this study explores variation in BWC adoption by police agencies. Drawing on a survey administered to a national probability sample of 665 municipal police executives in the spring of 2018, we found agency size, region, and the demographic composition of municipalities were associated with BWC usage. We then examined executives’ support for (or opposition to) legislation that would require BWC footage to be released publicly. Results suggest (a) a variety of environmental factors were associated with support and (b) the correlates of support varied across agencies of different sizes.
AlangS.McAlpineD.McCreedyE.HardemanR. (2017).
Police brutality and black health: Setting the agenda for public health scholars. American Journal of Public Health,
107(5), 662–665.
2.
ArielB.FarrarW. A.SutherlandA. (2015).
The effect of police body-worn cameras on use of force and citizens’ complaints against the police: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of Quantitative Criminology,
31(3), 1–27.
Nix, J., Pickett, J. T., & Wolfe, S. E. (2020). Testing a theoretical model of perceived audience legitimacy: The neglected linkage in the dialogic model of police-community relations. Journal of Research In Crime and Delinquency,
57(2), 217–259.
5.
BorinsS. (2002).
Leadership and innovation in the public sector. Leadership & Organization Development Journal,
23(8), 467–476.
6.
BragaA. A.ColdrenJ. R.SousaW.RodriguezD.AlperO. (2017). The benefits of body-worn cameras: New findings from a randomized controlled trial at the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (Final Report to the National Institute of Justice, 2013-IJ-CX-0016). CNA Analysis & Solutions.
CrankJ. P.LangworthyR. (1992).
An institutional perspective of policing. The Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology,
83(2), 338–363.
9.
CrowM. S.SnyderJ. A.CrichlowV. J.SmyklaJ. 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.
10.
DarrochS.MazerolleL. (2013).
Intelligence-led policing: A comparative analysis of organizational factors influencing innovation uptake. Police Quarterly,
16(1), 3–37.
11.
DeckerS. H. (1981).
Citizen attitudes toward the police: A review of past findings and suggestions for future policy. Journal of Police Science and Administration,
9(1), 80–87.
12.
DemirM.ApelR.BragaA. A.BrunsonR. K.ArielB. (2020).
Body worn cameras, procedural justice, and police legitimacy: A controlled experimental evaluation of traffic stops. Justice Quarterly,
37, 53–84.
13.
DillmanD. A.PhelpsG.TortoraR.SwiftK.KohrellJ.BerckJ.MesserB. L. (2009).
Response rate and measurement differences in mixed-mode surveys using mail, telephone, interactive voice response (IVR) and the Internet. Social Science Research,
38(1), 1–18.
14.
DohertyC.MotelS.WeiselR. (2014). Sharp racial divisions in reactions to Brown, Garner decisions: Many black expect police-minority relations to worsen (A Pew Research Center/USA TODAY Survey). Pew Research Center.
15.
DonaldsonL. (1995). American anti-management theories of organization: A critique of paradigm proliferation.
Cambridge University Press.
16.
EllisT.JenkinsC.SmithP. (2015). Evaluation of the introduction of personal issue body worn video cameras (Operation Hyperion) on the Isle of Wight: Final report to Hampshire Constabulary.
University of Portsmouth,
Institute of Criminal Justice Studies.
GalovskiT. E.PetersonZ. D.BeagleyM. C.StrasshoferD. R.HeldP.FletcherT. D. (2016).
Exposure to violence during Ferguson protests: Mental health effects for law enforcement and community members. Journal of Traumatic Stress,
29(4), 283–292.
19.
GaubJ. E.TodakN.WhiteM. D. (2020).
One size doesn’t fit all: The deployment of police body-worn cameras to specialty units. International Criminal Justice Review. 30(2), 136–155 doi: 10.1177/1057567718789237.
20.
GaubJ. E.WhiteM. D. (2020).
Open to interpretation: Confronting the challenges of understanding the current state of body-worn camera research. American Journal of Criminal Justice. doi: 10.1007/s12103-020-09518-4.
21.
GaubJ. E.WhiteM. D.PadillaK. E.KatzC. M. (2017). Implementing a police body-worn camera program in a small agency. Arizona State University Center for Violence Prevention and Community Safety.
HedbergE. C.KatzC. M.ChoateD. E. (2017).
Body-worn cameras and citizen interactions with police officers: Estimating plausible effects given varying compliance levels. Justice Quarterly,
34(4), 627–651.
26.
HylandS. S. (2018). Body-worn cameras in law enforcement agencies, 2016 (NCJ 251775).
U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics.
27.
JenningsW. G.LynchM. D.FridellL. (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.
28.
KatzC. M. (2001).
The establishment of a police gang unit: An examination of organizational and environmental factors. Criminology,
39(1), 37–74.
29.
KlingerD. (2003).
Spreading diffusion in criminology. Criminology & Public Policy,
2(3), 461–468.
30.
KlingerD. (2004).
Environment and organization: Reviving a perspective on the police. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science,
593(1), 119–136.
LumC.StoltzM.KoperC. S.SchererJ. A. (2019).
The research on body-worn cameras: What we know, what we need to know. Criminology & Public Policy,
18(1), 93–118.
MalmA. (2019).
The promise of body-worn cameras. Criminology & Public Policy,
18(1), 119–130.
36.
ManningP. K. (1996).
Information technology in the police context: The “sailor” phone. Information Systems Research,
7(1), 52–62.
37.
MastrofskiS. D.UchidaC. D. (1993).
Transforming the police. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency,
30(3), 330–358.
38.
MatusiakM. C.KingW. R.MaguireE. R. (2017).
How perceptions of the institutional environment shape organizational priorities: Findings from a survey of police chiefs. Journal of Crime and Justice,
40(1), 5–19.
MerolaL.LumC.KoperC.SchererA. (2016). Body-worn cameras and the courts: A national survey of state prosecutors (Report for the Laura and John Arnold Foundation). George Mason University Center for Evidence-Based Crime Policy.
41.
MeyerJ. W.RowanB. (1977).
Institutionalized organizations: Formal structure as myth and ceremony. American Journal of Sociology,
83, 340–363.
42.
MillerL.ToliverJ., & Police Executive Research Forum. (2014). Implementing a body-worn camera program: Recommendations and lessons learned.
Office of Community Oriented Policing Services.
43.
MorabitoM. S. (2010).
Understanding community policing as an innovation: Patterns of adoption. Crime & Delinquency,
56(4), 564–587.
44.
MorrowW. J.KatzC. M.ChoateD. E. (2016).
Assessing the impact of police body-worn cameras on arresting, prosecuting, and convicting suspects of intimate partner violence. Police Quarterly,
19(3), 303–325.
45.
MouleR. K.BurrussG. W.ParryM. M.FoxB. (2019).
Assessing the direct and indirect effects of legitimacy on public empowerment of police: A study of public support for police militarization in America. Law & Society Review,
53(1), 77–107.
46.
National Archive of Criminal Justice Data. National Incident-Based Reporting System. (2016). Extract Files. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2018-08-17. https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR37066.v1.
47.
NixJ.PickettJ. T.BaekH.AlpertG. P. (2019).
Police research, officer surveys, and response rates. Policing and Society,
29(5), 530–550.
48.
NowackiJ. S.WillitsD. (2018).
Adoption of body cameras by United States police agencies: An organisational analysis. Policing and Society,
28(7), 841–853.
49.
ODS Consulting. (2011). Body worn video projects in Paisley and Aberdeen, Self evaluation.
50.
OwensC.MannD.MckennaR. (2014). The Essex body worn video trial: The impact of body worn video on criminal justice outcomes of domestic abuse incidents. College of Policing.
51.
Pew Research Center. (2016). The racial confidence gap in police performance (Pew Social Trends).
PickettJ.CullenF.BushwayS. D.ChiricosT.AlpertG. (2018).
The response rate test: Nonresponse bias and the future of survey research in criminology and criminal justice. The Criminologist,
43(1), 7–11.
54.
President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing. (2015). Final report of the president’s task force on 21st century policing. Office of Community Oriented Policing Services.
55.
RayR.MarshK.PowelsonC. (2017).
Can cameras stop the killings? Racial differences in perceptions of the effectiveness of body-worn cameras in police encounters. Sociological Forum,
32, 1032–1050.
56.
ReavesB. A. (2015). Local police departments, 2013: Equipment and technology (NCJ 248767). U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics.
57.
RegoliR. M.CrankJ. P.CulbertsonR. G. (1989).
Police cynicism, job satisfaction, and work relations of police chiefs: An assessment of the influence of department size. Sociological Focus,
22(3), 161–171.
58.
ReissA. J.BorduaD. J. (1967). Environment and organization: A perspective on the police. In D. J. Bordua (Ed.), The police: Six sociological essays (pp. 25-55). John Wiley.
59.
RobertsA.RobertsJ. M.LiedkaR. V. (2012).
Elements of terrorism preparedness in local police agencies, 2003-2007: Impact of vulnerability, organizational characteristics, and contagion in the post-9/11 era. Crime & Delinquency,
58(5), 720–747.
SchroederD. A.WhiteM. D. (2009).
Exploring the use of DNA evidence in homicide investigations: Implications for detective work and case clearance. Police Quarterly,
12(3), 319.
62.
SilverJ. R.PickettJ. T. (2015).
Toward a better understanding of politicized policing attitudes: Conflicted conservatism and support for police use of force. Criminology,
53(4), 650–676.
63.
SkoganW. G.HartnettS. M. (2005).
The diffusion of information technology in policing. Police Practice and Research,
6(5), 401–417.
64.
SmithJ. J. (2019).
To adopt or not to adopt: Contextualizing police body-worn cameras through structural contingency and institutional theoretical perspectives. Criminal Justice Review,
44(3), 369–385.
65.
SousaW. H.MietheT. D.SakiyamaM. (2018).
Inconsistencies in public opinion of body-worn cameras on police: Transparency, trust, and improved police–citizen relationships. Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice,
12(1), 100–108.
66.
StromK. J.HickmanM. J. (2010).
Unanalyzed evidence in law-enforcement agencies. Criminology & Public Policy,
9(2), 381–404.
67.
TodakN.GaubJ. E.WhiteM. D. (2018).
The importance of external stakeholders for police body-worn camera diffusion. Policing: An International Journal,
41(4), 448–464.
68.
TylerT. R. (1990). Why people obey the law: Procedural justice, legitimacy, and compliance.
Yale University Press.
69.
TylerT. R. (2004).
Enhancing police legitimacy. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science,
593(1), 84–99.
70.
TylerT. R.WakslakC. J. (2004).
Profiling and police legitimacy: Procedural justice, attributions of motive, and acceptance of police authority. Criminology,
42(2), 253–282.
71.
WalkerS. (1977). A critical history of police reform.
Lexington Books.
72.
WalkerS. (2008).
The neglect of police unions: Exploring one of the most important areas of American policing. Police Practice and Research: An International Journal,
9(2), 95–112.
73.
WeisburdD.MastrofskiS. D.McNallyA. M.GreenspanR.WillisJ. J. (2003).
Reforming to preserve: Compstat and strategic problem solving in American policing. Criminology & Public Policy,
2(3), 421–456.
74.
WeissA. (1997).
The communication of innovation in American policing. Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management,
20(2), 292–310.
75.
WeitzerR.TuchS. A. (2004).
Race and perceptions of police misconduct. Social Problems,
51(3), 305–325.
76.
WeitzerR.TuchS. A. (2005).
Determinants of public satisfaction with the police. Police Quarterly,
8(3), 279–297.
77.
WejnertB. (2002).
Integrating models of diffusion of innovations: A conceptual framework. Annual Review of Sociology,
28(1), 297–326.
78.
WhiteM. D. (2014a). Police officer body-worn cameras: Assessing the evidence.
U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs.
79.
WhiteM. D. (2014b). Restraint and technology: Exploring police use of the TASER through the diffusion of innovation framework. In M. D. Reisig & R. J. Kane (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of police and policing (pp. 280–301). Oxford University Press.
80.
WhiteM. D.GaubJ. E.TodakN. (2018).
Exploring the potential for body-worn cameras to reduce violence in police-citizen encounters. Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice,
12(1), 66–76.
81.
WhiteM. D.MalmA. (2020). Cops, cameras, and crisis: The emergence of body-worn cameras in 21st century policing.
New York University Press.
82.
WhiteM. D.TodakN.GaubJ. E. (2017).
Assessing citizen perceptions of body-worn cameras after encounters with police. Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management,
40(4), 689–703.
83.
WhiteM. D.TodakN.GaubJ. E. (2018).
Examining body-worn camera integration and acceptance among police officers, citizens, and external stakeholders. Criminology & Public Policy,
17(3), 649–677.
84.
WillitsD.NowackiJ. (2016).
The use of specialized cybercrime policing units: An organizational analysis. Criminal Justice Studies,
29(2), 105–124.
85.
WilsonJ. Q. (1968). Varieties of police behavior: The management of law and order in eight communities.
Harvard University Press.
86.
YimgangD. P.WangY.PaikG.HagerE. R.BlackM. M. (2017).
Civil unrest in the context of chronic community violence: Impact on maternal depressive symptoms. American Journal of Public Health,
107(9), 1455–1462.
87.
YokumD.RavishankarA.CoppockA. (2017). Evaluating the effects of police body-worn cameras: A randomized controlled trial. The Lab @ DC, Office of the City Administrator, Executive Office of the Mayor.
