Award Date

8-1-2022

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Criminal Justice

First Committee Member

William Sousa

Second Committee Member

Terance Miethe

Third Committee Member

Tamara Herold

Fourth Committee Member

Robert Futrell

Number of Pages

71

Abstract

Officer-body worn cameras (BWCs) are used in policing to provide visuals from the perspective of the officer during interactions with the community. BWCs are often promoted for the ability to improve the relationship between the community and police by providing accurate and transparent accounts of the interactions. Millions of dollars have been spent to distribute BWCs to police departments across the Unites States, with an estimated 80% of departments implementing the devices through various policies and procedures (White & Malm, 2020). Most studies on BWCs have provided empirical evidence showing the potential benefits of the devices in policing (Lum et al., 2019; White & Malm, 2020). Research on the public and officer perceptions of BWCs has mostly examined the influence of the potential benefits of the surveillance technology on the overall levels of support (Jennings, Fridell, & Lynch, 2014; Lum et al., 2019; Sousa, Miethe, & Sakiyama, 2015, 2017; Morin et al., 2017). The purpose of the study is to analyze public survey data to assess the influence that potential negative consequences of BWCs has on public support for the devices in policing. The sample consisted of 599 respondents from the United States during May 2015. Results indicate that while respondents generally support BWC on police, the potential negative consequences of the devices impact the level of support. The findings from the bivariate analysis revealed that respondents were less likely to support BWCs if they believed that the devices violate suspect’s privacy and reduce citizen cooperation. Results further indicate that respondents were more likely to support the use of BWCs in policing if they believed that the media should have access to recorded footage. Implications and additional findings are discussed in relation to theories of self-awareness and deterrence as well as existing literature.Keywords: officer body-worn cameras, perceptions, privacy, support, cooperation, access

Keywords

access; cooperation; officer body-worn cameras; perceptions; privacy; support

Disciplines

Criminology | Criminology and Criminal Justice

File Format

pdf

File Size

662 KB

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language

English

Rights

IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

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