EXPLORING THE IMPACT OF BODY-WORN CAMERAS ON DOWNSTREAM CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND EXTERNAL STAKEHOLDERS

Body-worn camera technology is a relatively new player in the field of criminal justice. As much as they are being reported on or discussed, in reality, body-worn cameras have not been in use long enough to have strong empirical support. Recent studies outlined some of the perceived benefits and costs of the body-worn cameras. Research has been done on both officer and citizen perceptions of the cameras, but little has been done in regards to other stakeholders, especially those in the criminal justice system. This study takes 13 interviews of community and criminal justice stakeholders in Tempe, Arizona and examines trends to identify unifying themes. The study found that 11 out of 13 stakeholders believed that the positives of the body-worn cameras outweighed the negatives. There was agreement among the parties that the strongest benefit of the cameras would be the transparency that it provides police departments, while most regarded the largest negative to be a lack of available resources to deal with the amount of data produced. As this is a small qualitative dataset, further research should be conducted about stakeholder perceptions in other cities, as well as solutions to some of the concerns raised by Tempe interviewees.