A recent study of the effect of body cameras used by police officers in Washington, D.C. showed that the cameras failed to reduce violent encounters and complaints. The movement to use body cams came after the death of unarmed Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri in 2014. The D.C. chief said the cameras still had unmeasured benefits in training and building community trust, but the results of the study has prompted questions about the benefits of the cams in particular communities given their high costs. (The New York Times, October 20, 2017, by Amanda Ripley and Timothy Williams)
The conduct of police in the wake of the horrendous Las Vegas shootings shows how a department can use body cam footage as a public relations tool sidestepping reporter’s access to the truth. On October 3, the department released footage that showed officers yelling at concert attendees to take cover or run. Reporters failed to question what unreleased footage showed about police performance during the incident, and the department did not then say when the footage would be released. (Columbia Journalism Review, October 23, 2017, by Steve Friess)
For earlier FAC coverage of the issue click here and here.