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46 Law Enforcement Technology percent of people reported they would change their behavior if they knew they were being videotaped. Although there are many benefits to dash cams, they are limited. Only about 10 percent of police activity takes place in front of the car, and the measurable ben- efits are limited to those scenarios. Video cameras and police liability There are three sides to every story: yours, theirs and the truth. For law enforcement, that's the officer's side, the citizen's side, and the truth. However, advances in technology and the success of dash cams may permit "video" to be synonymous with "truth." In a profession where it often comes down to two very different versions of the same event, dash cams have proven a useful tool. In some ways, a law enforce- ment officer who can serve an entire career without facing some sort of civil liability is an anomaly. More and more, patrol men and women are finding them- selves the target of disgruntled citizens. This usually results in complaints to the agency and/or a lawsuit. In such lawsuits, it's not unusual for the version of events provided by the citizen to stand in stark contrast to the version recollected by the officer. In fact, many times officers have difficulty recall- ing the specific circumstances of an event because of the volume and frequency of similar encounters. A camera is an unbiased eye and liter- ally has a photographic memory. By treat- ing the camera as another tool, an officer not only increases his effectiveness, but protects himself from liability, both civilly and professionally. The next step: Body-worn In March 2013, The Police Foundation published a year-long study, "Self- awareness to being watched and socially-desirable behavior: A field experiment on the effect of body-worn cameras on police use-of-force," con- ducted in Rialto, California, to deter- mine the impact body-worn cameras would have on law enforcement. The TA L K I N G P O I N T S Circle 30 on Reader Service Card X SERIES X SERIES Toll Free: 888.372.1888 l www.earphoneconnect.com MAKE ANY HEADSET WIRELESS Internal & External Microphone Capability DUAL MICROPHONE Connect to 2 Wireless Devices Simultaneously DUAL LINK CONNECTIVIT Y Talk & Charge the Nighthawk at the same time DUAL CHARGE CAPABILIT Y Mention LEPN14 for FREE STANDARD SHIPPING! Inside the study: The science of surveillance and officer behavior What other service industries might benefit? The Police Foundation's 2013 study: "Self-awareness to being watched and socially- desirable behavior: A field experiment on the effect of body-worn cameras on police use-of-force" studied the ways in which human behavior changes when individuals are fully aware they are being watched. This study hypothesized that portable cameras would go beyond the limited impact that CCTVs have on expressive acts of violence in public spaces. If cameras could serve as cues that social norms or legal rules must be followed, then a larger "dose" would be even more effective. Mobile cameras, with their immediacy and presence, could demonstrate this effect. In the study, Rialto, Calif. police officers were provided with 108-gram Taser HD body-worn cameras, affixed to either a shirt pocket, hat, collar, shoulder, or sunglasses. Data from the cameras was collated using a web- based management system. Researchers guessed cameras would increase police officers' self-consciousness, and therefore increase their compliance to rules of conduct, especially concerning use of force. The findings suggest more than a 50 percent reduction in the total number of use-of-force incidents compared with control-conditions, and nearly ten times more citizen complaints in the 12-months prior to the experiment. The study was the first of its kind to test the theory in a real-life setting. "We envisage that any rule-enforcing profession can benefit from intensified cer- tainty of apprehension that was 'created' by devices such as body-worn cameras," the study reports. "For instance, medical physicians and other care-providers may benefit from having their interactions videotaped as it can potentially reduce cases of alleged unprofessional conduct." Of course, such practice bears ethical consider- ation, control measures and cost. Lastly, the study acknowledged the possibility that the cameras had also modi- fied the behavior of those who interacted with police, as they were cognizant of being videotaped and therefore urged to act cooperatively. See the full report here: www.policefoundation.org/content/body-worn-camera LET_45-47_TalkingPoints0314.indd 46 2/24/14 10:54 AM