The Rest of the Story for Body-Worn Cameras and Community Relations. What should we expect?

Law enforcement in the United States is currently adapting to technology and the emergence of body-worn cameras is part of that evolution. As Paul Harvey famously said ….. “Here is the rest of the story.”

In 2011, there were 62.9 million people over the age 16 that had contact with law enforcement according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics. The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Uniform Crime Reporting estimated that law enforcement in 2014 completed 11,205,833 arrests including 498,666 for violent crimes. Although a vast majority of the contacts with law enforcement do not result in a confrontation, there have been some incidents where individuals have questioned the actions of law enforcement. The credibility of law enforcement is directly attacked by asserting unfair treatment and allegations of police misconduct. Over time, these individuals can harbor resentment and tension against law enforcement capable of cultivating participation in civil unrest when incidents such as the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri and Freddie Gray in Baltimore, Maryland are perceived as unjust.

These incidents have opened a national dialogue between law enforcement organizations and communities who are seeking opportunities to improve relationships. This is evident in President Obama’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing. The task force gathered information and conducted hearings involving testimony from law enforcement officers and executives, community members, and civic leaders amongst others. As a result, the Task Force developed six pillars as a foundation to examine policing for the 21st century:

1) Building Trust and Legitimacy
2) Policy and Oversight
3) Technology and Social Media
4) Community Policing and Crime Reduction
5) Training and Education
6) Officer Wellness and Safety

Under the pillar for technology and social media, the implementation of body-worn cameras for law enforcement officers has been identified as an area for exploration. According to the National Conference of State Legislature, 30 states are currently reviewing legislation associated with body-worn cameras for law enforcement personnel.

In order for law enforcement to be perceived as legitimate, their actions must be viewed as fair in the eyes of the community. Body-worn cameras can record more information associated with the interaction between law enforcement and the community, thus adding more information to what happened. It is important to remember that body-worn cameras will not provide the complete picture. In other words, some incidents will not allow you to determine what happened by simply reviewing the recording. It is just a portion of the totality of the circumstances that might have impacted the decision making process for the law enforcement officer and the individual being encountered. All of the relevant information may not be captured on the limited view of the body-worn camera lens creating more questions versus providing a complete answer.

Additionally, people must understand that it is much easier to view the recording and make assertion associated with the information from the comfort of your stress free environment. However, the law enforcement officer must make decisions while interacting with a potentially stressful environment that is rapidly evolving. The officer might not interpret or see all of the information that was recorded by the body-worn camera.

Research was conducted by the California Training Institute that demonstrated the difference in body-worn cameras as compared to the actual human eye. As stress increases, the subconscious portion of the officers brain continues to gather information associated with life threatening situations and communicates with the conscious mind. If an imminent threat is perceived, the subconscious mind reduces the field of vision to information necessary to interpret the immediate threat against survival. Although the body-worn camera continued to capture information from the scene, the officer’s conscious mind may not have comprehended its meaning or relevancy. The research clarifies how humans are subjected to stress in an environment that may impact their ability to completely comprehend the scene. This is important to remember when reviewing the body-worn camera recording from a stress free environment.

As previously stated, the information captured by body-worn cameras adds information to the totality of the circumstances for consideration in determining what happened during the interaction between law enforcement and the community. It is important to have realistic expectations associated with the use of body-worn cameras and how the information should be interpreted. Body-worn cameras will not prevent individuals from questioning the actions of law enforcement or perceiving their action unjust. The situation may require additional information to be gathered and open discussions about what occurred. One solution alone is not the answer. The President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing recognized the importance of constructing a foundation with six pillars. We must seek to comprehend the totality of the circumstances and not rely simply on one technology.