1. Challenges & Solutions for Small Agencies Implementing Body-Worn Cameras
Dr. Michael D. White, BWC TTA Co-Director &
Professor at Arizona State University
Charles M. Katz, Ph.D., BWC TTA Senior Advisor &
October 21, 2017

2. Overview Backdrop for the BWC discussion
Claims by advocates and critics
Current study
Results
Breadth of diffusion
Goals of BWC program
Challenges to implementation
Policy development
Lessons learned and conclusions

3. The Backdrop

5. The Federal Push for BWCs
December President’s Task Force announced -$75 million pledged for 50,000 BWCs May 2015 – US DOJ releases the National Body-Worn Camera Toolkit President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing Final Report September 2015 – 73 agencies awarded funding through US DOJ BWC Program ($19.3 million) September 2016 – 106 agencies awarded funding through US DOJ BWC Program ($16.9 million) October 2017 – 80+ agencies awarded funding through US DOJ BWC program (~$14 million)

6. Claims by Advocates and Critics

7. Possible BWC Benefits are Enormous
Potential Benefits
Possible BWC Benefits are Enormous
Improved Evidence for Arrest and Prosecution
Opportunities for Police Training (violence reduction)
Enhanced Legitimacy and Public Satisfaction
Improved Police Officer Behavior
Improved Citizen Behavior
Reduced Citizen Complaints and Police Use of Force
Expedited Resolution of Complaints and Lawsuits
Increased Transparency

8. Concerns and Consequences
Possible Costs/Consequences are Enormous
Citizens’ Privacy
Officers’ Privacy
Officers’ Safety
Impact on Citizen Attitudes (Satisfaction/ Legitimacy)
Training and Policy Requirements
Impact on Officer Productivity/Morale
State and Federal Law (Public Records, HIPAA)
Logistical/Resource/Cost Requirements

9. What Does the Research Tell Us?
Early research very positive
Enhanced court outcomes
UK, Phoenix
Reductions in citizen complaints and use of force
Rialto, Mesa, Phoenix, Orlando
Officer support is high
Orlando, Tempe, Spokane
Citizen support is high
general population; “consumers of police services” (Anaheim, Spokane, Tempe)
Recent studies are mixed. Why??
Local context
Agency-level variation

10. Agency Size Matters
Agency size influences other law enforcement practices
Use of force, technology, resources, community policing
Does agency size make a difference for BWC planning and implementation??
Seems reasonable to assume
Not much attention to Agency size
No model BWC policy takes into account agency size
IACP
PERF
ACLU
Toolkit

11. Small Agencies are a Big Deal!
Source: Reaves, 2015

12. Small Agencies are a Big Deal!
FY2015 PIP Sites
FY2016 PIP Sites

13. Current Study

14. Research Design & Methods
Online survey (Qualtrics)
Administered in 2017
Center for Public Safety Management (CPSM) assistance for survey distribution (ICMA listserv)
Key areas of interest
Assess BWC interest
Challenges encountered during various phases
Planning, implementation, post-implementation
Policy development

15. Sampling and Survey Distribution
# of states 26
# of agencies
All with 8,000 or
more population
City manager
Response
N=210
N=149 interested/planning/already implemented a
BWC program

16. Results

17. Categories of Results Breadth of Diffusion Goals of a BWC Program
Technology issues
Funding constraints
Public records requests and redaction
Challenges to Implementation
Don't reinvent the wheel
Working with the union
Supervisory review
Broadening the program goals
Policy Development
Lessons Learned

18. Breadth of Diffusion

19. Breadth of Diffusion
Nearly half (48%) had a fully implemented BWC program
13% partially deployed
24% in planning phase
13% interested in BWCs but have not started planning
1% had BWCs but discontinued the program
One-third deployed cameras all at once
16% used Randomized Controlled Trial design

20. Goals of the BWC Program

21. Goals of a BWC Program
Nearly all indicated transparency/accountability
Officer oversight (68%)
Officer training (67%)
Evidentiary value (48%)

22. Goals of a BWC Program
Nearly all indicated transparency/accountability
Officer oversight (68%)
Officer training (67%)
Evidentiary value (48%)
In today's climate…I believe police need to utilize BWC technology. People seemed to believe police officers were telling the truth many years ago when I started in law enforcement. Today, it seems like very few people believe the police, and having BWC footage that shows what the officer was dealing with, at the time, from their perspective, is far too valuable to not use.
Necessity in
modern policing

23. Goals of a BWC Program
Nearly all indicated transparency/accountability
Officer oversight (68%)
Officer training (67%)
Evidentiary value (48%)
We have also been able to use the video to better train our officers. For example, we review videos with officers to show an interaction and how the officer was perceived, and how the officer could improve their verbal skills.
Training tools for
“teachable moments”

24. Challenges to Implementation

25. Challenges to Implementation
The most common challenge was technology issues
Data storage and security (97%)
Limited choices (27%)
Since we do not have an existing BWC program, attempting to determine how much data storage will be necessary is nearly impossible. Estimates indicate 1-2TB, per officer, per year. That is a wide range to try to plan on; for our department, that is 37-74TB per year. This does not include major events, redaction methodology effects on data storage, and retention schedules.
Choosing a
storage solution

26. Challenges to Implementation
Funding constraints were a big concern (24%)
Long-term costs for retention and redaction (84%)
[One challenge to BWCs is the] financial competition for other needs I as chief see as a priority. Crime rate is low, public trust is acceptable, and there isn't a critical need. However, the politicians would like to see the BWC program implemented.
We were very fortunate to have members of a neighborhood watch group that collected the funds necessary to fully deploy body worn cameras for all our sworn officers.
Competing
budgetary needs
Creative funding
solutions

27. Challenges to Implementation
Public records requests and redaction not significant concern (12%).
We are still in the process of implementing a program however, I believe the biggest hurdle is determining the manpower necessary to handle public information and court requests for video. Large agencies have full time staff that handles this, small agencies may be limited in their ability to fund such a position.
Could be a
problem later

28. Policy Development

29. Policy Development Don’t reinvent the wheel
Half consulted with nearby agencies
Fewer consulted with Prosecutors (42%) and privacy groups (10%)
[One recommendation is to] share information between agencies, locally, regionally and nationally. We all do the same job with similar equipment. Don't re-create the wheel. Seek out information and lessons learned from other agencies. We share with any agency that asks, as we were helped by other agencies to get to the decision we made.
Be collaborative

30. Policy Development Work with the union(s)
Include line officers in policy development (61%)
Involve the union(s) (38%)
Smaller agencies are somewhat more “tight knit” than larger ones. Working closely with line officers and supervisors as a part of a union was challenging in specific wording of certain areas of policy.
Include all levels
of the agency

31. Policy Development Supervisory review can be contentious
Half of agencies perform audits or reviews (52%)
The biggest challenge was officer/union buy-in. We developed a policy that showed our officers that we did not plan to use the BWC as a fishing tool to look for problems, but would only view the video in instances that were questionable.
We also recognize officers more who go above and beyond during random reviews, or if records checks a videos.
No “fishing
expeditions”
Positive
feedback

32. Broadening Program Goals
May need to emphasize multiple goals
There is a reluctance on the part of command staff in the department to implement any sort of camera program, be they BWCs or more traditional dash cams. They are concerned that the court system will use the video to second guess every decision made by officers and are concerned that this could lead to negative consequences for the department and its officers.
Great for evidence collection related to subject/suspect observed behaviors. Our council, community, and city manager support our officers – therefore they don't like any perception that cameras are being used to hold officers more accountable.
Internal
buy-in
External
buy-in

33. Lessons Learned and Conclusions

34. Lessons Learned Collaborative team approach
Include relevant internal/external stakeholders early and often
Project implementation must be coordinated by staff capable of managing complex issues related to procurement, labor relations, legal issues, etc. Also, designate a subject matter expert who can be point related to the technology – hardware and software, to include working with the vendor directly. Having support resources designated who can manage the video data and be responsible for disclosure and discovery requests [is important].
Take a team approach in implementation. Do community outreach. Get buy-in from strategic partners…[and] keep stakeholders apprised of progress.

35. Lessons Learned Cost and quality Important to balance cost and need
Don't get the cheapest camera. You get what you pay for.
Vendor selection is critical. They must be able to work with you to work out hardware, software and storage issues. The [associated] costs…can be overwhelming.
Look to see if there are BWC programs that are compatible with media management systems that you already own such as In-Car Camera systems. We were able to save a great deal of money by using cameras that were sold by the same vendor who provided ICC system and all the footage was compatible with our media management system.

36. Conclusions
Many of the benefits and challenges are similar for large and small agencies
The good and bad can present themselves differently
PD may have to convince others they need BWCs
Drops in force or complaints may be too small to justify the significant capital investment
And the solutions to those challenges may be very different

37. Thanks! Michael D. White, Ph.D. Charles M. Katz, Ph.D.
Professor, School of Criminology & Criminal Justice
Associate Director, Center for Violence Prevention & Community Safety
Charles M. Katz, Ph.D.
Director, Center for Violence Prevention & Community Safety
Special thanks to Dr. Janne Gaub and Kathleen Padilla for their assistance.

38. Central Bucks Regional Police Department
Chief James Donnelly

39. Sturgis, MI Police Department
Director Geoffrey D. Smith

40. Sturgis, MI Police Department

41. What you do has far greater impact than what you say. –Stephen Covey

42. History In-car system since the early 90’s
Test and evaluation of numerous BWC’s from
First BWC’s purchased and implemented in 2015
Awarded supplementation grant for additional BWC’s in 2016
In-car system changing to the same company as BWC’s this fiscal year

43. Implementation of BWC’s
Community Involvement- Service Clubs etc.
City Commission briefings
Staff input during selection and rollout
Policy developed with multiple chiefs/lawyers/litigation attorneys prior to a National Model
Policy tweaked following initial drafts
Use of BWC’s during trainings, i.e. firearms, defensive tactics, active shooter

44. Negatives- Overall Differences in types and features of various BWC’s
Equipment malfunctions during first few versions
Cost (?)
FOIA concerns/time
Redaction

45. Positives Equipment upgrades more reliable, less issues
Reduction in unsubstantiated citizen complaints made against department
Reduction in overall citizen complaints
Enhanced evidence due to more direct video/audio of complaints captured
Redaction software is decent
Audits quarterly mandatory (monthly suggested) help identify/locate conduct for future training or immediate considerations
Staff like the BWC’s and find them valuable in their everyday tasks

46. Citizen Complaints/Internal Affairs Investigations

47. Questions?