Police effectiveness would grow with transparency on body camera footage | Opinion

Body-worn cameras, BWCs, as a solution to police reform are headline news again following the release of footage of the violent beating death of Tyre Nichols by Memphis police.

Despite numerous claims by politicians, police officials, and advocates of body cameras, there is sparse empirical evidence that the devices, as they are currently used, increase accountability or transparency as these constructs are typically not measured in social scientific research.

There is some anecdotal evidence that BWC footage has led to charges and convictions against officers who have used illegitimate and excessive force against citizens, however, these situations appear as the exception, rather than the rule, among incidents of excessive force.

More commonly, it is citizen-controlled footage like cell phone videos and not BWC recordings that bring public attention to egregious incidents, raising questions about whether police control and use of BWC footage is ever in the public interest.

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Transparency is key

In cases where an officer seriously injures or kills a citizen—or when there is public outcry over an incident—the local police will sometimes release excerpts of the BWC video expeditiously alongside police narratives to influence and shape public perceptions of the police actions, as our research has demonstrated.

However, not every serious police-public incident that is captured on a BWC is publicly released. In some cases, it can take months or years to obtain public access to footage. Issues of access and control are key in any discussion of the utility of body camera footage for police oversight, accountability, and transparency.

Currently, a patchwork of policies governs BWC use across US jurisdictions. In many cases, police have the final say in releasing footage to the public. However, there are some exemplary models of local governments enacting stronger and standardized policies around video access. In 2020, the Washington D.C. city government passed a law that requires the release of BWC footage and the names of officers responsible for a death or serious use of force within five days of an incident (pending approval of the victim’s family).

This has created staunch debate and criticism, especially from the D.C. Police union. Several family members of those injured and killed by police have also objected to the release of footage. We do not think that all footage that captures a serious injury or death because of police action should be released to the public. Affected family members have a right to privacy and should not be forced to experience additional trauma by police when footage is released.

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Why investing in police oversight is necessary

Nevertheless, all body camera footage should be controlled by an independent third-party, preferably a civilian oversight body. That body should have the sole discretion of releasing video to the public in accordance with relevant legislation and policies, and in consultation with affected families and attorneys. Police should have no say.

By giving control of police body camera video to oversight bodies, we would ensure that the footage is protected, that it cannot be edited or narrated by police, and that it is made available to complainants and publicly released when it is in the community’s interest. Doing so helps to achieve actual accountability and proactive transparency.

It is inevitable that most front-line police will eventually be equipped with the cameras. As evidenced by repeated incidents of egregious harm captured on BWCs, these devices will never end police use-of-force. Rather, BWCs will capture more footage of death resulting from police interventions.

BWCs could be a meaningful tool for police oversight, but to realize accountability and transparency, police must relinquish their monopolization of footage and commit to utilizing these tools in good faith for the public good.

Erick Laming is an assistant professor in criminology and sociology at Trent University. His main research examines police use of force and accountability.  

Christopher J. Schneider is Professor of Sociology at Brandon University and author of Policing and Social Media: Social Control in an Era of New Media (Lexington Books, 2016). 

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Body camera footage from police must be readily available to the public