Benjamin Straight

Law Enforcement Officer Body-Worn Cameras Benjamin Straight

The Miami-Dade Police Department implemented a mandatory body-worn camera program on April 20, 2016. The department agreed to a partnership to conduct research on their officers' body-worn camera perceptions. The department internally distributed an electronic survey to 3,313 sworn officers and 1,410 were completed (a 43% response rate). Demographics were recorded. The research instrument used in the study was an electronic survey with a four-point Likert Scale. The 24 questions were organized into five categories. The survey results indicate that body-worn cameras (a) do not influence citizen behavior; (b) influence officer behavior; (c) officers perceive body-worn camera data positively, yet not the paperwork it generates; (d) officers generally perceive body-worn camera ease of use positively, yet the cameras are not comfortable to wear; (e) that officers negatively perceive the supervisor use of body-worn camera data for administrative purposes.