Police wearing body cameras in South Florida are finding that they greatly reduce the need to use force. That’s the finding of a USF criminology study that found the presence of the cameras in a department had an effect even on officers who didn’t wear the cameras.
From Tampa’s Fox 13:
Research focused on the Orlando Police Department, where 100 officers were monitored with body cameras.
In the year before they wore body cameras, the officers used force an average 3.5 times.
During the year after half of the officers started wearing body cameras, the use of force dropped more than 50 percent, from 3.5 to 1.6.
The presence of the cameras also reduced the use of force by officers not wearing a camera. Their average dropped from 3.5 to 2.2. Complaints from the public also dropped, from .26 percent to .09 percent.
The theory goes that with both the officers and the public knowing they are being recorded, they are less likely to escalate a situation.
For more on this, read the article from Fox 13 titled: “USF study shows police body cameras reduce use of force.”
