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in the article, Research on Body -Worn <br />Cameras: What We Know, What We Need <br />to Know published in Criminology and <br />Public Policy'. Dr. Lum asks two questions: <br />1) Do BWCs deliver on the outcomes we <br />seek?; and 2) What are the unintended <br />consequences or broader effects of BWCs <br />on agencies and their communities? More <br />than 50% of the papers reviewed examined <br />the effects of BWCs on officer behavior. <br />Other areas of research included officer <br />attitudes, community behavior, community <br />attitudes, impact on investigations, and <br />organizational impact. <br />THE EFFECTS OF <br />BODY -WORN CAMERAS: <br />One consistent finding is that officers with <br />BWCs appear to have fewer complaints <br />filed against them than officers without <br />cameras. It is uncertain why complaints are <br />fewer. Officers believe that the difference <br />is caused by a reduction in frivolous <br />complaints because BWCs are able to <br />show that a complaint may be baseless; <br />however, this has not been corroborated by <br />empirical studies. <br />Research on how BWCs affect officers' use <br />of force runs a wide gamut. Some studies <br />show that BWCs reduce use of force, <br />while some show no change. This research <br />is complicated by inconsistent definitions <br />of use of force and inconsistent reporting <br />of use of force incidents across agencies. <br />The research does not conclusively show <br />whether BWCs in general reduce use of <br />force; however, cameras may have an effect <br />on the most egregious of cases. <br />Overall, there is no clear pattern that <br />BWCs have a specific effect on arrests <br />or citations compared to those who <br />do not have BWCs. However, Dr. Lum <br />cautioned, that simply looking at whether <br />BWCs increase arrests is not the answer. <br />Rather, she encouraged attendees to <br />think critically about the fact that arrest <br />increases for serious crimes may be <br />positive, but increases in arrests for lower - <br />level offenses where diversion is more <br />appropriate may be a negative outcome. <br />Little is known about the effect of <br />BWCs on police proactivity. There are <br />no consistent results across studies; <br />however, none of them show a decrease <br />in proactivity. This indicates that concerns <br />that BWCs may result in de -policing <br />may be unfounded. As with arrests, <br />the important question is not whether <br />proactivity increases or decreases, but <br />rather which kinds of proactive behaviors <br />increase or decrease. <br />Police Body Cameras; What Have We Learned Over Ten Years of Deployment? 1 3 <br />