Videos Don’t Lie: African Americans’ Support for Body-Worn Cameras
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
5-2-2019
Publication Title
Criminal Justice Review
DOI
10.1177%2F0734016819846229
ISSN
1556-3839
Abstract
In light of growing concern regarding the policing of inner-city communities—including questionable incidents of use of force—equipping officers with body-worn cameras (BWCs) has emerged as a salient proposal for reform. Based on a national-level survey of African Americans (n = 1,000), this project shows that wide consensus exists among Black citizens in favor of BWCs. Since ostensibly “videos don’t lie,” implementing camera technology thus may be a means to increase police legitimacy. Importantly, the analysis also reveals that African Americans support a broad range of reforms to improve inner-city policing, of which BWCs are only one. Finally, the survey included a subset of 45 Black police officers. These officers also supported BWCs and most other proposed reforms but at a level that was lower and less intense than African American members of the public.
Recommended Citation
Graham, Amanda, Hannah D. McManus, Francis T. Cullen, Velmer S. Burton Jr., Cheryl Lero Jonson.
2019.
"Videos Don’t Lie: African Americans’ Support for Body-Worn Cameras."
Criminal Justice Review, 44 (3): 284-303 Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
doi: 10.1177%2F0734016819846229
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/crimjust-criminology-facpubs/281
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Comments
*Winner of the James L. Maddex Jr. 2020 Paper of the Year Award from Criminal Justice Review
*Top-cited manuscript at Criminal Justice Review between 2017-2020