Body-worn cameras, police violence and the politics of evidence: A case of ontological gerrymandering

2021 ◽  
pp. 026101832110339
Author(s):  
Kathryn Henne ◽  
Krystle Shore ◽  
Jenna Imad Harb
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Critical Race Theory ◽  
Science And Technology Studies ◽  
Evidence Base ◽  
The Body ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Police Violence ◽  
Police Accountability ◽  
Randomised Controlled ◽  
Evidence Based Policing

Public demands for greater police accountability, particularly in relation to violence targeting Black and Brown communities, have placed pressure on law enforcement organisations to be more transparent about officers’ actions. The implementation of police body-worn cameras (BWCs) has become a popular response. This article examines the embrace of BWCs amidst the wider shift toward evidence-based policing by scrutinising the body of research that evaluates the effects of these technologies. Through an intertextual analysis informed by insights from Critical Race Theory and Science and Technology Studies, we illustrate how the privileging of certain forms of empiricism, particularly randomised controlled trials, evinces what Woolgar and Pawluch describe as ontological gerrymandering. In doing so, the emergent evidence base supporting BWCs as a policing tool constitutively redefines police violence into a narrow conceptualisation rooted in encounters between citizens and police. This analysis examines how these framings, by design, minimise racialised power relations and inequalities. We conclude by reflecting on the implications of these evidence-based claims, arguing that they can direct attention away from – and thus can buttress – the structural conditions and institutions that perpetuate police violence.

scholarly journals Moving beyond “Best Practice”: Experiences in Police Reform and a Call for Evidence to Reduce Officer-Involved Shootings

2020 ◽  
Vol 687 (1) ◽  
pp. 146-165 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robin S. Engel ◽  
Hannah D. McManus ◽  
Gabrielle T. Isaza
Keyword(s):  
Best Practice ◽  
Evidence Base ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Police Reform ◽  
Reform Strategies ◽  
Police Executives ◽  
Critical Issues ◽  
Strong Body ◽  
Effective Use ◽  
Evidence Based Policing

In post-Ferguson America, police departments are being challenged to implement evidence-based changes in policies and training to reduce fatal police-citizen encounters. Of the litany of recommendations believed to reduce police shootings, five have garnered widespread support: body-worn cameras, de-escalation training, implicit bias training, early intervention systems, and civilian oversight. These highly endorsed interventions, however, are not supported by a strong body of empirical evidence that demonstrates their effectiveness. Guided by the available research on evidence-based policing and informed by the firsthand experience of one of the authors in implementing departmental reforms that followed the fatal shooting of a civilian by an officer, this article highlights promising reform strategies and opportunities to build the evidence base for effective use-of-force reforms. We call upon police executives to engage in evidence-based policing by scientifically testing interventions, and we call on academics to engage in rapid research responses for critical issues in policing.

Body-worn video: A systematic review of literature

2016 ◽  
Vol 50 (3) ◽  
pp. 379-396 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy IC Cubitt ◽  
Rebecca Lesic ◽  
Gemma L Myers ◽  
Robert Corry
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Grey Literature ◽  
Evidence Base ◽  
Current Evidence ◽  
Current Case ◽  
Public Response ◽  
Current Evidence Base ◽  
Crime Types ◽  
Randomised Controlled

Law enforcement use of video-based technology has substantially increased over the past decade. This systematic review examines the current evidence base for efficacy of body-worn video and the current case for implementation. Five articles were identified as pertinent to this review from a search of five electronic databases, with a further six articles of grey literature included. Inter-rater reliability was high amongst three independent screeners of literature. Articles were short listed for review if they explicitly identified police and recording devices as topic areas. Articles were then excluded if they did not involve an operational trial of body-worn video. Eleven articles were included for review; of the five peer-reviewed studies, two were randomised controlled trials. An abundance of evidence was provided; however, the majority of articles were methodologically weak. Body-worn video was shown to reduce use of force incidents, crime rates for certain crime types and court costs. Public response to body-worn video was varied, as was police officer and public opinion. Due to methodological limitations evident in most studies and the general lack of peer-reviewed material, further research is required; however, there are some considerable benefits reported in the current literature.

scholarly journals Policing Research and the Rise of the ‘Evidence-Base’: Police Officer and Staff Understandings of Research, its Implementation and ‘What Works’

Sociology ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 52 (4) ◽  
pp. 813-829 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen Lumsden ◽  
Jackie Goode
Keyword(s):  
Police Officers ◽  
Evidence Base ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
Conducting Research ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Organisational Factors ◽  
Evidence Based Policing

Despite the pitfalls identified in previous critiques of the evidence-based practice movement in education, health, medicine and social care, recent years have witnessed its spread to the realm of policing. This article considers the rise of evidence-based policy and practice as a dominant discourse in policing in the UK, and the implications this has for social scientists conducting research in this area, and for police officers and staff. Social scientists conducting research with police must consider organisational factors impacting upon police work, as well as the wider political agendas which constrain it – in this case, the ways in which the adoption of evidence-based policing and the related ‘gold standard’ used to evaluate research act as a ‘technology of power’ to shape the nature of policing/research. The discussion draws on semi-structured interviews conducted with police officers and staff from police forces in England.

A Systematic Review of the Evidence Base for Active Supervision in Pre-K–12 Settings

2019 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 167-182
Author(s):  
Grant Edmund Allen ◽  
Eric Alan Common ◽  
Kathryn A. Germer ◽  
Kathleen Lynne Lane ◽  
Mark Matthew Buckman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Single Case ◽  
Challenging Behaviors ◽  
Evidence Base ◽  
The Body ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Single Case Design ◽  
Evidence Based Practices ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
K 12 ◽  
The Impact

Active supervision is a proactive, low-intensity strategy to minimize challenging behaviors and increase desired behaviors. To examine the evidence base of this strategy, we applied the Council for Exceptional Children’s (CEC) Standards for Evidence-Based Practices in Special Education to the body of research exploring the impact of active supervision with Pre-K–12 students in traditional school settings. In this systematic literature review, we identified seven peer-reviewed, single-case design, treatment-outcome studies meeting inclusion criteria. All studies met a ≥80% weighted criterion of CEC’s quality indicators. These seven studies included 15 cases aggregated at the school, classroom, or grade level, collectively involving 1,686 participants. Three studies included three or more cases and demonstrated positive effects across primary dependent variables (with one study showing neutral effects on a secondary dependent variable). Based on available evidence and using CEC criteria, we determined active supervision to be a potentially evidence-based practice. We discuss implications, limitations, and future directions.

scholarly journals Injustice in the Justice System: Reforming Inequities for True “Justice for All”

2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (5) ◽  
pp. 682-740 ◽  
Author(s):  
Femina P. Varghese ◽  
Tania Israel ◽  
Guy Seymour ◽  
Rachel Becker Herbst ◽  
Lauren G. Suarez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Critical Race Theory ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Race Theory ◽  
Marginalized Groups ◽  
Research Gap ◽  
Evidence Based Programs ◽  
And Training ◽  
Counseling Psychologists

True justice is equitable. Counseling psychologists, through their skills, knowledge, and values, can be a powerful force in reforming a system that oppresses marginalized groups to one that is just. In this paper, we focus on three major aspects of the justice system: laws and the courts, law enforcement, and detention and corrections, and we further describe injustice in these three areas. We then use critical race theory and counseling psychology perspectives to develop a framework to provide counseling psychologists with practical strategies to transform inequities. Such strategies include advocating to change unjust laws, filling the research gap for effective and humane practices, developing evidence-based programs, and providing leadership and training.

Evidence-Based Acupuncture? a Challenge Ahead

2005 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 147-161 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hugh MacPherson
Keyword(s):  
Therapeutic Relationship ◽  
Complex Intervention ◽  
Trial Design ◽  
Randomised Controlled Trials ◽  
Evidence Base ◽  
Controlled Trials ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Central Theme ◽  
Outcomes Measures ◽  
Randomised Controlled

Acupuncture's increasingly widespread use has been paralleled by calls for more rigorous evidence of its effectiveness. In this article, some of the challenges of developing a strong evidence base are explored. As acupuncture is a complex intervention, a case is made for the appropriateness and relevance of pragmatic rather than experimental randomised controlled trials in the evaluation of acupuncture. Within this context there remain key challenges associated with ensuring treatment within a trial is sufficiently flexible, so that it can match the expected variability in patients, that outcomes measures capture the broader range of changes that can be experienced by patients, and that the therapeutic relationship is not compromised by the trial design. The central theme is the importance of protecting the integrity of the acupuncture, and the underlying principles upon which it is based.

scholarly journals Biopower, Police Accountability, and Emotional Labour in the Age of Social Media

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle Phan
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Cultural Capital ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Community Outreach ◽  
The Body ◽  
Black Communities ◽  
Law Enforcement Agencies ◽  
Emotional Labour ◽  
Police Accountability

Technological mechanisms work in tandem with law enforcement agencies in order to surveil Black communities across North America. Body cameras and police officers use TikTok (and its predecessor Vine) under the guise of accountability and community outreach while utilizing these new technological tools as surveillance techniques. The body is utilized as a frame of analysis to understand how these tools specifically operate. Using the lenses of time, replication, surveillance, and emotional labour, this paper seeks to explore the ways Black cultural capital is exploited to perpetuate the structural violence of a law enforcement body, but also in the ways that Black communities on social media resist exploitation of their cultural capital. 

scholarly journals ‘It’s a Profession, it Isn’t a Job’: Police Officers’ Views on the Professionalisation of Policing in England

2017 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 4-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen Lumsden
Keyword(s):  
Police Officers ◽  
Public Management ◽  
New Public Management ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Evidence Base ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Top Down ◽  
New Public ◽  
Government Reforms ◽  
Evidence Based Policing

This article focuses on police officers’ views on the professionalisation of policing in England against a backdrop of government reforms to policing via establishment of the College of Policing, evidence-based policing, and a period of austerity. Police officers view professionalisation as linked to top-down government reforms, education and recruitment, building of an evidence-base, and ethics of policing (Peelian principles). These elements are further entangled with new public management principles, highlighting the ways in which professionalism can be used as a technology of control to discipline workers. There are tensions between the government’s top-down drive for police organisations to professionalise and officers’ bottom-up views on policing as an established profession. Data are presented from qualitative interviews with 15 police officers and staff in England.

Police Officer Receptivity to Research and Evidence-Based Policing: Examining Variability Within and Across Agencies

2016 ◽  
Vol 63 (8) ◽  
pp. 976-999 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cody W. Telep
Keyword(s):  
Police Officer ◽  
Organizational Context ◽  
Evidence Base ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Substantial Variation ◽  
Research Knowledge ◽  
Evidence Based Policing ◽  
Base View

Recent calls for police to focus more on integrating research into practice require paying closer attention to how receptive frontline practitioners are to using research. Officers in four U.S. municipal agencies ( n = 992) were surveyed to assess their exposure to research, knowledge about the evidence base, view of science, and willingness to evaluate interventions. Multivariate results show that officer awareness of evidence-based policing and willingness to work with researchers are influenced by education and prior research exposure. These factors strongly predict more specific indicators of receptivity. Results also suggest substantial variation in attitudes across agencies, emphasizing the importance of organizational context. The most receptive officers in our sample vary significantly from all others on multiple experience variables.

scholarly journals Peeling the paradigm: Exploring the professionalization of policing in Canada

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelly Sundberg ◽  
Christina Witt ◽  
Graham Abela ◽  
Lauren M. Mitchell
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Organizational Structure ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Public Trust ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Recruitment Strategies ◽  
The Public ◽  
Academy Training ◽  
Police Accountability ◽  
Public Concerns

Maintaining public trust, legitimacy, and credibility in a constantly evolving society has proven challenging for police in the 21st century. Rising public concerns regarding police accountability are driving the need to advance the paradigm of policing by reassessing the organizational structure of law enforcement in Canada. Supported by research identifying primary directives for maintaining public trust, this proposal argues that the time has come for policing to evolve from an occupation into a formal profession. Just as any other occupation that has advanced into a profession, provincial regulatory colleges of policing should be formed with the key objective of protecting the public from malpractice and malfeasance. A provincial college of policing would allow for (a) sustained and inclusive recruitment strategies, (b) foundational knowledge of the scholarship of policing, (c) evidence-based academy training, (d) mandatory ongoing (in-service) police education, and (e) expert, objective, community-focused, independent oversight. This proposal uses characteristics of the College of Policing in England and Wales as a guiding framework for the support and preparation of professionalizing policing in Canada.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document