What Are the Effects of Statewide Body-Worn Camera Policy Standardization on Recording Rates and Officer Behavior?

This quasi-experimental research tests the hypothesis whether statewide body-worn camera (BWC) policy standardization produces different results than locally autonomous policies in body-worn camera policies in terms of camera activation, use of force, civilian complaints, and officer perceptions of accountability and procedural justice. Drawing on policy diffusion and organizational justice theories, the study analyzed data from 200 officers across two states using t-tests, regression models, and difference-in-differences analysis. Findings showed that there were no statistically significant changes in the rates of activation, force incidents, or the number of complaints regardless of the type of policy used, meaning that statewide standardization had little power to change behaviors. Nonetheless, officers who perceived a standardized policy found far greater procedural justice perceptions (p =.001, d = 0.50) indicating that standard BWC regulations increase perceived fairness in the absence of any observable change in behavior. The regression results indicated that accountability perceptions were more predictable by the activation rates than policy type, with implementation fidelity as a better predictor of accountability as compared to policy form. These findings indicate that the BWC standardization at the statewide level leads to more normative and attitudinal gains than actual behavioral change, which makes it important to consider that the actualization of policy into practice requires more firm training, supervisory enforcement, and cultural alignment.