Stewart J D'Alessio

Eyes on the Street Stewart J D'Alessio

This study evaluates the impact of body-worn camera (BWC) implementation in seven districts served by the Miami-Dade Police Department (MDPD). Nine hundred and sixty-two police officers were provided with BWCs and trained in their use over a four-month period, from May 5, 2016 through August 8, 2016. Statistical analyses of pre- and post-BWC time periods revealed that the use of BWCs resulted in a 34% decrease in the number of citizen complaints against police officers, a 19% reduction in the number of cases of physical response to citizen resistance by police officers, and a 74% drop in the number of civil cases against the MDPD linked to excessive police use of force. These reductions were all statistically significant. Post-BWC results also revealed a decline in the number of internal affair cases, unauthorized force cases, officer injury cases, serious reported crime cases, felony arrests, and civil claims paid by Miami-Dade County for police use of excessive force; however, it cannot be definitively determined, based on avail-able data, that these reductions were due to the use of BWCs rather than to preexisting down-ward trends. There is scarce empirical evidence to suggest that the use of BWC-based video footage, which can be entered into evidence as additional proof of an alleged incident in court, aids in the prosecution of criminal cases in Miami-Dade County. Finally, the use of BWCs does not appear to have a negative impact on roadway safety by attenuating proactive traffic enforcement: while the number of traffic accidents increased substantially following the implementation of BWCs, there was no significant change in the number of police traffic stops.