Cognition and Body-Worn Cameras

Claremont Graduate University, Claremont CA

Investigators

Abstract

Cognition and Body-Worn Cameras Abstract Police departments and law enforcement agencies have greatly increased their use of Body-Worn Cameras (BWCs) in the recent past. However, not much is known about the most appropriate way to use BWC footage in the legal system. One important question is whether police officers should review their BWC footage after a use of force incident. As the U.S. Supreme Court has held that evaluations of an officer's actions must be based on the original perspective of the officer, it is important to understand whether viewing the BWC footage influences that original perspective. This project will study how viewing video footage of an event affects an individual's memory of the original event. This project will employ an experimental approach to address how viewing video footage of an event, such as from a BWC, affects an individual's memory of the original event and the variables that moderate this effect. The various experiments will use police officers and civilian participants in simulations that replicate training and use of force incidents. These experiments will assess variables on two different populations that control for the effect of viewing the video on memory, in order to identify the specific cognitive mechanisms that underlie the effect of viewing BWC footage on memory. This theory-driven and evidence-based research will foster understanding of the effects of BWC footage on memory while aiding law enforcement in developing policies related to BWCs. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.