Police legitimacy is generally regarded as a view among community members that police departments play an appropriate role in implementing rules governing public conduct. Placing body worn cameras (BWCs) on police officers has been suggested as a potentially important response to police legitimacy crises. We use a rigorous controlled quasi-experimental evaluation to test the impact of BWCs on citizen perceptions of procedural justice and police legitimacy during traffic stops in Turkey. Relative to stops by officers without BWCs, we find that motorists stopped by officers with BWCs reported improved perceptions of procedural justice in the encounter and perceptions of legitimacy of traffic officers and the police more generally. Supplementary analyses suggest that the perceived improvements in police legitimacy were entirely driven by perceived enhancements in procedural justice during the traffic stop encounter. These findings suggest that body camera technology help ensure procedurally just encounters and improve public perceptions of police legitimacy.

The purpose of this research was to examine the effect of COVID-19 on four outcomes including calls for service for domestic violence, calls for service for assaults, arrests for domestic violence, and arrests for assaults in Burlington, Vermont. The data for each outcome collected over the time periods January 2012 through May 2021 were obtained from the Burlington Police Department website and then a monthly time-series data set were created. The analyses including an independent samples t-test, a Poisson regression test, and a monthly interrupted time-series analyses (ITSA) were employed to test the effects of COVID-19 on the previously mentioned outcomes. The results of the ITSA showed that in the first month following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, domestic violence calls statistically significantly increased, but no statistically significant change was observed in domestic violence arrests, while assault calls and assault arrests statistically significantly decreased. In addition, during COVID-19, there was a statistically significant decreasing trend in domestic violence calls and domestic violence arrests, while there was no statistically significant change in the trends of assault calls and assault arrests. The results suggest that COVID-19 had an immediate as well as a persistent effect on the numbers of domestic violence and assaults. The results and limitations of this study were also discussed.

Research Summary: This study tests the effect of body‐worn cameras (BWCs) on stopped drivers’ perceptions of complying with police directives, obeying traffic laws, and cooperating with the police. A quasi‐randomized controlled trial was conducted with drivers stopped at routine traffic checkpoints. Drivers in the treatment group encountered police officers wearing BWCs, and drivers in the control group encountered police officers without BWCs. Surveys were administered after the stop. Findings suggest motorists exposed to BWC officers reported significantly stronger agreement with compliance with police directives, obedience toward traffic laws, and assistance with police duties. Further analysis indicates BWCs generate indirect impacts on specific citizen compliance mediated through improvements in procedural justice, as well as indirect impacts on general compliance and cooperation mediated through improvements in both police legitimacy and procedural justice. Policy Implications: The results suggest that BWCs may be an effective means of improving drivers’ willingness to comply with directives, follow traffic laws, and assist police. Consistent with a process‐based explanation, their effectiveness stems almost entirely from drivers’ experience of procedurally just and legitimacy‐enhancing treatment by police officers. The findings indicate BWCs provide a form of officer accountability that mere training in procedural justice might be insufficient to achieve.

This study investigated the effect of body-worn cameras (BWCs) on citizens’ satisfaction with the encounter and citizens’ general perceptions of the police during traffic stops. A post-test-only two-group quasi-randomized experimental design was implemented. Drivers in the experimental group encountered the traffic police officers wearing BWCs and were notified that the encounter was being filmed, whereas those in the control group experienced business-as-usual traffic stops. A survey was administered to drivers after completion of the traffic stop. In total, 624 out of 860 stopped drivers (325 in the control group and 299 in the experimental group) participated in the survey. Both bivariate and multivariate analyses showed that BWCs increased significantly citizens’ satisfaction with the encounter and citizens’ general perceptions of the police.

COVID-19 may affect police activities (i.e., traffic stops, arrests, and use of force) due to public compliance with COVID-19 restrictions, changes in individuals’ daily activities, and health threats posed by COVID-19. The purpose of this research is to examine the effects of COVID-19 on police activities and the trends in these activities in Burlington, Vermont. The data that measured arrests, traffic stops, and use of force were obtained from the Burlington Police Department website and covered the period from December 10, 2018 through June 14, 2021. Then, the daily time-series data for arrest rate, use of force rate, and traffic stop rate were created (N = 918; 459 days pre-COVID-19 and 459 days during COVID-19). The results showed that COVID-19 statistically significantly decreased traffic stops and arrests, but not use of force on the day immediately following the implementation of the COVID-19 restrictions and then remained stable over time. However, no significant change was detected in the trends of arrests, traffic stops, and use of force before and during the COVID-19 period. COVID-19 had a significant immediate and lasting effect on traffic stops and arrests, but not use of force.