Optimal placement of police body-worn cameras

Abstract

As a growing technology, body-worn cameras are gaining considerable popularity with police departments and increased attention from the media. These cameras allow transparency between officers and civilians, as well as provide valuable evidence in court. However, little to no research has evaluated police body-worn cameras from a usability perspective, and to date there is no standard protocol or recommendation on where an officer should mount the camera on their uniform. Therefore, in collaboration with the Wichita Police Department, researchers have placed body-worn cameras in all possible mounting positions on an officer and run them through a variety of shooting drills and role-play scenarios. A frame-by-frame analysis of the videos has revealed distinct differences in viewing quality between mounting positions, i.e. some cameras are obscured by the officer's body. These data will be used to create guidelines for officers on where to mount body-worn cameras on their uniforms.