Scientists Hunt Hard Evidence On How Cop Cameras Affect Behavior
Police departments in about 95 percent of cities nationally have put wearable cameras on officers, or soon plan to. But do these body cameras make neighborhoods safer? Scientists want to find out.
New York City is set to begin giving body cameras to its police officers on Thursday.
Under the police department's pilot program, 1,200 officers in 20 precincts will receive the cameras. The officers will also be studied by scientists to see what effect the cameras have on policing.
As police don body cameras across the country, scientists are increasingly working with departments to figure out how the cameras change behavior — of officers and the public.
"Is the camera, the chief of police in Washington, D.C., where a similar study is just weeks from providing its first answers.
