Body-Worn Cameras in a Correctional Setting: Assessing Jail Deputy Attitudes Before, During, and After Implementation

Abstract

Body-worn cameras (BWC) have become ubiquitous in law enforcement but are nascent in correctional settings. There is little research on the attitudes of the corrections personnel expected to wear these devices, even though their buy-in is critical for successful implementation. We address this gap by examining the perceptions of deputies from the Loudoun County, Virginia Adult Detention Center (LCADC) who participated in a 12-month BWC pilot program. We survey LCADC deputies at three periods (pre-, mid-, and post-implementation) and analyze mean changes in their perceptions of BWCs and staff-resident relationships. We find that LCADC deputies were neutral or did not agree that BWCs would improve efficiency and accuracy, have a civilizing effect on incarcerated residents, or lead to work-related disruptions. These attitudes remain largely consistent across the three survey periods. We also find that deputies had more negative perceptions of their relationships with residents at both the mid- and post-implementation periods, compared to the pre-implementation period. The results suggest that, when developing a BWC program, corrections officials should involve front-line personnel early in the planning process. Officials should also ensure policies are tailored to the unique needs of their correctional agency, rather than merely adapting policies created for law enforcement.

Keywords:

• Body-worn cameras
• corrections
• deputy attitudes
• jail
• survey

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 Smith (2013) described the first known deployment of BWCs in a correctional setting (to the Special Operation Group [SOG] in a South Carolina prison). The SOG are first responders to incidents involving a combative or hostile incarcerated individual.

2 The researchers also documented reductions in assaults on officers and use of force, though there is no information provided on the research design.

3 We only counted deputies who responded to at least half of the survey questions in these tallies.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Institutes of Justice [grant number 2018-75-CX-0019].