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The Las Vegas Body-Worn Camera Experiment

NCJ Number
251414
Date Published
November 2017
Length
2 pages
Annotation
These prepared remarks by National Institute of Justice Director, David B. Muhlhausen, on the Las Vegas body-worn camera experiment were presented at a press event hosted by CNA on November 27, 2017.
Abstract

These prepared remarks by Director Muhlhausen summarize a CNA study funded by the National Institute of Justice. In the study, the Las Vegas Police Department partnered with CNA researchers on a 12-month randomized control experiment involving 400 officers to better understand the effectiveness and impact of body-worn cameras. Director Muhlhausen speaks to the study's importance and timeliness. He states that "Although body-worn cameras have been at the forefront of many conversations about policing over the past years, there's still limited data to help us understand their true effectiveness and impact" and notes that "the work done in this study will be helpful not only in Las Vegas, but to law enforcement, communities, and policymakers across the country, from the local to the federal levels." Body-worn cameras provide multiple benefits. The findings of the study show: that police are more proactive in crime prevention activities when wearing cameras; they provide compelling evidence to build legal cases; their use largely affirmed and validated positive officer behavior, and protected police from false or frivolous complaints; and they reduced inappropriate use of force incidents, and saved the Las Vegas Metro Police Department millions of dollars through a reduction of complaints against officers.

Date Published: November 1, 2017