Is There a Civilizing Effect on Citizens? Testing the Pre-Conditions for Body Worn Camera-Induced Behavior Change
Abstract
The cause(s) of reduced use of force and complaints following police body-worn camera (BWC) deployment remain unclear, though some argue that BWCs generate a civilizing effect on citizen behavior. This potential effect rests on four pre-conditions: (1) BWC presence and citizen awareness; (2) BWC activation; (3) Escalated citizen behavior or the potential for escalation; (4) Citizen mental capacity for BWC awareness. Prior research has not established the civilizing effect’s existence, or how often these pre-conditions are met; this study aims to fill that gap. Data was collected during systematic social observation (SSO) of 166 encounters between citizens and officers in the Tempe, Arizona Police Department. The results tell a simple story. Two pre-conditions (activation, citizen mental capacity) are consistently met; awareness and escalated behavior are not. Overall, 1.2% of encounters saw all pre-conditions met. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications for research on BWCs.
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Low BWC activation rates can short-circuit BWCs' hypothesized civilizing effect and compromise a department's accountability efforts.
“low activation rates can also short-circuit BWCs' hypothesized “civilizing effect” and compromise a department's accountability efforts (Patterson & White, 2021).”
From An Officer-Level Examination of the Prevalence and Correlates of Police Body-Worn Camera Activation (2025) · cites this paper as Patterson & White, 2021
Cites
The theory of planned behavior
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“Officers tend to believe that BWC implementation will lead to better behavior within the department (among their co-workers), though most officers do not believe cameras will significantly affect their own behavior (Gaub et al., 2020; Headley et al., 2017; Jennings et al., 2014).”
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An Officer-Level Examination of the Prevalence and Correlates of Police Body-Worn Camera Activation
Huff, J., White, M. D., Malm, A. E., & Katz, C. M. (2025) · Police Quarterly · doi:10.1177/10986111241241751 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Self-citation
- Authors
- Patterson, Q., & White, M. D.
- Affiliations
- Arizona State University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Patterson, Quin
- Venue
- Police Quarterly
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2021-03-20
- Volume
- 24
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 411-437
- ISSN
- 1098-6111 (ISSN-L)
- 1552-745X
- OpenAlex
- W3139033917
- Cited by
- 31
- References
- 4
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 3
- FWCI
- 17.45
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Police Quarterly (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › Policing Practices and Perceptions
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Deception detection and forensic psychology
- Social Sciences › Law › Criminal Law and Evidence
- Keywords
- body-worn cameras, police use of force, civic behavior, police-citizen encounters, public awareness, escalation, police accountability
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