Believing is Seeing: Biased Viewing of Body-Worn Camera Footage

• Published in: Journal of applied research in memory and cognition 2017-12, Vol.6 (4), p.460-474
• Main Authors: Jones, Kristyn A., Crozier, William E., Strange, Deryn
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Cameras; Female; Human; Information; Judgment; Legal processes; Male; Memory; Misinformation; Policy-making
• ISSN: 2211-3681; 2211-369X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jarmac.2017.07.007

Body-worn camera (BWC) footage is expected to be objective, thereby improving transparency. But can other information about an incident affect how people perceive BWC footage? In two experiments, we examined the effects of officer-generated misinformation and outcome information on people's memory for an event. Participants viewed BWC footage and/or read an officer's report containing misleading information. Some participants learned the officer was punished, some that the citizen was arrested. Participants then answered questions exploring their memory for the facts, the extent to which they relied on the officer's misinformation in judging who was at fault, and their impressions of the officer and civilian. Even when participants saw the BWC footage, their conclusions were consistent with the officer's misinformation. Moreover, participants' attitudes toward police predicted their interpretation of the footage, suggesting BWC footage is unlikely to be perceived objectively. We explain our results in terms of misinformation effects and confirmation bias. General Audience Summary Proponents of police body-worn cameras (BWCs) assume that recording police-citizen interactions will be a panacea for heightened tensions between officers and communities. Yet there is limited research on the inferences people draw about a police encounter recorded by a BWC. Importantly, we do not know whether other sources of information impact peoples' perceptions of BWC footage. Participants learned about the outcome of the event and then read the officer's report, watched the BWC footage or both-and if both, we manipulated the order. In his report, the officer justified his use of force by claiming that the civilian struck him and was carrying a knife, although neither of these claims were present in the footage. We found that when people viewed the BWC footage in conjunction with the discrepant officer's report, people viewed the civilian more negatively, the officer more positively, and were more likely to justify the officer's use of force. In addition, we found evidence of bias: (a) people's self-reported identification with police predicted the extent to which they recalled information consistent with the officer's report and (b) people formed conclusions about the police-citizen interaction in ways that were consistent with the outcome of the event.