Police officers as filmmakers: the cinematography of body worn cameras

The impact of body worn cameras on policing will depend on multiple factors such as effective training, and high-quality technological design. Among these factors, we argue, are police officer's understanding and operation of body worn cameras. Operation involves user decisions about when to ac...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Policing & society 2023-05, Vol.33 (5), p.593-603
Main Authors: Sandhu, Ajay, Simmons, Jonathan Scott
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
accountability
Body worn cameras
Cameras
cinematography
Concept formation
Decision making
Decisions
filmmaking
Human body
Police
Technology
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Summary:The impact of body worn cameras on policing will depend on multiple factors such as effective training, and high-quality technological design. Among these factors, we argue, are police officer's understanding and operation of body worn cameras. Operation involves user decisions about when to activate a body worn camera and where to direct its lens. With that in mind, we propose that police officers, especially when ineffectively regulated by policy, can be theoretically understood as filmmakers who determine the footage body worn cameras produce and the stories the technology can tell. In support of our reconceptualization of police officers as filmmakers, we highlight two cinematographic decisions officers make as part of routine police work: the cutting decision and the camera-angle decision.
ISSN:1043-9463
1477-2728
DOI:10.1080/10439463.2022.2160450