The Importance of Victim Sensitive Body-Worn Camera Policy

This brief is based on the following published work:Saulnier, A., Couture‐Carron, A., & Scholte, D. (2022). Toward victim‐sensitive body‐worn camerapolicy: Initial insights. Criminology & Public Policy, 21(2), 303-327. https://doi.org/10.1111/1745-9133.12582 Working with interview data from victims of sexual assault and/or intimate partner violence (IPV), key themes emerged that are important for victim-sensitive body-worn camera (BWC) policies: notification, consent, alternative recording options, procedural consistency, and data storage and access. Recommendations to promote victim-sensitive BWC use include: notifying victims of BWC use as soon as reasonably possible, asking victims if they consent to BWC recording, retaining audio (but not video) recording if consent is not provided, ensuring that BWCs are used consistently by frontline members, requiring that BWC videos are regularly subject to supervisory review, leveraging BWC videos in training to prepare for quality victim-police interactions, and providing victims with clear information regarding BWC footage access and data security.